Once relegated mainly to artists’ sketchbooks and doodle pads, hand-rendered type has rejoined the mainstream. The idiosyncratic styles provide a welcome change to the monotony of overused digital typefaces. The book Hand Job by Michael Perry features excellent examples of hand-drawn type from a variety of artists, ranging from relatively unknowns to the legendary Stefan Sagmeister. Reading it brought back memories of my elementary school love for bubble letters, and the burnouts at my high school who would endlessly copy the Van Halen and Def Leppard logos on their notebooks.
From graffiti-tag style, to ornate 3D letterforms filled with elaborate scenes and characters, to willow-thin letterforms made from one continuous stroke, the book provides plenty of inspiration for design. It may even inspire you to pick up a felt-tipped pen yourself.
