Good News! I was notified last week that Quote#2 was selected to be published in the first Good Type Book. Good Type posts such amazing lettering work daily. This is an honor to be included especially since the Art4Heart Project is my first true foray into hand lettering. (Doodles created during meetings do not count.) I’m humbled.
lettering
Quote#1: Printing
in-progress, Printing
Yesterday marked the start of the final phase of the Art4Heart Project…printing. Above are some process shots. I’m pleased with how everything came out. (This is the first time I printed a two-color design from separate plates.) I will take better photos of the final printed pieces once they are all dry. All proceeds from the sale of Art4Heart Project prints will go to Mom’s House of Phoenixville. Check back in May for details on purchasing.
Quote#5: Color Options
color, letteringGood news. I have finished designing the fifth and final installment for the Art4Heart Project. Yesterday I ordered printing plates for Quote#1 and will begin letterpress printing next week. Exciting!
Today, I’m posting the color explorations for Quote#5. Color breaks will remain the same…just playing with color. I want to overprint my inks but also want to use metallic gold. This can be a problem since metallics are opaque. That is why I have paired it with grey and slate blue. Those color each have some transparency unlike solid black. Below are the options. Feel free to tell me which one you prefer.
Slate Blue & Gold
Blue & Red
Grey & Gold
Quote#5: WIP – Color Breaks & Overprinting
color, in-progress, lettering
The design of quote#5 has an athletic, sports emblem feel that works well contextually. I enjoy exploring lettering styles and this solution is much more masculine than my last design. I chose to stylistically transform the “challenge” and “change” to reinforce the concept visually.
Above is a snapshot of my progress. I have finished redrawing the letterforms in Adobe Illustrator and now am evaluating how I can apply color and utilize overprinting as a technique to add more dimension to the design. I also need to make some decisions on how I want to handle the front banner. Do I keep it in outline or add a fill of color? A solid color could be nice, especially since letterpress printing large areas of color tends to be imperfect and distressed. Do I want it distressed? What about printing it black and metallic gold? I’m not sure, but I will update soon.
Quote#5: Challenge & Change
in-progress, lettering, sketches“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” —Fred DeVito
Today was full of “challenges” and “changes” as I began to develop the style of the key words from one of yesterdays thumbnail concepts. I believe I have a good framework for layering and expansion.
Quote#4: Final Colors…I think
color, in-progress, letteringAfter taking a few days off, I came back to review my colors options for quote #4. Although I handpicked the colors presented, I began to think about the valuable feedback I received. I favored the analogous colors of the pink/purple combo because the pink really popped off the page. Yet, I had concerns because the pink/purple and coral/blue combos felt a bit girly. The blue/green combination was the most gender neutral, however it lacked the excitement of the pink/purple one since both both colors were fairly equal in intensity. So alas, I combined the richness of the purple and the intensity of the cyan for (hopefully) one final color exploration.
Quote #4: Color Exploration
color, letteringWith the design for quote #4 complete, today I moved on to exploring the application of color. My color palettes take cues from wrapping paper. I wanted the colors to represent celebrations…not specific holidays. Below are some of my favorite color options. Which do you prefer?
Option 1 – pink & purple
Option 2 – coral & blue
Option 3 – blue & green
Quote#4: Vectorizing Work In Progress
in-progress, lettering
Above is a comparison of original thumbnail to in-progress vectorizing. The design to coming together well. I am continuing to develop the style of lettering for “children.” I’m just not satisfied yet, however I’m loving the girly whimsy of the flourishes and playfulness of the details in “presents.”
Quote #4: Fleshing out the composition
in-progress, lettering, sketchesYour children need your presence more than your presents. — Jesse Jackson
I have been drawing a variety of lettering styles for the words, “presence” and “presents.” With a clearer direction in mind, I worked on developing thumbnails sketches of the composition for this next poster. I needed to create emphasis and unity with the text. I also wanted to add flourishes that added to the message’s meaning. I like how the border and ornamentation create a wrapped gift and that the bow on top forms a heart.
[Note: When lettering more than one word, you need to make certain that the words flow easily and read as a cohesive thought. I feel like this is the biggest challenge of lettering quotes instead of single words.]
Quote #3: Colors…decisions, decisions
in-progressThis past week I have been plugging away at the lettering and composition of quote #3 that I completely forgot to post in-progress photos…next time. Since the lettering and design of this was inspired by 1950s advertising, I wanted to pay homage with the color selection. I really love chartreuse, coral and teal, but I need to narrow the palette to reduce the cost (and complexity) when letterpress printing. Below are three color options. I would love to hear what your favorite is.
option 1
option 2
option 3
art4heart project 