News

Illustrated Letters

Every now and then, someone asks me what my hobbies are or what I like to do for fun. Drawing, sketching and lettering are usually the answer I give (of course!) Here are a few letters I've created over the last couple of years. more

Adobe MAX 2020

Thank you for attending our session on Font Design and/or Brush Lettering at Adobe MAX 2020! Below you will find links to the topics we discussed and zip files of the handouts.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions: hello@LauraWorthingtonDesign.com or Debi Sementelli at: hello@DebiSementelli.com more

The Anatomy of a User Guide

A User Guide (available for preview prior to purchasing a license and included in your download) is the best way to preview everything that's included in a typeface. From OpenType features, swashes, alternates, language support, technical details and more, the User Guide dives into the complete details of what you can expect to find, along with ideas and examples of how to use various features of the fonts. more

SVC Brush Lettering

Thanks so much for attending my brush lettering workshop at SVC! Below you will find links to the topics we discussed and here's the PDF of the handouts you received. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions: hello (at) LauraWorthingtonDesign.com more

Lettering Guides

Printable lettering guides! Print these out to put underneath a sheet of paper for letter practice or projects, or use the gray line guides for lettering directly onto the paper. I've included lined sheets, grids and dot grid guides. more

Type Anatomy

Having a set vocabulary of terms makes it easier to discuss type and lettering. Otherwise, the conversation can get kinda confusing. For example, “You know, that little curly thingy that sits on the top right part of the lowercase g?” Um... what? Let's replace that with, “the ear of the g.” Much better—now we're talking! more

My Favorite Lettering Supplies

While there is no shortage of lettering supplies to experiment with, I've tried a lot of stuff out over the years and have compiled a concise list of my all time favorite lettering tools, materials and thoughts on all of it. more

Typography Resources

Links to articles and videos about: How-to, Font Management, Selecting & Pairing Type, History of Type, Classification, Anatomy, Identification, Education, Conferences, Literature, Online Resources, Who to Follow more

Type Design Resources

Links to articles and videos about: How-To, Software, OpenType, Rendering, Education, Conferences & Workshops, Meet-ups, Famous in Type, Forums, Services more

Lettering Resources

Links to articles and videos about: How-To, Professionals, Software, Supplies, Education, Workshops, Conferences, Literature, Videos & Interviews more

Type Tester

Our New Tool Lets You Dig Deep

The Type Tester makes it easy to see and experiment with what’s included in the font AND it's also a valuable tool as well; once you’ve purchased and installed a Laura Worthington font, you can style your text in the Type Tester, then copy and paste the text into your document! more

Elaina

Elaina is a tidy, precisely penned script face — perhaps closest of all of Laura’s faces to her own handwriting. In its standard form, with its sober x-height and restrained ascenders and descenders, it’s a pleasure to read at smaller display sizes and in short blocks of text. more

Accessing swashes, alternates, ornaments and special characters

This is the question I get asked the most — how do I find the swashes in the fonts shown in the promotional images? Some of my fonts, particularly script fonts, may offer dozens of versions of the same letter, such as the letter y, but there's only one letter y on your keyboard... so where are these super fancy swashy letters located and how do you get them into your design? Here are some answers for you! more

How to Use Frames

Frames are a sets of highly customizable elements offering a multitude of approaches to creating frames of any width, height, and style. Frames can be created with simple keystrokes can be created with simple keystrokes or through direct selection from the Type Tester, a glyphs palette or a utility (more info). Use them for corner elements, borders, or to make an actual frame. Frames are available in the Adorn Collection, Adorn Smooth Collection, Boucherie and Charcuterie. more

Kevin McMahon

Art is a uniquely powerful platform. With art, we can express ourselves, exchange ideas, and even explore new worlds. Art can also help us to influence change. Kevin McMahon is a customer of mine who has utilized his design talents to educate others and lend a hand to those in need. more

Karen Hutchins

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I love getting to know my customers. It’s always fascinating to learn about other people’s passions and creative endeavors. Once in awhile, a customer and I really hit it off and end up becoming friends. Such is the case with Karen Hutchins. more

Julia Royal

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As a small business owner, customer satisfaction and word of mouth are essential. Recently, one of my biggest fans, Cam Wilde, shared my work with classmate and friend Julia Royal, a fellow designer and typophile. Julia has since created some amazing pieces using Samantha Pro, Fairwater, Boucherie and Al Fresco! more

Handmade Certificate Design

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Founded in 2010, the Society of Typographic Aficionados’ Catalyst Award is given to a person 25 years of age or younger who “demonstrates significant achievement and future promise in the field of typography.” more

