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10 Typographers Which You Could Research

  • laurenjadesmith
  • Oct 31, 2022
  • 6 min read

As you may already know, one of the most important factors within developing a personal project or project brief is finding inspiration, whether that is through existing brands or current artists and designers. This is because we can get inspired through specific aspects of their work and use it to influence our choices in our own work. This blog is going to be focusing on typographers. "Typography design is the art of arranging a message in a readable and aesthetically pleasing composition." This post will be interesting to see how the arrangement of text, the use of space and the text size will vary with each designer. Most designs involve type in some type of way, so it is always useful to use typographers in most briefs as inspiration towards your own work! Some designers in this list may describe themselves as another type of designer, such as an illustrator, however they are being included because I am inspired by their approach to typography.


I will give you a brief overview of who these artists are, as well as a quick summary of the visual aspects within their work. If you would like more help into HOW to analyse an artist, look back at a previous blog post digesting other artists work, such as Thomas Hedger.



1) Cameron Gibson

Cameron Gibson is a Scottish Graphic Designer currently living and working in London. Gibson is a very successful designer, working with some of the biggest sporting organisations such as FIFA, Champions League and Premier League.



Gibson commonly uses bright, vibrant colours within his work, allowing the design to appear more exciting. The image which inspires me most is the letter "J". The concept of adding different shapes in the fill of the letter makes it more unique and interesting. The lettering goes off the page with the "FCB" design, making the outcome look more artistic and natural.


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cammy.gibson/



2) Toby Triumph

Toby Triumph is an Illustrator from North Yorkshire, England currently based between North Yorkshire and London. Triumph creates "detailed hand-drawn pieces with an irreverent edge, that incorporate characters, typography and playful phrases". Triumph is a very successful designer, with his work being applied across product packaging, advertising, clothing, installations and large-scale murals.

"Outlines and blocks help him create definition within these detailed illustrations, often realised in mono or duo tone colour palettes."

Triumph uses bright, vibrant colours, alike Cameron Gibson, to help keep his audience engaged and to make the design appear more enticing and fun. The design which inspires me most is the "Look of Love", as Triumph has used the meaning on each work to influence the design. "Look" has a pair of eyes in the "o"'s counter, and a heart for the "V" in heart - creative and unique.


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobytriumph/



3) Andrew Footit

Andrew Footit is an independent designer based in London, England. Footit is a successful, well-established designer within his field, working with huge clients & agencies, such as Nike, Apple, New York Times, and Microsoft.

"My personal work has a very experimental approach using a distinct colour palette including patterns and textures."

Footit's experiments with bright, vibrant colours, typically experimenting with red, yellow, blue, pink, and green. The design which inspires me most is "HOOPS" because the range of different techniques which are being experimented with. The first "o" is what inspires me most, as like Toby Triumph, Footit has used the context of the word to influence the content of his work - inspiring and creative.




4) David Mascha

David Mascha is a visual artist and type designer based in Vienna, Austria. Mascha specialises in contemporary digital art, type design and print. Mascha's diverse body of work is often characterised with vibrant, bright colours, geometric shapes and complex abstract patterns and compositions.

"I’ve always tried to experiment with as many styles as possible. I never wanted to settle on a single style and then go through life with tunnel vision."

Using the lines as fill within his design, shown on the first and third image, add an interested illusion to the design. Masha uses these lines to add light and shadow, in turn adding a 3 dimensional look. The combination of pink and red is also quite interesting and rogue as they are such similar shades, however they compliment each other quite well.




5) Andy Smith

Andy Smith is an illustrator and typographer, studying at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, London and is currently cased in the south coast in Hastings.

"His work combines illustration and typography to create images that have humour, energy and optimism executed with a handmade, hand-printed, tactile feel."

The concept of incorporating illustration and typography adds a professional, creative atmosphere to the design. A key aspect to the success of this combination of mediums is to carefully plan out the design before you think of doing any detailed design. Planning out different possibilities of the placement of text. Smith experiments with lots vibrant colours, which seems to be a common pattern within the typographers on this list.




