Custom Handlettering

Custom Handlettering, the second installment in The Complete Typographer program, covers unique and beautiful handlettering used across a wide spectrum of design disciplines. The practice involves drawing letterforms already composed into words, rather than creating characters for an entire alphabet and combining them. Generated for specific uses rather than assembled from a kit of parts, handlettering provides infinite variety for type designers. Students will explore ways to build out digital variations on their handlettered characters.

Tools, methods, and techniques for creating expressive lettering using traditional tools and media such as ink, pen, paint, and brush will be demonstrated. Digitizing hand drawn type into vector designs, and combining handwork with digital design within projects will be explored.

What Students Are Saying:

• From Analog Sketches to Digital Designs
• In our final session, we'll import some of our sketches into Adobe Illustrator and turn them into bold digital letterforms. From there we'll use a variety of simple techniques to create diverse variations on our original designs.
• Developing Your Technique: Lines and Letters
• In this session, we'll go over some basic exercises that will help you begin to develop your technique and general comfort with lettering by hand. After working on lines and curves, we'll begin creating some letters, and incorporating those letters into text.
• Developing Your Technique: Sketching and Creating Letters
• In this session, we'll continue with the exercises from the previous lessons by creating letters and words and experimenting with the wide variety of lettering tools that we have on hand. We'll also explore some sketching techniques as an alternative approach to creating letters by hand.
• Basic Shapes and Materials in Handlettering
• In our first session, we'll begin by looking at some inspiring examples of hand lettering, both historical and more contemporary. Next, we'll look at the roles of contrast and basic geometric forms as foundations for making letters. Finally, we'll preview the various tools that we'll be working with in this course.