Hand-drawn graphics mark a return to the creator's immediacy and craft. Increasingly, advertising campaigns, CD covers, and branding are adopting the rough-hewn style of manually created typography.This is the first publication to offer a complete overview of handwritten typographics, drawing on an extensive array of letterforms from around the world.

At the heart of the book are hundreds of examples, presented in creative themes: "Scrawl" (letterforms that are raw, splotchy, untidy); "Scratch" (scraped, cut, and gouged fonts); "Script" (type that is sinuous and ornate); "Simulate" (faces that have been redrawn or copied); "Shadow" (dimensional, voluminous, and monumental letterforms); "Suggestive" (forms that imply the metaphorical, surreal, and symbolic); and "Sarcastic" (the ironic, comic, and satiric in lettering).

In an age of digital typography, Handwritten returns to the values of craft.This outstanding collection of unusual, meticulously wrought, and often breathtaking pieces is a must for students and practitioners of design.

Steven Heller is art director of the New York Times Book Review and the author of many successful books on graphic design. Mirko Ilic, the New York-based graphic designer, has won numerous awards for his hand-drawn design work.


"It brings back to the world of typography the notion of unique and fastidious design." —Step Inside Design

"Shows the merit of introducing an element of hand-drawn design and reminds you of a time when you needed artists to make art . . . a really inspiring book." —Vice

ISBN 0-500-28595-0 · 9³/₄" x 9³/₄" · 500+ illustrations, most in color · 192 pages · GRAPHIC DESIGN / ADVERTISING
Hardcover edition: 0-500-51171-3

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