MANUAL VS DIGITAL TYPOGRAPHY
GEOFF MCFETRIDGE
GEOFF MCFETRIDGE “Making things by hand, ever ything that’s left over is valuable. But ever ything you make digitally is temporar y and inconsequential. So what do you want to spend your day making, things that have consequence or things that you’ll forget you made?”
LARRY STAMMERS
LARRY STAMMERS “When I started my career in 1970, all our training involved creating type by hand. Computer aided design was non-existant, but it was natural for us to use pencils, set squares and a compass to to form lettering and graphics. As the years passed, computers gradually became a tool of the trade, creating artwork, self-adhesive lettering, then digital printing. I made a conscious decision not to go digital, and do what I know and do best - traditional signwriting with a brush and paint.
Most of my clients admire the skill and look of a hand painted sign and they love the end result. I do use a computer to design layouts and cut vinyl lettering, but I still prefer to design and paint my own style of lettering, usually casual and script.Ultimately it all comes down to job satisfaction, and I can find nothing more satisfying than when I’m cleaning the paint off my hands and admiring the sign that I have just hand painted.�
AMY HOOD
AMY HOOD “Choosing between digital or manual typography is like choosing between salty or savor y. The answer really depends on what you’re making, and often one is complemented by a dash of the other.”
LAURA EMMELY
LAURA EMMELY “Personally prefer manual type because it allows me to create something unique, something that has never been created before. i like digital type too, but has less originality and uniqueness to it�
ANNICA LYDENBERG
“Honestly it depends entirely on the project. i start all projects with sketches by hand and then i often use the computer to edit my layouts and concepts. but where i go from there depends on what the final piece will be. each tool offers it’s own benefits and drawbacks. i enjoy chalk, brush, brush pen, iPad lettering pencil, wacom tablet. but pencil and grid paper in a coffee shop is my favorite way to spend a morning.”
ANNICA LYDENBERG
LUKE RAMSEY
LUKE RAMSEY “To me, the feeling of drawing or writing straight pen to paper will never be replaced by a tablet pencil or tilt brush. However, I can have a lot of fun working with digital brushes for typography, the variety of tools is phenomenal. I am yet to tr y tilt brush in virtual reality, but am ver y open to it.�
STEPHANIE WIEHLE
“I prefer to work in both worlds analog and digital. I always start analog since that’s the quickest and most natural way for me. After defining the design i head to the computer adding colors and textures. But some of the textures I did by hand and scanned them. So I always had a crush on handmade stuff”
STEPHANIE WIEHLE
OLGA VASIK
OLGA VASIK “I prefer to use both. I always start my projects from sketching and finalize it with illustrator. I think exploring ideas with pencil and paper works better for me, and i only start vectorization process when my sketches looks almost as the final piece.�
JAMES LEWIS
JAMES LEWIS
“I work with both hand drawn and digital typography ever y day and I’ve found they work best combined. The ability to create such precise letters with digital tools is perfect for crafting typefaces, however the unique charm of hand lettering often leaves people in awe. Typography always gives added meaning to words, and each typographic style says something different.
The real skill of a type designer/ lettering artist isn’t just drawing pretty letters, but knowing which style of letters to draw to compliment and amplify a desired message or feeling.”
ADAM VICAREL
ADAM VICAREL
“I prefer manual—drawn by hand. 90% of my works starts off drawn by hand. I work with pencil for awhile, refining, erasing, redrawing, using light tables and tracing paper, and eventually land on a composition I like. I will then redraw with ink, refining small aspects as I go.
I then scan my work into the computer, vectorize in Adobe Illustrator, and then manipulate little elements and colors. Situation depending, I will then bring into Photoshop and add textures, etc.”
DAN LEE
DAN LEE “Manual design is definitely my favorite — the tactile sense of pencil on paper is my favorite feeling. That enjoyment propels me to make complex artwork with a lot more innate satisfaction throughout the process. I love digital — I use an iPad pro and apple pencil for a lot of my work — but it never truly beats the feeling of settling down with the analog tools.” -
ABED AZARYA
“i prefer manual type design. Because so many tricky things can be done by our hands not from computer. Although it’s undeniable that technology have helped in creating design still out hands could understand the brain better. I use computer only for colouring, detailing process and a stage before printing�
ABED AZARYA
ABBEY SY
ABBEY SY “I personally prefer manual typography, mostly because I do most of my drawing by hand. I use a lot of ink and watercolor for my traditional lettering work.�
LAUREN RONQUILLO
“I don’t know if I can pick a favorite between digital and manual type only because they each have their place. It’s a bit apples and oranges. What I can say is that manual type, or hand lettering, is special due to the fact that it is a true representation of the creator behind it.