6) Sagmeister & Walsh

Sagmeister & Walsh is the design partnership of Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh. Together, Sagmeister & Walsh create self-initiated creative arts projects.

"Fake it till you make it. How I interpreted this early on in my career is that if someone asked me to do something I didn’t know how to do, and I wanted to do it, I’d just say yes and than figure it out later. It’s really not that difficult to accomplish any task if you use common sense, persistence, and know how to be resourceful."

Sagmeister & Walsh approach to unique is very unique and detailed. The design with the "B" is what inspires me most. The sheer detail which has been applied to the design with extremely accurate, detailed shading is extremely admirable and helps their work stand out against the other typographers on this list, such as Andrew Footit and Toby Triumph, who tend to go for a more minimalistic, simplistic approach.


Website: https://sagmeisterwalsh.com


7) Sabeena Karnik

Sabeena Karnik is a paper typographer and illustrator from Mumbai, India, specializing in paper sculpturing and 3D illustration. Karnik's work is some of the most creative and unique approaches on this list of typographers. Karnik is a very successful designer, working with huge collaborations such as Google, Porche and Colossal.

"I love working with paper and exploring its endless possibilities."

The amount of time, care and detail which has been incorporated into this design is extremely inspirational. The placement is so intricate and careful, increasing the professionalism of the design. Karnik often experiments with bright, vibrant colours, which I have noticed to be a pattern for many typographers through my research.


Behance: https://www.behance.net/sabeenu

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabeenu/?hl=en



8) Sam Parker

Sam Parker is a graphic designer, artist and illustrator from Vancouver, Canada. Parker has had 3 years of experience helping various clients with their creative problems and currently works at Visual Capitalist as an Infographic designer, whilst taking on limited freelance jobs.



Parker's approach to design is very creative and thought out, particularly with the erratic design. Parker has used the definition of erratic to influence the design placement. He has made his design seem quite irregular and unpredictable, with the different angles, the different placement and the different text font - creative and inspiring.




9) Rafael Serra

Rafael Serra is a type designer and lettering artist based in Porto, Portugal with a strong passion for craft. Serra is a well established artist, working with agencies such as Aspera Hartmann, QA Publicidade and Gen Design Studio. The work of Serras which inspires me the most is the rebranding of huge, front line brands, giving them a vintage look. His approach to Coca-Cola is shown below.



Serra's work is very vibrant due to the bright colour palette which is often used. Placing black in the background of these colours is a good tactic to exaggerate this effect. The combination of purple and green is something which I have found to be quite rare within graphic design, however it works extremely well. The placement of the lettering is clearly thought out, which is clear to see in the "sassy" design.


Website: https://www.fael.pt/work/lettering-series-lx



10) Vera Drmanovski

Vera Drmanovski is a lettering artist and designer. Drmanovski makes highly decorative lettering art and floral illustrations to create engaging and eye-catching visuals, for book, magazine & album covers, stationery & greeting cards, editorial design, packaging, murals, advertisement, branding and more.

"My work is intricate, with many details, layers and vibrant colours. I love unexpected combinations within my illustrations, like abstract patterns within floral shapes, or stripes within flourishes, and you will often see me applying this aesthetic to details in my work."

Drmanovski uses great detail and precision in her designs, particularly when it comes to type and pattern placement, allowing the design to appear more thought out and engaging. Drmanovski uses bright and bold colour palettes within her work, allowing the pieces to appear more engaging. Bright and bold colour palettes is a technique which I have noticed through research that lots of typographers tend to experiment with.


Website: https://www.veradrmanovski.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vera.drmanovski/?hl=en



The Importance of Understanding Typographical Terms.

When analysing these typographers, it is important to develop a good understanding on the different correct typographical terms. Use the image below to help you when you are analysing artists.







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