Interview with Font Bundles

This Q&A answers some of my most frequently asked questions. I reveal the origin of my interest in fonts, the challenges of font creation, how long it takes to create a font, the creative uses of my fonts, PUA encoding and its importance, and advice for font designers. Want to know how I spend my spare time? Then, read on! more

Adobe TypeKit

Adobe recently introduced a selection of Laura Worthington's display fonts into their Adobe Typekit Library. Read the blog post by Ariadne Remoundakis, Foundry Relations Manager at Adobe Typekit, to learn more! more

Besotted: All About Calligraphy Pt.1

Besotted offers a wealth of creative resources and inspiration on their website including interviews with designers like myself. In part one of this interview, I reveal why I became interested in lettering, my favorite supplies, and my inspirations. more

The Power of Words

I realized in high school drama class, how powerful language really is and how powerful what we say is to others. I taught a Brush Lettering course series for Creative Live; this article includes my video explaining and demonstrating the expressiveness of brush lettering. more

Typeface and Graphic Design

Creating typography with expression and flavor is a fun challenge. I’ve designed a range of typefaces in my career, from the delicate to the rugged. I craft original, lovingly handmade letters which form the base of my typeface designs.My fonts Beloved and Spumante are featured in this article.more

Shameless Hussy

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Spring is such a lovely time of year, especially where I live in the Pacific Northwest. After short days, lots of rain and sometimes snow, the spring weather is more than welcome. It means longer days, less rain, more sun and spring time wines! During the winter, I like a big, bold glass of wine like a cabernet sauvignon or a petit verdot that pairs well with stews or soups. But just about this time every year, I can’t wait to break open the whites or roses! more

Mary Flynn

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Mary Flynn first found my fonts on Creative Market. She purchased Al Fresco and Samantha Upright Pro and used them in beautiful hand painted (no vinyl) signs on reclaimed wood, barn board and other wood. She lives in Barrie, Ontario Canada (an hour north of Toronto) and is a retired elementary school teacher. She was a classroom and technology teacher and says she retired while she still had her sanity! more

Unique Gift Ideas for Font Lovers!

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It’s one thing to design a font to be used on 2-D creative pieces like posters, banners, headlines and other artwork, it’s totally different to see it come to life on physical products like necklaces, balloons and handkerchiefs. more

Democratizing Fonts with PUA Encoding

Who buys fonts and why? In this lively discussion, Thomas Jockin and I discuss how the casual user audience has affected the font industry. Die-cutting machines, marketplaces like Etsy, and the wedding industry all contribute to the growing interest in custom fonts. Educating casual users on Private Use Area (PUA) encoding and OpenType also allows casual users to use advanced features that were previously only available in professional level software. more

Sumer Ramsey

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I have great customers! So many of you have created amazing things using my fonts, so amazing in fact that I wanted to share some of those with you.  more

The Future of Type

I received an invitation from The Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) along with panelists Jessica Hische, Ellen Lupton, Nick Sherman, to come together for a webcast discussing the latest issues in the world of type. This article reveals the the top ten insights for “The Future of Type.” more

Adventures in Italy and Germany!

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June was a busy month! I had the opportunity to speak at several different events, all so great that I just had to share my experiences with you! The first started at the beginning of the month in Faenza, Italy, home for some of the world’s best Sangiovese, at the Kerning Conference! This was the third year of the Kerning Conference and it’s the first international conference in Italy dedicated solely to typography and web typography. more

New Faces in American Type Design

There has been a resurgence of interest in type design and in this article four type designers are featured: Jackson Cavanaugh, Tal Leming, Jesse Ragan and Laura Worthington. Tal Leming is especially interested in smart fonts and web design. Jackson Cavanaugh has won multiple awards and is working on a reimaging of Gill Sans Kayo. Laura Worthington specializes in script fonts and is working on a new typeface based on pointed brush lettering. Jesse Ragan is both a letterer and typeface designer who has finished his first script typeface. more

One Minute With Laura

I discuss my love of calligraphy and penmanship, the differences between typeface design and lettering, why working independently is the right fit for me, and more. Discover my secret fascination with landscape design. Who new? more

Hand to Type

My work has been featured in this fabulous new book about lettering and type design titled Hand to Type. The book also includes a series of chapters outlining principles of script forms and traces script fonts back to some of the earliest examples. more

Typography Tips

This article investigates the process of creating excellent type. From proportion to control letters, inspiration to design, and software to font weights, Bruno Maag, Gumundur Ifarsson, Peter Bil’ak, and Laura Worthington give their insights on font design. more