In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector

by Jessica Hische, Louise Fili (Contributor)

This show-all romp through design-world darling Jessica Hische's sketchbook reveals the creative and technical process behind making award-winning hand lettering. See everything, from Hische's rough sketches to her polished finals for major clients such as Wes Anderson, NPR, and Starbucks. The result is a well of inspiration and brass tacks information for designers who want to sketch distinctive letterforms and hone their skills. With more than 250 images and metallic silver ink printed throughout to represent her penciled sketches, this highly visual book is an essential—and entirely enjoyable—resource for those who practice or simply appreciate the art of hand lettering.

Genres: Design, Art, Nonfiction, Art Design, Creative, Reference, Drawing

176 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Anna Petruk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Hische is the genius behind the design of many beloved book covers - the whole Barnes and Noble's Leatherbound Classics series (for example, see The Picture of Dorian Gray, Frankenstein); Penguin Drop Caps (for example, see The Shadow of the Wind), etc.

In Progress was an amazing, beautiful, interesting and very helpful book. I am simply in love with it! <3

It starts out with some basic info about calligraphy/lettering/types - tools, terminology, etc. So any person who is new to the topic will have no trouble following the book along moving forward. It is a brief but well-done and easy to understand introduction.



Then Jessica Hische invites us for a behind-the-scenes look at her work process - from brainstorming ideas to sketching to polishing the final piece in vector form. What I liked the most about this section of the book was the fact that she's very honest and open about the process. She lists the specific tools and techniques she uses, shows the stages of her work the way they actually look, and is vocal about the challenges that happen on each stage. This is not a polished version for onlookers - this is the real deal.



After that, we get to see a section on all the different types of work projects she does. Book covers, posters, logos, redesigns, postcards etc. There are plenty of pretty, colorful illustrations. She gives some background info about the projects, talks about how these types of projects are different (say, how designing book covers differs from designing posters), how it affects her work process.



The quality of paper, print, and illustrations is top-notch.

I loved the structure and the writing as well as the contents. Hische tells her story in such a friendly, open and honest way, you instantly feel like you're buddies. She talks about how she chose her education, how her career began and how she organizes her work and life now. So it even has a bit of a memoir component going on, some personal and vulnerable stories about the confused years of a beginner artist. It's very appropriate though.

Most of all it is a story of a person who is in love with her work, works hard and credits people who help and/or work alongside. It's a joy to read.

So I loved the book and I loved the author. This book is a beautiful thing to have and a great inspiration.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved getting to know the designer Jessica Hische in her book in progress. It was great to hear her story, see her creative process, and hear her talk about the finished piece. It was interesting getting to see how she solves visual equations with design thinking. I couldn’t stop turning the pages... plenty of words and beautiful designs to devour.

Great read for any designer looking for inspiration or thoughts on how to grow as a designer.

I love Jessica’s work ethics. She is living proof that in order to succeed in the design business, you have to be willing to work.

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Разкошна книга не само визуално, но и споделеното в нея. :)

Авторката минава през процеса си на работа и има много опростен урок как да създаваш векторни букви. Има и много проекти, които споделя със самия процес на работа. Абе, като някоя книга ти хареса е трудно да опишеш какво ти харесва, защото всичко ти е на сърце.

Ако обичате буквите и искате да се развивате в тази посока - книгата е чудесна. Надъхва те, дава ти да надникнеш зад кулисите, споделя хитрини и трикове за своеобразни неща и въобще какво ли не. Даже и помага да се ориентираш какъв тип креативни проекти биха те вълнували теб самия, но най-готиното от цялата книга беше в началото като по най-леснодостъпния за разбиране начин обяснява разликата между calligrapher, letterer and type designer. Това беше "Аха!" момент. :Р

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of tips and fantastic examples. Excellent resource.

[Tracy Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica's process is amazing and I love looking at her work!

