# Lettering
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{{Short description|Art of drawing letters}}
{{for2|lettering in comic books|Letterer|the American sports related term|Letterman (sports)}}
thumb|Custom lettering on the spine of a 1960s book
'''Lettering''' or '''handlettering''' is a term for artfully drawing letters, instead of [writing](/source/writing) them simply. Each letter is created with attention to detail and has a unique role within a [composition](/source/Composition_(visual_arts)).[{{Cite web |title=Hand-lettering, Calligraphy, Typography: What's the Difference? |url=https://www.handletteringforbeginners.com/blog/lettering-calligraphy-typography |access-date=29 Feb 2020 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427234401/https://www.handletteringforbeginners.com/blog/lettering-calligraphy-typography |url-status=dead }}] Lettering is created as an image, with letters that are meant to be used in a unique configuration. Lettering words do not always translate into alphabets that can later be used in a [typeface](/source/typeface), since they are created with a specific word in mind.[{{Cite web |title=FAQ |url=http://jessicahische.is/aseriousoversharer |access-date=29 February 2020 |website=Jessica Hische}},]
==Examples of application==
[[File:Sir Harry Johnston memorial plaque.JPG|thumb|A [memorial plaque](/source/memorial_plaque) by [Eric Gill](/source/Eric_Gill)|alt=A stone memorial tablet with deeply engraved lettering]]
Lettering includes unadorned lettering used for purposes such as [blueprint](/source/blueprint)s and [comic books](/source/Letterer), as well as decorative lettering such as [sign painting](/source/sign_painting) and custom graphics, [poster](/source/poster)s, for a [letterhead](/source/letterhead) or business [wordmark](/source/wordmark), [lettering in stone](/source/Letter_cutting), lettering for advertisements, [fileteado](/source/fileteado), [graffiti](/source/graffiti),[{{Cite book |last=Callingham |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/signwritingglass00call |title=Sign Writing and Glass Embossing |date=1871}}] or on chalkboards.[{{Cite book |last=Foster |first=Walter |title=Creative Lettering and Beyond |publisher=Quarto Publishing Group USA |year=2014}}]
Lettering may be drawn, incised, applied using [stencil](/source/stencil)s,[{{Cite web |last=Pool |first=Albert-Jan |author-link=Albert-Jan Pool |title=FF DIN: Digital Block Letters |url=https://www.fontfont.com/staticcontent/downloads/FF_DIN_Round_Digital_Block_Letters.pdf?1308319796 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330135712/https://www.fontfont.com/staticcontent/downloads/FF_DIN_Round_Digital_Block_Letters.pdf?1308319796 |archive-date=30 March 2017 |access-date=14 December 2016 |website=FontShop}}][{{Cite web |last=Mosley |first=James |author-link=James Mosley |title=Lettres à jour: public stencil lettering in France |url=http://typefoundry.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/lettres-jour-public-stencil-lettering.html |access-date=12 December 2015 |website=Type Foundry (blog)}}][{{cite web |last1=MacMillan |first1=David |title=Why No "Type Designers" Here? |url=https://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/press/typemaking/history/no-type-designers/index.html |website=Circuitous Root |access-date=2 July 2022}}] or using computer software. Lettering that was not created using computers is commonly referred to as hand-lettering.[{{cite web |url=http://www.traditionalmasonry.co.uk/TraditionalCraftSkills/LetterCuttingAndCarving.aspx |title=Letter Cutting and Carving |publisher=LTM Group Ltd |location=Scotland}}]
right|thumb|Brush lettering practice by artist Emmanuel Sevilla
In the past, almost all decorative lettering other than that on paper was created as custom or hand-painted lettering. The use of fonts in place of lettering has increased due to new printing methods, [phototypesetting](/source/phototypesetting), and [digital typesetting](/source/Typesetting), which allow fonts to be printed at any desired size.[{{Cite web |last=Simonson |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Simonson |title=Not a font |url=http://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/not-a-font |access-date=14 December 2016 |website=Mark Simonson Studio (blog)|date=8 February 2009 }}][{{Cite web |last=Coles |first=Stephen |title=Lettering is not type |url=https://fontbureau.typenetwork.com/news/article/clear-definitions |website=Type Network |access-date=2019-07-25 |archive-date=2021-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427234402/https://fontbureau.typenetwork.com/news/article/clear-definitions |url-status=dead }}][{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Alastair |title=The Misery of Edwin Drood |url=http://www.booktryst.com/2012/10/the-misery-of-edwin-drood-bad.html |access-date=14 December 2016 |website=Booktryst}}][{{Cite web |last=Shinn |first=Nick |title=The Golden Age of Hand Lettering in American Advertising |url=http://typeculture.com/academic-resource/articles-essays/the-golden-age-of-hand-lettering-in-american-advertising/ |access-date=1 April 2017 |website=Type Culture}}]
== Related artforms ==
{{blockquote| Calligraphy is based on ''[penmanship](/source/penmanship)''; it’s essentially "writing letters." Lettering, on the other hand, is based on ''[draftsmanship](/source/Drafter)'', i.e. "drawing letters." |source=Joseph Alessio[{{Cite magazine |last=Joseph Alessio |date=January 17, 2013 |title=Understanding The Difference Between Type And Lettering |url=https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/01/understanding-difference-between-type-and-lettering/ |magazine=Smashing Magazine |access-date=8 May 2021}}]}}
Lettering can be confused with similar terms, such as [calligraphy](/source/calligraphy) or [typography](/source/typography).
Calligraphy is known as a more rigid process, that requires learning the formal shapes of letters and often combining thick downstrokes with thin upstrokes. This style of writing is generally created with [dip pen](/source/dip_pen)s and inks. Some calligraphers and hand-letterers say that calligraphy created with [brush pens](/source/Fudepen) becomes lettering or faux-calligraphy,[{{Cite web |title=The Difference Between Hand Lettering, Calligraphy and Typography (+ Why It Truly Matters) |url=https://letterlanedesignstudio.com/blog/2016/3/22/the-difference-between-hand-lettering-calligraphy-and-typography |access-date=29 February 2020 |website=Letter Lane Design Studio|date=22 March 2016 }},] but others believe that the approach used to create the letters is more important than the tools used to do so.[{{Cite web |title=What is the Difference Between Hand Lettering and Calligraphy |url=https://www.lettering-daily.com/difference-between-hand-lettering-and-calligraphy/ |access-date=29 February 2020 |website=Lettering Daily|date=3 October 2018 }},]
Typography is the art and technique of [arranging type](/source/Typesetting) to make [written language](/source/written_language) [legible](/source/legibility), [readable](/source/readability) and [appealing](/source/beauty) when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting [typeface](/source/typeface)s, [point sizes](/source/Point_(typography)), [line length](/source/line_length)s, [line spacing](/source/line_spacing), [letter spacing](/source/letter_spacing), and [spaces between pairs of letters](/source/Kerning).[{{Cite book | author-link = Robert Bringhurst| last = Bringhurst | first = Robert | year = 2004 | title = The Elements of Typographic Style | edition = 3rd | place = Point Roberts, WA | publisher = Hartley & Marks | isbn = 978-0-88179-133-4| title-link = The Elements of Typographic Style |p=32}} ]
Part of the reason why these misconceptions are common is that some font shops categorize their fonts as "hand-lettered", "illustrated" or "calligraphy". Said fonts can begin with a hand-lettered alphabet that is then digitized and turned into a repeatable system. This identifies them as [type design](/source/type_design) rather than lettering.