Lettering vs Type

It seems like the word "type" is bandied about quite a bit. "Lettering" is barely a blip on the social lexicon, and when it's used it's often conflated with both type and calligraphy in confounding ways. This blog post is here to clear up some of the lexicon of the letter making field. Lettering is bespoke Right up front I'd like to define lettering: Lettering [...]

2023-08-24T10:36:14-08:00May 2nd, 2017|Categories: Lettering, Type|Tags: , |

Defining the Terms
Part 3: Categorization

This is the last in a three part series on how to talk about letterforms. Basically, it's a glossary. This third part covers Categorization, the ways groups of glyphs are labeled by form and function. Part 1 deals with the Anatomy of Letterforms, what the pieces and parts are called. Part 2 is Process, the terms for the ways letters are made. This is [...]

2023-08-11T12:16:51-08:00April 25th, 2017|Categories: Lettering, Resources, Type|Tags: , , |

Defining the Terms
Part 2: Process

This is a three part series on how to talk about letterforms. Basically, it's a glossary. This second part covers Process, the terms for the ways letters are made. Part 1 deals with the Anatomy of Letterforms, what the pieces and parts are called. Part 3 is Categorization, the ways groups of glyphs are labeled by form and function. This is by no means exhaustive, [...]

2017-04-24T11:16:23-08:00April 18th, 2017|Categories: Lettering, Resources, Type|Tags: , , , |

Defining the Terms
Part 1: Anatomy

This is a three part series on how to talk about letterforms. Basically, it's a glossary. This first part deals with the Anatomy of Letterforms, what the pieces and parts are called. Part 2 covers Process, the terms for the ways letters are made, whether by hand or by computer. Part 3 is Categorization, the ways groups of glyphs are labeled by form and [...]

2023-08-04T09:15:21-08:00April 11th, 2017|Categories: Lettering, Resources, Type|Tags: , , |

How do I visualize an idea with letters?
Part 5: Joy

This is part five of a five part series detailing how I interpret certain values using various letterforms. In Part 1 I shared the process I use to visualize a certain idea through letterforms. Today I am going through example number 4, Joy. Community Integrity Kindness Joy Note that the order in which I'm writing this is not necessarily the order in which I work. [...]

2017-03-16T09:20:34-08:00April 4th, 2017|Categories: How, Lettering|Tags: , , |

How do I visualize an idea with letters?
Part 4: Kindness

This is part four of a five part series detailing how I interpret certain values using various letterforms. In Part 1 I shared the process I use to visualize a certain idea through letterforms. Today I am going through example number 3, Kindness. Community Integrity Kindness Joy Note that the order in which I'm writing this is not necessarily the order in which I work. [...]

2017-03-15T12:09:38-08:00March 28th, 2017|Categories: How, Lettering|Tags: , , |

How do I visualize an idea with letters?
Part 3: Integrity

This is part three of a five part series detailing how I interpret certain values using various letterforms. In Part 1 I shared the process I use to visualize a certain idea through letterforms. Today I am going through example number 2, Integrity. Community Integrity Kindness Joy Note that the order in which I'm writing this is not necessarily the order in which I work. [...]

2017-03-13T13:06:19-08:00March 21st, 2017|Categories: How, Lettering|Tags: , , |

How do I visualize an idea with letters?
Part 2: Community

This is part two of a five part series detailing how I interpret certain values using various letterforms. In Part 1 I shared the process I use to visualize a certain idea through letterforms. Today I am going through example number 1, Community. Community Integrity Kindness Joy Note that the order in which I'm writing this is not necessarily the order in which I work. [...]

2017-03-16T10:03:31-08:00March 14th, 2017|Categories: How, Lettering|Tags: , , |

How do I visualize an idea with letters?
Part 1

This is part one of a five part series. I will be going through how I interpret certain values using various letterforms. In this first week, I'm sharing the process I use to visualize a certain idea through letterforms. This week is just the abstract. The following four weeks will go through four specific examples: Community Integrity Kindness Joy Convey ideas through association Letters are [...]

2023-09-06T10:47:31-08:00March 7th, 2017|Categories: How, Lettering|Tags: , |

What should I read to get started making letters?

Here are some recommended books for learning lettering and type design. Some of these recommendations came from Thomas Phinney, or from the reading list for incoming students at the Masters in Typeface Design program at the University of Reading. I'm breaking these into several sections. The sections are in a particular order. These are not necessarily the order I read these book in or the order [...]

2017-03-10T13:31:15-08:00February 28th, 2017|Categories: Lettering, Resources, Type|Tags: , , , , , |

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