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Lettering orhandlettering is a term for artfully drawing letters, instead ofwriting them simply. Each letter is created with attention to detail and has a unique role within acomposition.[1] Lettering is created as an image, with letters that are meant to be used in a unique configuration. Lettering words do not always translate into alphabets that can later be used in atypeface, since they are created with a specific word in mind.[2]
Lettering includes unadorned lettering used for purposes such asblueprints andcomic books, as well as decorative lettering such assign painting and custom graphics,posters, for aletterhead or businesswordmark,lettering in stone, lettering for advertisements,fileteado,graffiti,[3] or on chalkboards.[4]
Lettering may be drawn, incised, applied usingstencils,[5][6][7] or using computer software. Lettering that was not created using computers is commonly referred to as hand-lettering.[1] The term 'letter cutting' is used particularly for inscriptions cut in stone, such as for amemorial plaque..[8]
In the past, almost all decorative lettering other than that on paper was created as custom or hand-painted lettering. The use of fonts in place of lettering has increased due to new printing methods,phototypesetting, anddigital typesetting, which allow fonts to be printed at any desired size.[9][10][11][12]
Calligraphy is based onpenmanship; it’s essentially "writing letters." Lettering, on the other hand, is based ondraftsmanship, i.e. "drawing letters."
— Joseph Alessio[13]
Lettering can be confused with similar terms, such ascalligraphy ortypography.
Calligraphy is known as a more rigid process, that requires learning the formal shapes of letters and often combining thick downstrokes with thin upstrokes. This style of writing is generally created withdip pens and inks. Some calligraphers and hand-letterers say that calligraphy created withbrush pens becomes lettering or faux-calligraphy,[14] but others believe that the approach used to create the letters is more important than the tools used to do so.[1][15]
Typography is the art and technique ofarranging type to makewritten languagelegible,readable andappealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selectingtypefaces,point sizes,line lengths,line spacing,letter spacing, andspaces between pairs of letters.[16]
Part of the reason why these misconceptions are common is that some font shops categorize their fonts as "hand-lettered", "illustrated" or "calligraphy". Said fonts can begin with a hand-lettered alphabet that is then digitized and turned into a repeatable system. This identifies them astype design rather than lettering.[1]
One particular lettering website defines the three terms as follows: Lettering is the art of drawing letters, calligraphy is the art of writing letters and is related to the idea ofpenmanship, andtypography is a repeated system of letters or the art of arranging type.[1]
Media related toLettering at Wikimedia CommonsMany textbooks on lettering or books of example alphabets were published in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Those linked below are free to read atarchive.org.
