The Essence of Hand Lettering in the Design Industry

Ledy Dian Sari and Amalia Winda Prada

State University of Surabaya, Jl. Rektorat Unesa, Lidah Wetan, Kec. Lakarsantri, Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia

Keywords: Essence, Hand Lettering, Design Industry.

Abstract: In the Design Industry, there are some important elements which has an attractiveness, word is one of that.

Being designer has a wide range of competitors and that’s why to stand out it needs something different that

the product will attract the attention of the customers. Nowadays, hand lettering is commonly use in the

Design Industry. Hand lettering is the art of drawing letters when a word or phrase is being an aesthetic

artwork. Hand lettering has its own characteristic that cannot be copied by others because it’s customizable,

it can be created expressively. Otherwise people will always appreciate things that manually made. Also,

decorative of the letters can give the feeling of pleasure and impression too. Hand lettering is full of

knowledge, and talent. Moreover, hand lettering can suit the image of the brand that represents the personality

of the company. This study use qualitative methods using descriptive analysis with direct observation method

strategies, the data collection through an interview with designer and customers, observation and focus group

discussion. The result of this study is lettering give a unique characteristic design but not be the only one

factor that can increase public interest, it is also supported by design trends which always rotate in every

generation. Hand lettering is an effective way to design unique, aesthetic and for recognizable brand to build

strong brand identity.

1 INTRODUCTION

The development of communication between humans

is inseparable from writing. In 3100 BC, before the

discovery of letters, the Egyptians were pioneers who

used the language of images or called pictographs.

They use it as a communication tool for civilization

in the past. The emergence of written language shows

that there is a journey of human civilization in order

to achieve a perfect life in terms of communication.

Communication that is easily understood and has

been agreed upon by humans themselves By going

through various processes and new discoveries,

letters start from black letter, digital letters to the

emergence of the art of drawing letters or called hand-

lettering. Briefly, hand lettering is the art of drawing

letters, modifying the shape of the letters according to

creativity, without changing the basics. Apart from

the final results that can be digitized, hand lettering is

a hand-made manual work. Today, the use of hand

lettering is a trend in the world of design or industry.

Evidenced by the many products such as shirts, hats,

notebooks and other industrial material apply hand

lettering on the surface. Even, in the interior of the

cafe, there are many hand lettering that apply as the

decoration. The hand letterers have succeeded in

making clients interested in their hand lettering

works. In terms of visuals, the shapes are mixed, the

thickness of letters ranging from thin to thick, font

sizes ranging from short to high, letter-writing

patterns with appropriate compositions, good layout

proportions, are considered in the manufacturing

process to become a final hand lettering works.

The industrial revolution that took place in 1760 to

1840 in England had a strong impact on social and

economic life. The discovery of the steam engine by

James Watt in 1780 encouraged the creation of

increasingly rapid and dynamic industrial

movements. The increasing population growth of

urban society coupled with the increasing purchasing

power of the community is a source of inspiration and

stimulant in every effort to improve the quality of

technology. Graphic design plays an important role in

the marketing activities of products produced by

various factories and industries. the execution of

images or signs is transformed into more abstract

visual forms.

Sari, L. and Prada, A.

The Essence of Hand Lettering in the Design Industry.

DOI: 10.5220/0008556301550158

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 155-158

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

155

2 DISCUSSION

2.1 The Definition of Design Industry

Design generally refers to the results of study,

thought, creation and creativity, as well as execution

of problem solving related to unitary functions and

aesthetics. Innovation through design work are a

marker of an era that grows into an expression of

lifestyle, representation of social classes in society,

and take part as a solution to a variety of problems

related to efforts to improve the quality of human life.

Design is a field of skills and knowledge derived

from human experience that involves an attitude of

appreciation and in terms of environmental

adaptation on the basis of spiritual needs, meanings,

values and objectives of a man-made object. Then the

definition of Industry itself is an activity of

processing raw materials that are modified or

processed in such a way and can be mass produced by

adding certain values in the form of aesthetic values

and function values intended to increase profits.

So, the definition of Design Industry itself is a

field of skills that originates from human experience

by involving an attitude of appreciation and having a

specific goal that is manifested in a modified raw

material processing and can be mass produced in 2-

dimensional or 3-dimensional forms with aesthetic

values and function values to increase profits.

2.2 The Definition of Hand Lettering

Hand lettering is the art of drawing letters where the

shape can be customized so that it contains its own

aesthetics. Hand lettering can be incorporate in a wide

range of design , creating strong visual effects that

full of knowledge and talents. Hand lettering is

usually made using a pencil, pen brush or paint. The

kind of fonts that used in hand lettering such us serif,

sanserif, script, and decorative. Serif is one of the font

styles with small lines that stick to the end of each

stroke. serif is an approved font and is often referred

to as roman typeface. This typeface exudes traditional

and classic nuances. san serif is a font style with no

small lines attached at the end of each stroke. The

script is a font style that comes from scratches that

flow and are often created from handwriting.

decorative is a letter form that was previously

designed in a particular aesthetic so that it makes it

look deliberately decorated to look beautiful. There

are also hand letters that are digitized so that they

become a font. The application of hand lettering can

be applied in various kinds of media, ranging from

paper, wood or photographs through digital

processes. In fact, many use it as a brand logo because

it can be more adaptive to the product character of a

brand. Hand lettering have some factor that

important, is that readability, composition, and color.

