Here at HB Handbook we love browsing hand lettering artwork and typography. They are fantastic for inspiration and usually include lyrics and movie quotes which can lift your mood. Hopefully a few of the images below will inspire you to try it out in your HB Handbook!
Inspiration For Hand Drawn Lettering and Typography
Retro Review logo drawing By JangoSnow
Better Call Saul by Tobias Saul
Atlanta by Alexis ‘Tyrsa’ Taïeb
Good Guys Wear Levi's by Dan Cassaro
Cocina Buena by Drew Melton
Everything Is Useless by McBess
You Can Read Tutorials All Day by Sean Wes
Choose to See The Good Stuff by Tim Bontan
Lettering Lyrics by Jaclyn Le
April Fools by Joseph Alessio
NOTE Don't try this in your HB Handbook unless you want a soggy book :-)
Want to practice hand drawn lettering and typography? Before the age of printing, every written word was created by hand. This art form is named calligraphy. It was and remains today, a means of expressing ideas in a wonderfully eye pleasing manner. When we think of calligraphy, the image of disciplined monks spending lifetimes creating hand-written masterpieces springs to mind. Swirling letters that fit together intrinsically into an endless loop is what calligraphy is. Whilst still relevant, this practice has evolved a considerable amount. Nowadays, it’s hand drawn lettering and typography which are promoting written word as an art form.
What is Hand Drawn Lettering?
Hand drawn lettering is a skilled art form, which people use to create aesthetically pleasing written words. Remember learning cursive at school? That’s calligraphy, this is different. Hand drawn lettering has essentially evolved from what we know to be calligraphy. Hand drawn lettering breaks the rules, it allows artists to freely express themselves without boundaries. Words don’t need to be dull, they can be both inspiring and beautiful at the very same time. Sometimes, artists like their Hand drawn lettering so much, they decide to create entire fonts for all to use; this is when hand drawn lettering becomes typography.
What is Typography?
Typography is the art of setting type. Instead of working by hand, you work with computers in order to create fonts that work in any combination, no matter who is using them. Many artists like to create unique fonts and make them available to download online for others to use. Sometimes these fonts are free whilst other times, the artists sell them for a fee. There are tens of thousands of fonts available to download online, some better than others. But where did these fonts come from? They didn’t just surface spontaneously. No, somebody dedicated their time to creating them and the majority of them likely began life by using the good old fashioned pencil to paper technique.
Use Your HB Handbook to Practice Hand Drawn Lettering
If you’re a designer and feel like practicing hand drawn lettering and typography yourself, why not give it a try with The Designer HB Handbook? These handy notebooks come in packs of three and are made entirely in the UK from 100% recycled materials. Each notepad includes a different type of paper including lined, dotted and gridded paper. Lined paper is great for making general notes, for times when all those brilliant ideas need to be jotted down quickly. Dotted and gridded paper, meanwhile are ideal for creating mock-up designs, including hand drawn lettering. Grids are great for working out the placement of letters if this is something that you find you’re struggling with. Dotted paper, on the other hand, is ideal for creating uniformed lines and edges. The expression “you’ve just got to connect the dots” couldn’t ring truer here.
Why not start practicing hand drawn lettering and typography with a simple and familiar word such as your name? Words that you’re more familiar with writing are likely to be easier to link together. Once you’ve done this, you can move onto other words or even sentences. Why not try a short and inspiring quote for example?
Give hand drawn lettering and typography a try today, using the ultimate tool for artists The Designer HB Handbook.