[Eline · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5/5 - Let me start off by telling you that the design for this book is on point! I really love the use of spot-UV and and the metallic graphite colour on the cover. The graphite colour is also used throughout the book, in all of Jessica's sketches in the book and it feels like you're really looking at pencil sketches. The design of the book is very consistent and the lay-out makes it very easy to read and to process all the information without feeling overwhelmed.

As for the actual writing and information in the book: I loved it. The writing is informative and you feel like Jessica Hische is sitting next to you explaining her proces making little quips here and there. In the first part of the book Hische talks about her favourite tools and her lettering process. This was definitely the most informative part of the book and I felt like Hische was very honest, not omitting any steps. In the second part of the book we get to see a lot of different projects Hische worked on. Every project is explained and even here Hische gives more information about her process.

I believe this will be one of my best purchases this year and definitely one of my favourite books I read this year. If you're interested in hand lettering or looking for some very pretty inspiration, this is the book for you.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great instruction on how to attack hand lettering and vector work. Half instruction and half inspiration. It's fun but not necessary.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a very neutral feeling about this book.
Above all, it is very, very pretty . Well, being written by a lettering artist, it kind of has to be, right?
The content was good as well. [Quick disclaimer: I skipped the parts about design software and vectors. I letter with pen and paper and I do not intend to change this any time soon - partly because I'm a broke student and know what the software we're talking about costs. Additionally, I ended up merely skimming the parts about ad projects I did not find interesting.] It's just that there were a lot of autobiographical elements in it. Hische tells the reader about her childhood and youth in a quite explicit and even emotional way. Later, when she talks about her projects, I still feel like she talks more about how she felt working on them than what she did and how she created the artwork. Not that those things weren't interesting. I found especially the stories about her highschool and college years quite inspirational, considering that I am in a quite similar situation at the moment. Still, I expected less storytelling and more explaining techniques, so I feel a bit let down. I'd probably be a little disappointed if I'd paid the £19 that it actually costs, but I got it from the library, so I'm glad I gave it a go. [Also, most people probably bought this book for the explanations about vectors and I can't comment on those, so...]
I'm sure I did pick up some bits and pieces and quite a little inspiration.

[Ren Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully insightful and useful book. I love how she walks the reader through her creative process. It helped me articulate my own creative process- not only for hand-drawn art, but for other creative processes such as my writing. While not the explicit focus of her work, she offers many useful tips on running a free-lance business. Her commentary on how she uses her calendars inspired me to rethink how I’m using mine. I also enjoyed that she discusses how she works with clients and how many drafts she goes through before getting to the final work of art. For someone who thinks I have to get it right on the first go, this was very helpful.

Practically, I love her explanation of taking a sketch through the vector process. I didn’t understand how to do that before and now I’m excited to practice. Also, I love love love concept art. So her discussion of representing the essence of books on their covers was amazing.

Highly recommend to anyone ready to sharpen their skills, interested in exploring a career as a letterer or illustrator, or anyone interested in the creative process. You walk away with an appreciation for detail you didn’t know you were missing.

[Ulee ☄︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Resource for Learning Hand Lettering

This book was better than I expected. In the past when I’ve bought books on lettering, they always seem to just be the author showing off their work and then a step by step tutorial on how to do the same exact thing. No education on why things work or don’t work.

This book differs in the fact that the author displays her past client work and explains the whole process from sketch to production. She explains the different choices she made and why. The best parts are when she had to upgrade old logos and she pointed out what worked and what didn’t work in the old one and the steps she took to make the new one look similar but better. She also gives advice on good ways to work with vector shapes when making your final designs in a vector program.

I feel like I finally learned a lot about how to determine a good typefaces from a bad one. However, I do think I was able to absorb the information in this book better because I have studied this topic before, but I still think this is a book for beginners.

