I’ve been a bit slack in following up on my designer love series so I figured I better get back into it. I was prompted to write about this designer from the buzz over the last few weeks about her latest project. I’m of course talking about the wonderful lettering work of Jessica Hische.
I don’t think there are many people in the industry who don’t know about Jessica Hische. I argue that she’s probably one of the first people most designers, especially typography nerds, discover and get inspired by.
Hische discovered her passion for design during her Sophomore year at art college, where “design was satisfying in a completely different way than fine art—everything was like a puzzle you had to solve and it wasn’t (for the most part) self-expressionistic” (Source). Her first lettering projects were a consequence of being a broke student unable to afford good typefaces (we’ve all been there). This resulted in her creating her own, putting together creative and unique type imagery.
Hische is now most known for her colourful and decorative lettering as well as her many, many side projects incorporating these elements. Her Daily Drop Cap series was where I was first introduced to her work during my uni years.
Since then she’s worked on designs for book covers, invitations, editorials and even shoe patterns. Her latest project, and probably her most loved creation so far, are her online wedding invitations. The web page tell the wonderful story of her years with her now fiance through a timeline of small whimsical events accompanied by illustrations made by friends and of course, some lovely interwoven lettering.
Her work has been slowly growing on me over the years as I had a go at creating my own small type pieces for my birthday cards. Her use of colour and intricate details along with illustrative elements are just lovely to admire. I like how she uses environmental features in her work to create or accompany the lettering like the examples below. I also just love all the work posted on her sketch and doodle tumblr blogs.
Check out more of Jessica Hische’s work on her portfolio or follow her on twitter at @jessicahische
