Lettering
as Art
Drop
in Five
Grade Level: High School
Introduction: Lettering is an aspect of life that most people do not think about. They see it everyday in magazines and street signs. In advertisement a designer’s sole job can be deciding which font to use. They want their advertisement to appeal to the public. Some artists make a living as calligraphers. Others incorporate lettering into their artwork.
Problem/Information: You will visit sites that deal with lettering and calligraphy. You will see lettering on buildings and signs, as art, and used in a piece of art. After viewing the sites, you will create your own artwork that incorporates lettering. You will be able to access fonts off of two different sites.
Activity:
Design a billboard for the premier of a movie with you as the star. Your name will be apart of the billboard. You will also need to come up with a title for the movie. Or you can create a comic book cover. Include a scene that incorporates lettering. Invent a unique name for the book.
Visit the following sites. Keep a look out for the most pleasing form of lettering. What appeals to you? Why does it appeal to you?
Public Lettering- you will take a walk through London. While on this walk you will see many signs and billboards. Click on only five places in London to view.
http://www.publiclettering.org.uk/
CLAS- Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society- Click on Gallery. Then enter both of the Web galleries to see how lettering and calligraphy is an art.
Art Gallery, Roy Lichtenstein- view the series of paintings, click on the pictures to enlarge them, and see how Roy Lichtenstein uses lettering in his artwork.
http://www.the-artists.org/art-education/roy-lichtenstein.html
You will need to visit the following sites that provide font types. Print out the alphabet in the font you choose.
ABC Typography- A Virtual Type Museum- you will find many fonts here.
http://abc.planet-typography.com/index.html
Fontosaurus- search for different fonts. There are so many available.