Expressive lettering quotation by Iskra Design
Working in the studio today on a project my hand started getting tighter and tighter, so I took a break to remember where the life energy in calligraphy comes from.
A little post script: just in case you were wondering, the word “free” here does not refer to “free fonts.” I create bespoke typefaces for clients, but this is one-of-a-kind free form lettering, and is not a font.
Watercolor,unique lettering and collage © Iskra Johnson
Our meme-maker in chief has ensured that this little word duo remains current. From an abstract design perspective, it is always helpful when words are the same length and lock up with an interesting positive-negative charge. By flipping a few backwards it added even more interest. Watercolor, hand lettering and collage.
If like me you have been reading and watching news obsessively for far too many months, you may want to go rogue for a minute and just think about pleasure. Cake, for instance. Maybe you are planning your wedding, or someone else’s. Maybe all you want to think about is frosting, and satin kitten heels, and how many bubbles you can fit in a champagne flute before it just becomes air. Maybe you want to feel giddy and strew ribbons around the room and you don’t want anybody telling you otherwise.
I stumbled upon this wonderful quote by Nigella Lawson and it made me unreasonably happy. Experimenting here with new styles of calligraphy and hand lettering and lots of color. Yum.
Pleasure the British way, dapper and a bit buttoned down.
Or maybe better in French? Luxurious. Plush. Of course if you are going to obsess about cake, that leads inevitably to champagne, and going a little bit crazy with pink.
There are so many ways to work with color in custom lettering design. Each color twist gives a different feeling to the words, elegant, playful, a cheap date or something luxe. It’s all in the subtle detail.
More new work in the pipeline, coming soon! To see the latest you can always follow me on Instagram, or Facebook. Drop me a note if you have a project in mind.
A recent illustration and calligraphy project for the Washington Post. I was given a general direction and a list of images to work with, some of which were more workable in my watercolor style than others. The gummy bear, rubber spoon, and trivet were a little bit tricky. Here is the evolution of the process.
To see more watercolor calligraphy and illustration take a look at my expressive watercolor calligraphy and lettering portfolios.
The beauty of calligraphy in logo design is that it is alive and created by hand. Unlike a font each letter can be customized in an organic way. Here are some samples from my portfolio recently posted on Workbook. Each one shows a different way of combining letterforms and symbols. Sometimes a design works best through contrast, as with the rough brush icon of the globe with the sans serif typography laid over it. In the case of the Publix Premium logo above, an illustrative element in the same style as the lettering creates a look of high end elegance and harmony that can be used across multiple products within the store.
See more of my work mixing symbols and letter forms in my Illustrations and Icons portfolios.
Designer, calligrapher, lettering artist. Read more 