Oh, typography, my favorite topic of design (makes sense, with me being a font designer). I’m particularly fond of hand lettering, it just oozes personality, authenticity and gives us a break from all that is digital. Without fail, every day I skim over the latest of the lettering world, from finished pieces to works in progress and everything in between, to keep me on top of my game.
Over the last few years, I have built up a mental library of go to artists that never fail to deliver the goods. And within this article, you’ll find the first 18 of them that spring to mind. They are sure to feed your typography hunger. If you have any that you would like to introduce to me, please do.
Jon Contino
Let’s kick off with one of my personal favorites, Jon Contino. His style is something that he is widely recognized for. Whilst completing work for big companies such as Nike, Ford, Bing and Jack Daniels. Jon is also the creative behind two clothing brands under the names of Barnaby Black and CXXVI.
David Smith
Dave Smith is a name that has become synonymous in sign-writing circles with high quality, hand-crafted reverse glass signs, and decorative mirrors. It is fair to say that nowadays this is the main thrust of his work. There is, however, more to his story. (Read more)
Sergey Shapiro
Whenever I want to look for some decent calligraphy, I often turn to Sergey. If you want to see sketches, final pieces and all the nitty-gritty, I’d recommend you follow his Instagram.
Paul Von Excite
Paul’s primary focus is on logo design, and he is exceptionally good at it. With a constant flow of lettering logos, Paul is a great source to feed your hunger. We recently worked on a ‘behind the scenes’ article with Paul, within which Paul kindly documented his process. Check it out here.
Ged Palmer
Ged is a sign painter and lettering artist based in London. I first came across the work of Ged when discovering his Instagram account (A recommended follow!)
Olga Vasik
Olga is an Independent illustrator and lettering artist based in Chelyabinsk (Russia) who often creates crisp, clean hand lettering. I’d recommend checking out her Dribbble account.
Claire Coullon
Claire is a personal favorite of mine, she often shares sketches and works in progress shots that give so much value. More so than a finished piece. Follow her on Dribbble to see all the sketches.
Evgeny Tkhorzhevsky
“A Calligrapher, lettering artist and type designer. I work in variety of styles because specifics of the projects is more important for me, not my self-identity.” Another lettering artist that I’d recommend you follow on Dribbble for regular updates.
Simon Ålander
The portfolio of Swedish lettering artist, Simon Alander, has been one that I have turned to for a couple of years now. Another one that I follow on Instagram.
Dan Cassaro
On to one of my favorites! Dan Cassaro never ceases to impress me with his work. He was also the guy behind the popular Fifty & Fifty project that had 50 Artists from 50 States illustrate their state’s motto (See that here)
Becca Clason
I came across the work of Becca the day I published this article and I have since been following her progress. She has created quite the niche for herself by creating typography with anything but the ordinary. Visit her portfolio, and just look how the page comes to life.
Brandon Rike
Brandon primarily works within the music industry designing band merchandise. Within his portfolio, you’ll find a variety of styles from grunge, to script, and clean to expressive.
Dana Tanamachi
Dana, another one of my personal favorites. When I first came across her work, she was creating a niche for herself and cornered the chalk lettering market with her impressive wall murals. Since then, Dana has plenty more work on her portfolio and some insightful videos documenting her process, a few of which are within our feature of her work.
BMD Design
The french design studio BMD design is a constant source of inspiration for me. His style is so consistent, and I simply cannot get enough of it. Two of his prints now hang in my office, and I plan on grabbing more in the future.
Joseph Alessio
Joseph is another experimental typographer, similar to Becca Clason, he involves himself in many projects that require him to get hands on with typography. Going above and beyond pen and paper. Instagram is the best place to catch this guy.
Oban Jones
Oban is as much an illustrator as he is a typographer. His recent love for playing cards has taken him down the path of designing many decks for Ellusionist. These are just as fascinating as his typographic works, check them out here. The best place to catch all of his other work; Dribbble.
Eva Winters
It’s super tough reducing Eva’s portfolio down to just 3 pieces for this article. There’s just so much to choose from! Check out her ‘Best of’ 365 project on Behance. If you want to follow her work, probably best to jump on Instagram.
Ian Barnard
I’ve been a fan of Ian’s work for as long as I can remember. I first came across his work on Dribbble and have followed his progress since. Catch him on Instagram for the best content.
Comments
Wow! These are all so cool! I don’t know if I would have the patience to do such intricate work! LOL Thank you!