lettering

Lettering is the art of drawing letters as visual symbols rather than using ready-made type. Unlike typography, where letters are set as standardized characters supplied by a font, lettering involves creating individual letterforms for a specific design, often composed as a complete wordmark or image. It is also distinct from handwriting and calligraphy: in lettering, the focus is on the final appearance of the letter shapes and layout, not on the act of writing with a specific stroke order.

Historically, lettering has roots in sign painting, manuscript illumination, and engraving, evolving through poster art, advertising, and logo design. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, artists and studios developed display lettering as a deliberate graphic craft, later embraced by modern graphic design and its demand for unique branding.

Techniques and tools include pencil sketches, ink pen work, brushes, and markers for hand-drawn letters, followed by tracing or scanning and digital refinement. Layout skills such as spacing, alignment, and proportion are essential, as is an eye for legibility at different sizes. Styles vary from serif, sans serif, and script to decorative display faces, each often tailored to a specific project. Knowledge of flourishes, ligatures, and maintaining consistency across a design are common concerns.

In contemporary practice, lettering spans signs, logos, posters, book jackets, and digital media. Artists may produce hand-lettered pieces that are later vectorized for scalable use, or create fully digital lettering from the start. The field emphasizes craft, originality, and clear visual communication within a given brief.