Although hand lettering can be done in the form of

handwriting or digital media, in essence hand

lettering is a handwritten work.

2.3 The Essence of Hand Lettering in

The Design Industry

Essence comes from the Latin language Essentia, esse

which means 'exist'. Essence is the most important

aspect or element contained in an object. Essence can

be interpreted as a characteristic, which is the core

that must be possessed by an object.

Letters have the potential to explain the

atmosphere implied in a verbal communication

poured through visual abstraction. Basically letters

have energy that can activate eye movements. This

energy can be utilized positively if in its use it is

always considered aesthetic rules, the convenience of

its readability and the interaction of letters to space

and the visual elements around it.

The letter holds an important role in

communication. The use of custom letter styles or

hand lettering has proven to hold high points both in

the world of design to the world of industry. Viewed

from the shape, hand lettering has a distinctive

aesthetic that describes the character of the brand

owner. From the visual side, hand lettering has eye-

catching properties. The form that can be more

customized is the right alternative to show the identity

of a brand. Even in industrial products, the

application of hand lettering to mugs, lunch boxes and

bottled drinks is the main attraction for consumers.

Supported by human desires and lifestyles that

constantly increasing.

From the surveys that have been conducted, the

data obtained are as follows: Data samples were

obtained from surveys and interviews. Which do you

prefer? Hand lettering or Font Computer?

From our survey, 96% of respondents prefer hand

lettering. They assume that hand lettering has

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aesthetic value because the manufacturing process is

manual and mostly with taste so that it can express the

expression using hand lettering. Hand Lettering is

considered to have its own aesthetic side because it

uses hand so that it can bring up ideas and

characteristics from the maker. Hand lettering is also

able to create unlimited creativity so that it can

express all ideas and be created in any form and can

be easily modified. The strokes made by each person

will be different, that's what makes hand lettering not

easy to imitate so that it has its own aesthetic value.

When used in the world of Design Industry, which do

you prefer?

As many as 70% of respondents considered that hand

lettering for industry was considered capable to

displaying something new and fresh. In addition, the

visual form of hand lettering has a more natural and

varied aesthetic value. The shape can be explored as

desired, so people can decorate it freely with many

choices. The decorative of the hand lettering can give

the feeling of pleasure and impression. Meanwhile,

29.2% of respondents chose computer fonts because

they were considered more instant and minimalist

shape.

When used in graphic design, which do you prefer?

As many as 76.9% of the respondents we took from

ordinary people chose hand lettering to be used in

graphic design because hand lettering was considered

more flexible and could be applied to all media.

Although hand lettering has different characteristics

from each hand, but hand lettering is considered more

flexible to adjust the message to be conveyed through

the stroke of the hand. As many as 23.1% of

respondents who chose computer fonts considered

that computer fonts were neat and symmetrical when

applied in the graphics world. When applied in a logo,

computer fonts can be easily remembered and are

suitable for simple design principles in order to

convey messages more effectively. Visually, hand

lettering is adaptive and eye-catching. Do you agree

with the statement?

As many as 89.2% of respondents agreed that hand

lettering is adaptive because the shape can adjust to

what is desired. It’s Eye-catching, because it is seen

from a unique and varied visual form. While the rest,

assume that hand lettering is not always an option,

because it also adapts to the context. For example, in

the application of logotype agencies they prioritize

formal fonts rather than hand lettering.

3 CONCLUSION

The conclusion that can be obtained is that hand

lettering has its own aesthetic value in a design.

Everyone has different tastes in choosing letters.

Some people assume that hand lettering is eye

catching, attractive, beautiful and expressive. While

others prefer font computer because it is simple and

formal. .In the Industrial World, hand lettering has

advantages because it is more flexible and can be

applied to all media. Even though hand lettering has

different characteristics from each maker, but hand

lettering is considered flexible to adjust the message

that want to convey through the hand scratches. In

addition, hand lettering is not easy to imitate so that it

can maintain its independence. This is one of the

important factors to survive in an industry that has

many competitors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Mr. Muhammad Bayu Tejo Sampurno

for giving encouragement and motivation. And also

friends of the 16 A State University of Surabaya Fine

Arts Education who have help both directly through

discussion and advice, or indirectly in the form of

The Essence of Hand Lettering in the Design Industry

157

encouraging support. And also thanks to designers

who have been willing to give opinions through

interviews and for all the respondents who participate

the survey we did. Our paper is far from perfect. So,

suggestions and criticism from readers will be very

welcome.

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