Lettering vs Calligraphy

December 13, 2012 5:59 AM

Lettering vs Calligraphy: an epic battle you decide.

Lettering vs Calligraphy is a project by Giuseppe Salerno and Martina Flor. It consists of a visual dialogue between a letterer and a calligrapher,
where they draw/write a letter responding to a keyword given by a moderator. The adventure aims to explore the capabilities of the two technical approaches.
It delivers one letter daily and takes place online, where the visitors are invited to vote for their favourite.

posted by Sailormom (12 comments total)

Wait, what is the difference between lettering and calligraphy?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 6:10 AM on December 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Drawing versus writing, with a blurry line between, basically.

The lettered "Roman L" is getting a lot more votes than it ought...
posted by rahnefan at 6:46 AM on December 13, 2012

Not to dis the lettered L - but the circles evoke DaVinci or Dürer, but with a modern typeface for the numbers, whereas the written L just is what it is with almost no props (marbled background).
posted by rahnefan at 6:52 AM on December 13, 2012

Are we supposed to simply pick the one we find most attractive? Or pick the one we feel is the best solution to the title above the examples?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:08 AM on December 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh. I think "Letterer" and I think Tom Frame, Todd Klein et al...
posted by Artw at 7:09 AM on December 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I went and voted without knowing what the difference was between lettering and calligraphy, and first I thought it was one thing (font design vs. hand-executing fonts), and then I thought it was another thing (digital vs. ink), and then I thought it was a third thing (illustrated, gussied up letters vs just letters), and then I read Foci for Analysis's links and now I think maybe I'm still wrong. But I might not be, either.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:36 AM on December 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Thorzdad I think they want the latter but I think most voters just went with the one they like most.
posted by rahnefan at 7:37 AM on December 13, 2012

One big difference is that with most of lettering, revision is quick and easy; but with calligraphy, you either get it right the first time or you have to start over. Depending on the medium used for the lettering, which seems mostly digital here.
posted by rahnefan at 7:40 AM on December 13, 2012

I think it's unfair that they get to use different color backgrounds. One "x", for example, should have the same color background as the other "X."

Adding color to the letter itself seems acceptable, but again, I think the basic elements should be the same in order to let the shape of the forms stand out.
posted by redsparkler at 9:13 AM on December 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am a big fan of Jessica Hische's lettering, but chalk will always be the best medium for lettering hands down!
posted by xicana63 at 11:21 AM on December 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm just getting a blank Wordpress template with "Hello world" This is not the debate I was looking for!
posted by acetonic at 4:00 PM on December 13, 2012

My mother was a calligrapher so I lean toward favoring that. But the high quality of calligraphy comes out better when words and sentences are presented as opposed to just one letter. The reason is because the relation of one letter to another is an important part of the design.

I suppose you could say that about lettering too. Let's just say I like to see more than one letter.
posted by Rashomon at 5:03 PM on December 13, 2012