Season's Greetings!

This year Southern Poverty Law Center asked me to create an illustration for a card they send out to donors as a sign of their appreciation. SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. Consequently, these cards usually include a quote that fits with their message of justice and tolerance. I produced a purely typographic solution with this Anatole France quote, aiming to give the words the right tone and emphasis.

I've worked for the design team at SPLC on several occasions so it was a pleasure to be asked to work on this holiday card. They have, by all accounts, a very impressive donor list which (despite my efforts!) they're not allowed to disclose ...

I've also created a personal card this year, I've sent it digitally and made a donation to UN Women, the UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Lettering Talk at St Bride Library, London

I'm giving a talk about my work on the evening of 13th Nov along with Si Scott, Catherine Dixon and Sam Winston.

It'd be great to see you there if you can make it - tickets are available from the St Bride Library website and help to fund this important resource for future generations: http://stbride.org/events

Which? Magazine Cover

I was delighted to be asked to create the cover lettering for the latest issue of Which? Magazine. It features an article about energy tariffs. It was clear from a recent questionnaire that few people understand them. This illustrative piece uses different styles, weights and sizes of lettering to indicate the different answers given and the general confusion on the subject.

You can see more of my magazine work in the word>editorial folder on my online portfolio and more illustrative lettering in the image section of the site.

Websters Pen Shop

As a great lover of writing tools of all shapes and sizes, it seemed appropriate for me to be asked to work on a strapline for Websters Pen Shop. The British company is celebrating 40 years in the business and commissioned a new logo for the event.

Hand lettering was chosen over a font to express the uniqueness of the written form - something Websters promote with their impressive range of pens. The lettering was used in a one and three line format along with the designer's logo across both printed and online advertising. The loose but legible style reflects the soft flow of a fountain pen.

You can see more of my corporate and advertising work on my online portfolio.

The Testament of Jessie Lamb

This recently hand lettered title for Edinburgh publishing house, Canongate Books, works with the evocative image to give the cover an intimate, confessional feel.

To see more of my publishing work click on the word>publishing folder in my online portfolio.

Interview in New Design Magazine

I was delighted to be asked to give an interview for stylish magazine, New Design, a publication dedicated to featuring news about people, products and issues shaping the design industry here in the UK and worldwide.

To read my other online interviews click on the interview button in the blog menu on the right.

Twiggy at Marks & Spencer

I was delighted when model and singer, Twiggy wanted to use the lettering I created for her latest album for her new online clothes collection at Marks & Spencer. The lettering was inspired by Twiggy's own signature - keeping its lively character, I added a little weight and legibility to the script to make a strong and identifiable brand.

To see more branding, go to my word>corporate folder on my online portfolio.

Longleat House Lettering

I was asked to work on some lettering to promote Longleat House, an impressive example of Elizabethan architecture, set in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. Home to the 7th Marquess of Bath, the house is surrounded by 900 acres of ‘Capability Brown’ landscaped gardens and parkland.

This lettering was designed to work with the hospitality side of the business, so as well as the site, it will be seen on wedding and corporate events brochures, stationery and promotional material. It needed to reflect the elegant, historic surroundings with a contemporary flourish, so I focused on a soft italic hand, aiming to keep a fine balance between the flow of the line and the legibility of the form.

You can see more of this type of work on the corporate folder on my online portfolio.

Midsummer Night's Dream

Recently I've been working on a personal project inspired by Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

The beautiful language is an ideal subject for the word-heavy imagery, which is influenced by my love of expressive typography. My aim is to get the feel of the spoken word across by combining letter and image.

I'm about to set up a blog dedicated to my personal work - read more about it in my next post.

Green's Cake Mix Lettering

Anyone who knows me will know I'm partial to a nice bit of cake - so when this job for Green's Cake Mix lettering turned up in my inbox I was delighted to accept. The client was based in Australia but in this digital age distance makes little difference to a job, as long as you keep track of time zones.

This lettering had to be simple and bold for stand out on the shelf and I've added a touch of mixing bowl swirl and flow to the letterforms - of course it was only professional to sample a few of the cakes as inspiration ...

You can see more of my packaging work in my word>packaging folder on my website.

Ruth Rowland Interview

This month I was interviewed by my agent, Illustration Ltd. We discuss how I became interested in hand lettering, starting out in the record industry, the creative chaos of my East London studio and secret obsessions! The interview also includes a free download of the specially designed poster you can see below.

If you like to read the entire interview, they've posted it on their site here.

Hardys Nottage Hill

I was asked to work on the new logo for Hardys Nottage Hill as part of Accolade Wines' new packaging and promotion for the range.

The client wanted to re-tell the story of Thomas Nottage Hardy, their founder's nephew who worked for the family business for 66 years, having started as a boy of 15. The wine is named in honour of him and the lettering is designed to have the familiarity of a signature, to reflect this rich heritage and identity, while retaining a strong fluid line to make it stand out on the shelf.

You can see more of my packaging work in the folder on my portfolio site.