Hand Done Typography

There exists a special combination of talents when a poster artist has command over both their illustrative powers and their knowledge of typography. Typography in and of itself is an elusive creature, silently working to communicate ideas through language and holding together structural integrity in a composition, whilst maintaining a vital role as supporting actor alongside the pictorial star of the show. When an artist chooses to assemble their design with handwriting or even handmade type, it is a powerful opportunity for them to fully orchestrate the entirety of the atmosphere, not unlike a great film director. Handmade type is often charming, awkward and full of quirks, but really only when compared up against what we normally expect to see from a designed font— a naive and unbiased look can reveal great sophistication, and an unparalleled measure of expressive mastery.

The godfather of hand lettering is perhaps none other than Toulouse-Lautrec, so confident in his abilities at painting and design that it left room for him to work completely relaxed, something that can be seen in his free yet decisive line quality. His typography contributes to the potent and sultry aura that he concocts, seamlessly incorporated into his virtuosic designs. In one of his most famous images, Divan Japonais, it feels almost as if you are drawn into the space yourself.

Andy Warhol makes an electric image with arguably more friction than usual— his hand-drawn eclectic letterforms both softening and honing the immediacy characteristic of his imagery. In this original 1986 poster Self Portrait for his exhibition at the Williams College Museum of Art, both the pared-down color scheme and the type’s juxtaposition with photography serve to communicate his spirit directly and with unfettered torque.