I used to hand letter everything. Actually, there wasn’t another way I knew.
As a kid, computers were really just coming onto the scene in my elementary classes, so whenever I wanted to make a poster or drawing with words, it came right out of my head and through my hand. That didn’t always mean it was very good. But it was fresh, and had a certain life to it. Then, of course, we got a computer in the home and it was all typing from then on.
It wasn’t until recently, nearly 14 years into being a professional designer, that I’ve rediscovered my love of drawing type by hand. Here you can see an example I’m working on for my next theatre poster (for a stage version of Charlotte’s Web). Back to pencils and paper. And yes, now I do have fonts to blend in or look at for inspiration. Which is great! But it’s nice to see the freshness and ‘less-than-polished’ look of hand-drawn type finding its way back into my work.
Plus, it’s fun!
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