The Art of Lettering: Perfectly Imperfect Hand-Crafted Type Design

From whimsical to elegant, and old-school influences to new school—Goodtype’s The Art of Lettering showcases dynamic hand lettering from today’s young and sought-after typographers and calligraphers, stoking creative inspiration for graphic designers, artists, and type enthusiasts alike.

Hand lettering is making a comeback, bursting out of its graphic-design bubble and finding a mainstream via collecting social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest. The avid interest in hand lettering seemingly goes hand in hand with the weariness audiences feel with constant slick digital presentation of the information they consume. The Art of Lettering collects myriad new and established graphic designers for whom hand lettering is a time-honored art that has modern applications. Showcasing more than 100 artists from all over the world, the book displays their typographic takes and illustrates their perfectly imperfect handcrafted art, from beautiful photographs of concept sketches to the end result. Straying away from traditional pen calligraphy, artists today employ new and creative approaches, including building type with coffee grounds, watercolors, and combinations of different hand tools, resulting in a dynamically fresh approach to creating type.

Brooke Robinson  is a graphic designer based in Austin, TX. She  is responsible for leading all graphic design and marketing initiatives, including radio, print, television, internet/social, public, sales, and special events at Tyler’s locations in Texas. Brooke founded Goodtype in 2013. Ken Barber is a designer with renowned graphic design and type foundry collective House Industries. Jessica Hische is a graphic and type designer and letterer renowned for creating an eye-catching “Love” stamp  for the United States Postal Service, which sold more than two hundred and fifty million stamps. Lauren Hom is a designer and letterer who specializes in branding and typography and has created work for clients like Starbucks, Google, AT&T, YouTube, and TIME magazine. Gemma O’Brien aka Mrs. Eaves is a typographer and letter designer recently selected for PRINT magazine’s annual list of the best creatives under thirty years  old working today.