Commercial Calligraphy & Lettering Design

Over the years I’ve written a great many invitations, envelopes, place cards and other items of stationery for weddings and corporate events. Lettering styles vary from light and fun to the more formal, depending on the event. Sometimes I design the whole invitation, and at others, only add guests’ names to a typeset design.

This packaging was a limited-edition design brought out one year to coincide with Valentine’s Day. I was commissioned to work on the M and T letters of Milk Tray, but to design them so that they could also be read as a heart and a kiss. I used a round brush for the job, and the lettering appeared not only on the packaging, but also on one of the enclosed heart shaped chocolates.

The brief for this job was to produce some hand lettering which looked as if it could have been written on a chalk board in keeping with the Farmers’ Market brand. I wrote the names with a brush and ink, and the textured effect was added afterwards by the design consultants.

This image is one of a number of pages from a brochure advertising Dunhill products. The company manufactures a range of pens and this page features the four categories, with product titles written in a handwriting style that reflects the relevant tool.

Having known the author, Rosemary Sassoon, for many years, she asked me to redesign the cover of this updated version of her book published by Unicorn Publishing Group. I drew the capital letters with a pointed ruling pen to indicate the formal part of the title and used a brush for the informal lowercase letters.

 Julie Dent, the owner of The Clover Mill, a spa and retreat based on Ayurvedic principles, asked me to design the cover of her first cookery book. She wanted the title design to also read Cooking with Love by accenting the ‘love’ part of Clover. I wrote the title in a free, but structured, script, and for the cover design, used two different colours to highlight the second meaning.

This job was commissioned by the design consultants, Franks and Franks. The brief was to redraw the martlet, a heraldic bird usually depicted without feet. The creature appeared on their shield and needed updating. I employed a calligraphic line with thick and thin strokes to give more life to the image.

This job was commissioned by the design consultants, Franks and Franks. The brief was to redraw the swan for the University of Buckingham which appeared on their shield and needed updating. I employed a calligraphic line with thick and thin strokes to give more life to the image.

A company logo written for a design and marketing agency using a combination of brush and cola pen. The lettering was then painted on the fascia of their London premises by a sign writer.