[a. nush · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7 stars

This book was phenomenal!! I was audibly gasping every time I turned the page
Like it's the epitome of shock and awe because I never realized the extent to which we can take calligraphic art in that it becomes literal illustration
Words cannot describe my reaction when I turned the page and saw the Barnes & Noble classics THAT I COVETED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE COVERS
The only part I didn't really vibe with was the technical explanation of vectors which I don't work with, but I thought it was really cool how she incorporated the vector shapes into the title and section headings
Thank you sosososo much for the gift Miss Dee

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely useful and practical - not to mention beautiful. 2 clarifications: I read this as an amateur letterer looking to explore the craft, not as a future professional, and I read a (full color) ebook version instead of the paper book. But if I ever find myself wanting to jump in to lettering and design as a career, I'd definitely purchase a physical copy of In Progress. Highly recommended to those who enjoy lettering and design.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully useful insight into the process of a working freelance artist. Jessica Hische has a good eye, a fine attention to detail, and a seriously honed sense of design. And she explains it all very well, too. It's no wonder she's a sought-after resource for so many people and companies. I got a few good tips about working with vector art from the book, too.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glimpse not only into the artist’s sketchbook, but also into her process - all the way down to invoicing software and to-do lists! This is something I haven’t seen in books like this.

While it’s certainly not an entry ramp to a talentless hack such as myself, it was a beautiful book to read and look through.

[Antonella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro molto interessante che permette di entrare nel mondo di un grafico e rubarne qualche trucco. Un oggetto bellissimo da esporre in libreria per la grafica super curata e i colori vintage. Un libro per appassionati, professionisti e curiosi!

[Maria Dinu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, witty and awesomely illustrated

Combining pragmatic walkthrough with a dive into her mind and how Jessica Hische gets ideas, I found this an amazing book on lettering, a must read.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting ...

Well-written, but not what I thought it would be. I was looking for a book that would help me learn to create interesting lettering projects for myself. This is really an autobiography.

[Lauma Sarma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a must-have for your graphic design book collection. Jessica introduces herself and her path to lettering art; she shares her drawing techniques and tips for vectorizing your letters. Even though I don't consider her workflow the best for me (meaning I will not copy 100% of her workflow), I still think this is a must-read so that you find your perfect workflow of drawing letters. Her insights are beneficial.

Half of the book is dedicated to showcasing her projects - sketches and final artwork. This is an amazing inspirational material, as well as some practical industry tips here and there. Overall I love this book for the guidance and beautiful content. It has changed some parts of my lettering workflow. Additionally, I have set new goals because the book expanded my scope on what is possible and what lettering artists really do for more prominent brands!

[EstrellaGracia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro que me gustaría comprarme y tener físicamente en mi biblioteca siempre :)

Muchos tips, ejemplos preciosos de clientes gigantes y una voz de artista muy humana y cercana. Ah y la manutención es preciosa

[HITWM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read! Favorite part was the end section—back to back of portfolio work.

Highly actionable. Especially her process part! Favorite part of her process info was the vectorizing advice (section before the ending section of portfolio samples.)

Reference book :)

[Shawn Hudgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring just to flip through and to read. She has created many beautiful works of art. I enjoyed being able to read and to see steps in her process to creating these works.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://jessicahische.is/

Daily Drop Cap:
http://www.dailydropcap.com/

[Sarah Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for information as well as inspiration!

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My hero. Oh, to have but an ounce of that energy, drive, creativity and talent. I wish my brain worked like hers, with the left and right side so beautifully in sync. Jessica is amazing.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

uhm Jessica Hische is one of my heroes. that is all.

[Daniel Cooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the introduction to lettering that I needed, explaining her process spanning brainstorming & sketching through vector art. Playful tone from an accomplished professional.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

In three words: insightful, inspirational, revelatory

[Antoinette Perez]

Gorgeous, fantastic book on visual process for letter and graphic design.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on hand lettering process and inspiration

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved getting to peer into her journals and sketchbooks and see her processes. So inspiring and such an incredible artist and designer.