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Dramatic Elegance Blog Design + Hand lettering

Posted on: January 23rd, 2013 by Hannah Beasley 13 Comments

Remember that mood board I posted a while ago that I said I loved for its unique style? Well, this is the finished design! And let me tell you, it was fun to work on. The idea for the design just popped into my head not long after we started talking about all of this, and it was one of those projects where I just knew what I should do. It normally doesn’t happen like that – normally I will work out my many different ideas on paper and think a lot about my options before deciding. But this time it just happened. And I loved it. Rachel was so sweet and so much fun to work with! She told me more than once how excited she was about the design, and her enthusiasm definitely fueled mine. =D I thoroughly enjoyed working with her, and am so glad we were able to come up with a design that she loves so much. Head on over, check out her blog, and leave her some love!

Dramatic Elegance blog design >>> Hannah Rose Beasley Art & Design

One thing I did on this project that I haven’t done much of is hand lettering. I’ve always been interested in calligraphy and the art of writing (you should see my fountain pen collection.), but I have to say I’m not that great at working with calligraphy nibs and dip pens. So hand lettering is perfect for me – because it’s slow, careful drawing that creates the flourishes and decorations, instead of fast + necessarily steady strokes. And I love how unique it is. Because no matter how perfect you can draw out what you’re working on, it will still have that personality that comes from doing things by hand. And I think that is very special.

For the title, Dramatic Elegance, I drew inspiration from two different typefaces, Bispo and Champignon. Both fonts are really beautiful, and I wanted to include elements from both, while still creating something that was my own. I worked out what the title would look like in my sketchbook (I can’t say how important it is to visualize what you’re going to do before you actually start doing it), and then drew it out in pencil and then ink. After cleaning it up in Photoshop it was ready for the blog!

Hand Lettering >>> Hannah Rose Beasley Art & DesignHand Lettering >>> Hannah Rose Beasley Art & DesignHand Lettering >>> Hannah Rose Beasley Art & DesignHand Lettering >>> Hannah Rose Beasley Art & Design

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13 Responses

  1. Avatar Jessica says:

    Amazing job with the lettering, Hannah. Absolutely lovely. xx

  2. Avatar Emily Grace says:

    Lovely job, Hannah!
    I’ve been experimenting with hand lettering for a couple months now. So much fun! Makes me glad that I took those Drawing and Design classes even though I didn’t enjoy them at the time. ;)

  3. Avatar Hannah says:

    Thanks, all! =D

    That’s awesome, Emily! Yeah, I bet they’re coming in very handy now! =D

  4. Avatar Natalia G says:

    Amazing! Hand Lettering is something I’m not very good at but I want to learn! How did you clean it up on Photoshop? xx

  5. Avatar Hannah says:

    Thanks Natalia!

    I scanned it into my computer, removed the white background via color select, and then erased the tiny dots of ink, etc. that were left. Then I selected the layer (ctlr+click on thumbnail image in layers panel), created a curves layer from that selection, and darkened it all. =D

  6. Avatar Jennoelle says:

    wowow. love the lettering. this is gorgeous!

  7. Avatar Jennoelle says:

    oh, quick question–where do you get your graphics, like the design you have in the title between the two words…?

  8. Avatar Hannah says:

    Thanks Jenn! =D

    I got that one off DeviantArt…and that’s where I get most of my graphics. =) I find that it’s the best place to find very clear statements by the artists about how they want their work to be used. Oh, and I also love to use http://www.vecteezy.com for my vectors. =D

  9. Avatar Emily Ruth says:

    This design is perfect! I love the personal touch that hand-lettering gives.

  10. That is so cool! How’d you get the font up on the site?

  11. Avatar Hannah says:

    Thanks! Meena, I just scanned it into my computer! =) (Although I have taken photos of my drawings and uploaded those…either one works very well) Then I of course uploaded it to my web host!

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