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If you're into hand-drawn type, and crafting your own letterforms like I am, then you're probably always looking for resources to perfect your craft. There are a ton of great books out there and even more people who really do this sort of thing extremely well. I don't consider myself a "master" by any means but I do enjoy this mode of design and illustration. Maybe it's my background in Art, or maybe I just hate being in front of a computer all day. Either way lettering and typography has been one of my greatest passions and has lead me to some great projects and allowed me to cross paths with some extremely talented people. I'm very honored to be included in this new book published by Rockport Books, titled Drawing Type: An Introduction to Illustrating Letterforms by Alex Fowkes

Drawing Type: features real-world projects and sketchbooks of well-known type designers (and some not so well-known like myself), including interviews about their processes.

Jon Contino is a recent favorite and inspiration to me in my work and creative endeavors. He is a Brooklyn based designer/letterer who has a​ well-established style of his own. His hand-drawn type is as unique as it is diverse and has a clear voice that resounds with themes of unity, patriotism, and a strong work ethic. In addition to the relentless grind of competing for work in New York, Jon has found the time and energy to startup a really nice clothing brand for men. Also, I was browsing around on his online portfolio, and found that he has a blog where he features a lot of newer work, his processes, and questions to answers that various people email him. I think this is great — that he has the humility to answer questions in support of the bigger design community. I always admire people who take the time to do this and find ways to make themselves accessible in the midst of a successful career. Check out the full collection of his work here.

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“There’s always a sense of pride with doing something with your own bare hands.”

— Jon Contino

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“Now that I’m able to actually produce the stuff that I like, I find more inspiration in the people around me who do other things.”

— Jon Contino

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​So I've decided to do a short series of blog entries based off of hand-lettering geniuses who have inspired me in a lot of my more recent work. If "Typography is what language looks like," then these designers/illustrators are giving her the amazing personality to go along with the looks. It is the unique voice that hand-lettering gives to typography that I find so attractive. It seems to me to be the perfect balance between design and illustration and the fine art of craftsmanship that is not going anywhere. And so, (begin drumroll) I'd like to start this thing off with a bang by introducing...Erik Marinovich! (Loud applause now). 

Erik works alongside illustration/lettering superstar Jessica Hische at TitleCase in San Francisco. I first became aware of his work a few years ago via the Friends of Type blog, which he cofounded with a few other type enthusiasts and is updated regularly with some really amazing custom lettering samples and several guest appearances. Erik's work is really beautiful, clean, and loaded with type experimentation, a commendable sense of craft, and diversity. His control of any given medium to create type just blows my mind. I have selected a few images to showcase below, but his online portfolio is definitely worth more attention if you are into that kind of thing. 

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​Typography has always been one of my passions within design. I especially love hand-drawn type and all it's expressive qualities. Here is a quote from a plaque I saw on the U.S.S. Constitution during my recent visit to Boston. It's been on my to-do list to draw more, but it always seems to be pushed on the back burner between my full-time work and freelance work. You know how it goes.

They say "the work you do when your procrastinating, is the work you should be doing full time." But that won't pay the bills. Until I can make a living off of drawing type, It'll just have to be a hobby and another creative outlet. As for this particular type-treatment I guess you can say this is my tribute to the 2012 olympics (which starts this week) and Team USA. "Liberty Forever."

Video made by Hunter Johnson
Song: Artie Shaw & Helen Forrest - Deep Purple

Very inspiring work from Dusty Signs. Excellent hand painted typography, Beautiful work Dan, keep it up! Dusty Signs is founded by Dan, a 3rd generation traditional sign painter from Minneapolis Minnesota.

Kyle, Kenji, and I were recently asked to create a short video that would promote an upcoming conference for various students and staff members at Sacramento State. After being inspired by the "Live the Language" videos we found from EF Travel, we decided it would be fun to create one based on Sacramento, following the daily life of a student and staff member, focusing on how their lives are different and how they intersect. I can't say that this is an original idea, but we had a great time finding all the shots, learning about shooting & editing, and overall production on something like this. 

Along with a few shots in the video, I was responsible for the typography and faux logos.