Introducing AVISTA (my first font)

I've been designing custom lettering for years. But until now, I've never converted these designs into a functional font that can be typed out with a keyboard.

Today I am thrilled to announce the release of my first font, called AVISTA!

It has a unique mix of retro, modern, and classic styles that will instantly spice up your designs. It works well on a plain background, incorporated into a logo, as a type-based t-shirt design, or layered on top of photos (my favorite method). Go here to find out more about AVISTA.

Designing a Font

Sneak peek of a new font under construction.

Details to be released soon.

Plastisol Lettering in Progress

I've been sketching up a new lettering design & cover image for a sequel to the popular Plastisol collection of cracked t-shirt ink textures for Photoshop and Illustrator.

The original design (below) is more of a hand-drawn style that doesn't abide by the normal rules of classic lettering design. Not much structure, but it does have flow. 

I want the new design for Plastisol 2 to retain the spirit of the original, but I want it to be more refined. Here's one of the sketches in the development.

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I have a new found love for using tracing paper while creating iterations of lettering designs. The image above is on the path to being more refined, but it lacks a dynamic feeling.

I decided to exaggerate the baseline of the lettering to make it more lively. There are still some proportional problems that I need to address, but here's how it is looking at the moment: 

Plastisol 2 isn't available yet, but have a look at the original Plastisol Collection here.

Learn more about making your own custom lettering design in the Typographic Logos Workshop.

Hand Drawn Lettering

I spent part of the day working up a lettering design for a t-shirt using older analog technologies: Pencil, vellum, pigment liner, and marker pen to get the design started.

The design was later refined by using a photocopier, and then ultimately brought into Photoshop. If this design is chosen, it will be in the Fall or Holiday 2017 O'Neill line.

Flow-Tech Lettering

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From the pages of Rin Tanaka's My Freedamn 2 book is one of my all time favorite examples of a vintage surf t-shirt graphic.

It doesn't abide by the normal rules of classic lettering or type design.  There's not much structure. But what it does have is lots of FLOW.

There's no mention of who the artist is. But since it's such a vintage design, it is certain that no computers or fancy design software were involved in it's creation.

Computers allow us to create art in perfect alignment and proportion. Let's not forget to take out the pencils, paper, x-acto knives, ink, and spray paint every once in a while to make sure that we keep the flow.

House Industries Lettering and Printing Workshop

I just finished up attending the House Industries Lettering & Printing Workshop in Portland. It was well worth the trek up north.

The lettering portion of the workshop was led by Ken Barber from House. Ken is a true master of his craft, and is quite good at distilling the information down into a one-day workshop.

We covered hand-lettering a roundhand script. This was not a cursive writing or calligraphy workshop where each letter is quickly drawn with a pen or brush.

Instead, Ken's technique is to show how to sketch your logotype composition with a pencil, while keeping the fundamentals of hand lettering in mind. Each person enrolled in the workshop had the project of creating their own lettering design, using just paper and pencil. Have a look at the bottom image of this post to see how mine came out.

House Lettering and Printing paper

Ken Barber in the Lettering Workshop

House Industries posters printed by David Dodde

The second day of the workshop was taught by screen printing guru, David Dodde. Like Ken, David is also a true master. He has so many great tips and techniques for screen printing on wood and paper. If you ever have the chance to participate in one of his workshops, don't hesitate to sign up.

David Dodde mixing copper dust into clear base screen printing ink

T-shirt packaging printed with the split fountain screen printing technique

Workshop participants were able to experiment with House's screens and print their own posters

Loot stash from the Lettering and Printing Workshop

My hand drawn sketch from Ken's lettering workshop