There’s nothing like a good typeface, but lettering is jam packed with personality and can’t help but be almost a portrait of it’s artist. You can sort of picture the person who created it, what they may be wearing, their general vibe based off their lettering- whereas you definitely can’t do that with a typeface”
IRVAN RIDWANSYAH
IRVAN RIDWANSYAH “I’d prefer manual typography. It’s because i can feel exactly what i want to write with tools i use and it’s easy to transfer what you’re thinking in your mind to a single paper with pencil or brushpen. I love the originality and authenticity of manual typography from ever y calligrapher or letterer. It is about the process, when and how the typography was made”
JAY ROEDER “I actually use a mixture of both traditional and digital design. I recently purchased an iPad Pro and am absolutely loving it. I use an app called Procreate, and would recommend it to any aspiring artist out there. Even with the iPad, there is still a need to use a traditional means to create artwork – like a pencil and sketch pad, for certain projects.”
DANIEL PALACIOS
“As a a lettering artist, I prefer to do things manually first. This includes writing (calligraphy) and drawing letters (lettering). I generally use brush pens to create letterforms, then use tracing paper and pencil to make modifications or adjustments. With doing things manually, I’m able to control the outcome organically instead of using a predefined typeface or font that isn’t tailor made for the type of project I’m working on. That doesn’t mean I won’t occasionally use a font if the project asks for it. It just depends.”
DANIEL PALACIOS
DANIELLE EVANS
DANIELLE EVANS “I definitely prefer manual design, as evidenced in my work. I tend to liken analog to chess, digital to checkers; you can take significant risks irl, and often this means a greater risk of failure. However the options are much narrower, which allows for better decision making. I use digital practices from time to time, but I tend to feel overwhelmed by the options and rarely finish anything because I can make infinite iterations of projects
. I used to quit projects in frustration, my art boards filled with various logos or lettering projects with minute variations. I’ve improved significantly in my decision making process as my career has progressed, but I couldn’t learn to finish work digitally until I learned to step away in analog.”
MATT ERGOTS
MATT ERGOTS “Whilst I start off all projects manually using brush pens, I always digitalise my work for client usage. I actually find both phases equally rewarding for different reasons. I love the hands on approach of writing over and over and getting in touch with the craft and then I Iove the perfecting and refining of cur ves and composition during the digital stage.�
NICK MISANI
NICK MISANI “Though my work has a strong manual component, most of it is digital. Most of the typography I create starts with a sketch and then becomes vector, so in that sense, I work digitally.
I think the distinction between analog and digital is increasingly blurred, and perhaps only calligraphers and sign painters work exclusively off the computer these days.�
EKO FITRIONO
EKO FITRIONO “When designing, I always started with pencil on paper, or, a calligraphy pen on paper. And for me, the touch of the pen, ink, and paper never be changed with anything.�
SCOTT BIERSACK “ I don’t have a preferred medium when it comes to typography. I tr y to practice both equally as they’re incredibly important when learning/understanding letterforms. I personally think with this digital age ever yone wants to snag an iPad so they can draw on a screen…It’s cool and has some perks, sure, but I think there’s much more you can learn drawing with pencil and paper. Obviously if it were a typeface, working digitally is a no brainer. I think it ultimately depends on the project at hand and the end goal.”
MAGDALENA KONECNA
“I came to lettering from art, not as a designer. I have been drawing a lot since I was little and one day I realized I really liked drawing letters. That’s why pencil and a piece of paper will always be my partners in type. I like to sketch ever ything out by hand, even though I own a graphic tablet. I rather trace my letters on paper first, before i do it in Illustrator.
My most favourite tool is paint, especially aquarelle paint (or watercolour). But it’s probably because i’ve been attending art classes since i was a child. And i still paint artworks a lot as a form of meditation, even though the work that pays my bills is mostly graphic-design based.”
MAGDALENA KONECNA
THANK YOU TO ALL THE CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS