Typography Inspiration: Calligraphic Masterpieces

Calligraphy is an ancient skill, whose origin is difficult to date. It spans across a wide range of cultures and continents, and can be seen to this day all across the globe. Some track calligraphy back to the inception of the Latin alphabet in 600bc, although other notable examples can be seen through history. In the world of design, calligraphy is seen as a medium of many contradictions. On the one hand it has an archaic, dated reputation. On the other, it is still widely used in modern design projects, as has withstood design evolutions, transposing well to digital mediums. We can see calligraphy across thousands of typefaces, logos, website headings and countless other examples. Steve Jobs even based the wonderful typography on the Mac OS on his calligraphy classes taken at college level. Calligraphy is quite clearly not dead, but like all worthwhile design, ever changing, and ever valuable. Today we have a wide range of calligraphic designs to inspire you. These show the diversity of the medium, as well as the breadth of uses available. I encourage you to try incorporating calligraphy into your future design work, it can bring some stunning results. Please enjoy the following artist's and go and explore their portfolios, which have plenty more inspiring work!

The Calligraphic Masterpieces

Calligraphy by Alexis Persani

Alexis Persani is a wonderful digital artist with some truly inspiring calligraphic work. Many of his calligraphy pieces take an original inked design and turn it into a digital work of art. He will often color his calligraphic designs in Photoshop, applying additional lighting and texture effects. This gives his calligraphy a modern edge, with added depth and intrigue. It's really fascinating to notice the fusion of traditional and urban visual styles.

Calligraphy by Jackson Alves

Jackson Alves has an impressive calligraphy portfolio. His calligraphy ranges from daily practices, to commission work, to his own typefaces/fonts. His calligraphy has a traditional feel to it, often portraying a very archaic motif. It's interesting to see how this classic style is applied to his various projects, as he constructs an elegant, traditional mood. We see again a fusion of mediums, as the traditional calligraphic style is somewhat modernized in it's transition to custom typeface and digital logo.

Calligraphy by Ivan Lyashenko

Ivan Lyashenko has a wonderful sense of the mood and detail behind his calligraphic works. He typically will produce the work in it's most basic form (monotone) and then turn each design into it's own work of art. He will apply backgrounds, colors, texturing, lighting and extra details to turn a regular piece of calligraphy into a true masterpiece. He is able to produce some very realistic surface textures that bring his calligraphy to life.

Calligraphy by Boglárka Nádi

Boglárka Nádi has produced a very unique project that produces calligraphic depictions of poems. This is a really creative way to bring the words to life. The playful, colorful lettering is visually fun and light hearted. The arrangement of type is really inspiring and weaves together to create a stand-alone structure. The variety of hues, shades and lighting in each design gives depth and richness to the lettering.

Calligraphy by Mauro Melis

Mauro Melis demonstrates how to design calligraphic works for commercial purposes. His portfolio displays a wide range of calligraphic designs that are used for logos, titles, brochures and headings, within a range of commercial outlets. His work demonstrates how superb calligraphy can give a truly unique visual to a wider design, avoiding the genericness that comes through using standard fonts and typefaces.

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