In this article, Alma Hoffmann discusses six basic variables to establish a typographic hierarchy, explains how to look at each differently, and in turn, designs pieces by intentionally modifying each variable to create a typographic hierarchy effectively.
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As an educator, Alma Hoffmann has learned that one of the most challenging aspects for an aspiring left-hand letterer is to apply everything that a right-handed person is teaching. It is almost like doing mental gymnastics. In this article, she will help you get started with the fundamentals of lettering with the left hand: the position and placement of the arm and wrist, the position of the paper, and holding the tool (brush pens). Alma will share theoretical as well as practical advice, demonstrating some points using her student Talondra Keeton, who is left-handed, to create lettering. She started back in January, and throughout the semester she has been consistently improving. Let’s get started.
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Are you a designer wanting to dive in the art of drawing letters but feel overwhelmed with the options on where to start? In this article, Alma Hoffmann shares her journey as a learner and helps you to get started by sharing tips, practical advice, how-to videos and freebies. A little spoiler alert: Practice makes progress.
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Hand lettering, calligraphy, and really anything that is graphic and handmade is in increasingly resurgence. In this article, Alma Hoffmann will discuss brush lettering, its definition, its context, and the supplies you will need to get started. This is the first part of two articles which aim to provide you with a good foundation of why lettering is more than just drawing pretty letters and explains the principles behind the practice. Alma believes that knowing why we do things is important because it helps us create a mindful practice.
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Here at Smashing Magazine, our aim is to highlight topics that inspire, challenge, and motivate us to do more and do it better. The design-related content that is published in the Design category of the magazine is dedicated to our cherished community of designers (developers and other are welcome too, of course!) who want to help each other as well as learn from each other.
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What does it mean to be a doodler, to draw pictures all day? Why do we doodle? Most of all, what does it mean to our work? It turns out that the simple act of scribbling on a page helps us think, remember and learn.
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Studying art and design usually starts with a deep exploration of elements and principles. Among these elements, the most basic ones — line, point and plane — usually figure in a work of art or design. Thus, we can abstract art and design compositions to lines, points and planes when analyzing them. Not only is this abstraction useful for understanding the structure of a composition, but it also offers new sources of layout inspiration and experimentation.
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