Watching a sign painter in Chicago freehand a perfect script with a mahl stick changed how I think about digital type.

Now I can't look at a font without seeing the hand that could have made it, so what's a good place online to find inspiration for hand-drawn lettering that isn't just another script font pack?

2 comments

2 Comments

flores.jana16d ago

That idea about seeing the hand in the type is exactly right. I skip font sites and look at places where the process is still visible. Check out old technical manuals or patent drawings for weird, functional lettering. Watch sign painting videos where you see the brush drag. Even graffiti blackbooks show the sketch layers before the clean outline. It's the mistakes and pencil lines that make it feel alive.

noahchen16d ago

Yeah @flores.jana, ever find a perfect example of that?