Doris Wai - Extraordinary Hand Lettering: Creative Lettering Ideas for Celebrations, Events, Decor & More

Copyright 2017 by Doris Wai

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Doris Wai and Jane Sheppard

Front and back cover photo credit by Janet Kwan Photography

Cover digital lettering by Doris Wai

Individual photo credits by page:

Janet Kwan Photography:

Doris Wai:

Amsis Photography:

Hardcover print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3122-6

Flexibound print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2191-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2192-0

Printed in China

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Extraordinary Hand Lettering is really a cultivation of a lifetime of all my passions combined. Illustration and lettering, DIY projects, party planning, interior design, and giving thoughtful and personal gifts, not necessarily in that order.

Along with my drive to constantly find new tools, writing equipment, and surfaces to letter on, I have created this book to share my ideas and inspirations when it comes to lettering and using it in your everyday lifestyle. Interesting fact: besides the flowers, almost every item, including the lemons, on the cover of this book can be lettered onflip to the cover to take a peek!

Within these pages, I will introduce to you the basics of hand lettering and design, the multitude of tools I use for different surfaces, simple word composition and knowing what words to emphasizeand in the process, I hope to open your mind up to countless DIY ideas. This book will teach you to use lettering in a meaningful way to create signage for the special moments in our lives, such as weddings and birthdays. You will learn to take beautiful objects, such as mirrors and vintage windows, and transform them into art with your favorite quotes or the words you live by. Extraordinary Hand Lettering will take lettering beyond paper, guiding you toward transforming thingsold can become new, new can become special. You will learn the purpose for lettering, not only for its beauty, but for function as well.

This book is really for anyone with the slightest passion for lettering, DIY, and styling celebrations. From the lettering novice to the creative calligrapher and hand lettering artist. It is for the party planning mom as much as it is for the professional event planner. It is for the friend who loves to make personal gifts and also for the interior designer creating an accent wall. Essentially, all the above really just describes me, with one common threadthe love of lettering.

My approach to this book is quite simple. Although it is a guide, think of it as a conversation between friends: I am chatting with you about what I am working on; my thoughts and ideas are coming to life as I share them with you. A majority of these projects were lettered on the actual day of the shoot; there are no smoke and mirrors or double takes, and you are seeing me letter raw and in action. Nothing fancy needed. I didnt even do my nails in some of these shoots, so I hope the ideas are so interesting that my less-than-stellar cuticles will go unnoticed!

I hope that by the end of this book you will have discovered a movement to turn lettering into a lifestyle. Transform what you have learned into a way of life and an art form with a purpose. If you aim for lettered perfection, you are missing the mark; but if you aim for meaningful messages straight from the heart that are made with your hands, your project will always be successful.

Enjoy, and happy lettering!

CHAPTER 1

LETTERING BASICS

My obsession with lettering started in grade schoolfifth grade, to be exactwhen I discovered bubble letters in a book I ordered through the Scholastic book program. That bubble font just made everything look so cheerful and cute, and in that moment, I realized that letters and type could portray a mood and style and tell a story, as if they were illustrations themselves. I vividly remember through my high school years writing yearbook comments in a typewriter font, specifically to stand out from all the other comments. It didnt matter that it took longer; I simply enjoyed the process of lettering and appreciated the joy it gave to the owner of the yearbook. Whether in letters or gifts, Ive always found myself spending a lot of time thinking about how the lettering was presented, and it was no surprise that I finally ended up at the Ontario College of Art & Design studying illustration. In the end, I discovered that what I truly enjoyed most was exploring the infinite array of type and drawing letters. But I always knew this was the case, since fifth grade!

In this chapter, I explain the simple terminology of lettering basics and how to differentiate between calligraphy, typography, and lettering.

Technical Terms & Definitions, Simply Put

Calligraphy is defined as decorative hand writing. It usually involves some form of pen, nib, brush, or ink. Calligraphy is the art of handwritingit takes lots and lots of practice and is quite unforgiving. Once the pen has been laid to the paper, theres no turning back. Mistakes mean starting over, even if you were crossing the last t or dotting the last i of a full-page masterpiece that took five hours to complete. For this reason, calligraphy can be daunting, but the flourishes and strokes are an art of their own, and the ability to execute calligraphy is an asset in all aspects of lifepenning love letters, signing important documents, and, of course, creating extraordinary hand lettering. If you already have a fascination or love affair with calligraphy, you have an advantage when it comes to creating the similar projects here. This book may open your mind to the materials you can possibly apply your calligraphy to and instruct you on what tools to use.

Typography is the art of arranging type for printing and press. There is a technique and process for selecting typefaces, which involves the style of letters or font, point sizes (the letter size), and tracking (the spacing between letters and words). Typography focuses on the style and specific arrangement of letters and numbers to create visual magic for the print and press. This art of laying out and mapping words comes with the vast options of mixing and matching various fonts and type to produce visual interest.

Hand Lettering : If calligraphy is the art of writing and typography is the art of arranging type, spacing, and composition, then hand lettering is the art of drawing letters with calligraphy skills, using typography as a guide. All the projects in this book are achieved with hand lettering. Although it may look like calligraphy, each character is drawn out thoughtfully to resemble it. Design and composition are very important in hand lettering as well, as they are in typography. The combination of these different skills produces hand lettering.