The Lettering Artist working in an advertising agency is responsible for producing the letters on headlines and logos used in ad layouts. These layouts, or “comprehensives,” as they might be called, are then submitted to the client complete with artwork for approval.
There are literally hundreds of different typefaces or fonts, styles, and sizes. The Lettering Artist works with the art director, assistant art director, and graphic, mechanical, and commercial artists developing an advertisement. Together they decide what typefaces to use in ads, what size and style should be selected, and how they should be reproduced. The individual must then be able to render or produce the type required. In some agencies the Lettering Artist works with computers, electronics, and press type in order to produce lettering. He or she will be responsible for choosing an appropriate type from the styles available.
If the individual is working with a computer, for example, he or she decides which typeface or font is the best, types the words into the machine, and prints out the results. The artist may try a number of different styles to see which looks best in the proposed ad. The Lettering Artist may also work with press-on type, which comes in sheets and is pressed onto lettering paper. This process must be handled with a great deal of care, since spacing and accuracy is extremely important in the finished product. The Lettering Artists who are most valued in the agency are those who do hand lettering. This work demands a great deal of the artist’s talent, patience, and creativity. These individuals work with varieties of ink, paint, pens, and brushes to design lettering that is original and not normally seen in ads.
Many clients prefer that the lettering in their advertisements be prepared in this manner. Their reason is simple. People often feel that ads that use creative, distinctive type styles will attract more attention than ads with ordinary, everyday type. The Lettering Artist is responsible for designing the letters used in the various parts of an advertisement. He or she works with different types of strokes using a pen, brush, or pencil until the lettering is accomplished. The individual usually has to produce the type in various sizes. This is painstaking work. Each letter must be neat and exact. The Lettering Artist will work with tools such as rulers, T-squares, triangles, and arcs to help produce the finished letters.
The individual must know how to produce individual letters as well as script or connecting letters. The Lettering Artist must design in styles including bold, italicized, and slanted. A client often has an idea in his or her mind of exactly how they want the type to look. The Lettering Artist tries to convey this image on paper. The individual is responsible for spacing not only letters but lines of type as well. The Lettering Artist must be able to produce designed type in capitals as well as lowercase letters. At times the Lettering Artist is required to produce the words for an advertisement in calligraphy. This is a style of lettering that produces a flowing, decorative type. There is no commercial type face available that compares. As in all other forms of hand lettering, calligraphy takes a great deal of patience and talent.
After approval of the type the Lettering Artist completes the process. He or she produces the final letters in ink or paint form if they are hand lettered. If the letters chosen are computer fonts, he or she types out the letters on the computer. Press type is pressed onto paper. The individual then pastes the letters and words on the advertisement in the correct place or gives the lettering to a pasteup artist. The Lettering Artist usually works normal business hours. Like all other individuals working in the advertising agency, however, he or she may have to put in overtime if a project is not finished or a deadline must be met. The Lettering Artist may be responsible to either the assistant art director or the art director of the department
Annual earnings for a Lettering Artist vary depending on the agency where he or she is working, its size, and its location. Earnings also depend on the skills and experience of the individual. Salaries may start at $24,000 for an individual who is just entering the work force or for a Lettering Artist who is basically typing out letters and words on a computer or pressing type.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Freddie Humphrey at 04122010
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