Calligraphy - DreamDiscoverDo

How Is
Calligraphy
Used For Visual
Communication
Nowadays ?
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General
School, Faculty, Course, Year, Block Lecturer : HU, FCJ, CMD,2014, B
Course Code in Osiris:
JDE-SCONE.3V-13
Course Name in Osiris:
Seminar (English)
Grade: 4. Semester
Submission date: 17.01.2013
Personal
First name : Joana
Last name : Sonnhoff
Student number :
1640453
Email : joana.sonnhoff@student.hu.nl
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Table of Content
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
What is Calligraphy?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
Lettering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05
What is the culture background of calligraphy?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06
How does analog calligraphy look like nowadays? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
Different styles in Calligraphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Which kind of trends existing and how is calligraphy used nowadays? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Calligraffiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
How is it used in advertisement nowdays?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Introduction
Writing is one of the most ingenious inventions of the humans. Earlier cultures saw it as a gift from the gods
and heroes. Everyone who could write was admired and revered. Oriental potentates gifted the writers of
beautiful manuscripts once plenty with gold. From the writing something of the character, the education and
the internal culture of the writer could be recognized. Meanwhile, the telephone and typewriter contributed to
handwritten letter becoming almost a rarity. The ballpoint pen changed the handwriting of an entire generations
of students towards illegibility. Scriptures became for many people only an information medium. The quantity
has blunted the sense of quality. It ought to make us think that many young people have trouble finding a book
from the twenties to read, just because it is set in old calligraphy. A large quantity of our intellectual heritage is
for some therefore no longer accessible. (Hartmann, 1986)
This research will answer the question “How is calligraphy used for visual communication nowadays?. I always
felt an attraction to handwritten fonts during my studies and started to get more interest in the traditional way of
typography. This passion lead me to calligraphy. On the following pages I will give a short insight into the history of this very old tradition and explain the difference between cultures where calligraphy is commonly used.
It incorporates the Asian and Arabic cultures and their use of their traditional techniques. I would like to show
the difference of styles of some artists in different cultures and introduce the visual side of the use of communications in this day and age. Previously however, I’ll describe and show the different trends that came up the last
few years in calligraphy. The journey continuous by taking a look into all the different art movements like, for
example graffiti street art. Furthermore, this research will explore how the trends are used for advertisement in
the Western and Asian world, how big these trends are and which kind of styles are the most popular ones.
What is calligraphy?
Calligraphy is the fine art of creating beautiful or elegant handwriting with a pen or brush. It is a beautiful way
to convey words and a form of artistic writing wherein letter characters may be drawn in just a few or many
direct strokes.
Calligraphy literally means beautiful writing. Its origin is from the Greek word kalligraphia, and from
kalligraphos (a person who writes beautiful), and from kallos (beauty) plus grahein (write). Modern calligraphy
is rooted in the development of written symbols and letterforms over thousands of years. (Faux, 2008)
The story of calligraphy began in former times with the monks. They began to scribe ancient texts into decorative books only used by high-ranking church members and royalty, because paper was very expensive during
the Middle Ages, so scribing monks developed a writing style that was narrower allowing more words to fit on
a single line. This was called Gothic and was the most common scribing technique throughout the Middle Ages.
Around the mid 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg had invented the printing press based on the Gothic lettering
of the monks. This new technique was called typeface design and allowed a faster printing of all books around
that time. (Sanford, 2010)
The invention of movable technic took the place of calligraphy (Faux, 2008).
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Although the use of these new printing press technique spread out worldwide, but handwriting skills were still
in high demand. After this invention calligraphers were threatened once again with the advent of engraved copperplates in the 17th century, which permitted the printing of finer lines. Subsequently the font italic script was
developed. In the mid-19th century William Morris started a calligraphic revival, reintroducing the flat edged
pen and once again transforming the act of writing to the art from its past glory. It might appear that the art
of calligraphy couldn’t possibly withstand the competition from the 20th century’s most important invention;
the computer. With a computer we can easily generate a list of various scripts electronically. The art of script
changed in an electronic pulse. But today calligraphy is flourishing more then ever with calligraphic societies
throughout the United States and Europe. According to noted calligrapher, Julian Waters, during a lecture at
Washington’s Sidwell Friends School in 1997: “true calligraphy is the art of producing letters that capture the
spirit of the text they represent. This type of emotion can not always be generated from a computer.” (Sanford,
2010)
Now, with the use of a computer, it takes less time to create a font, but it still requires a high degree of skill
and patience. Whether made with ink on paper, or by vectors on a computer, letterforms are still created by a
person. Technology can produce readable letters, but an artist makes them beautiful. David Faux (2008) says,
creativity begins once the technology ends and becomes transparent.
Moriah Sanford (2010) says: “For true calligraphers, the art of penmanship will always be alive as long as
there is at least one artist willing to carry on the tradition. Calligraphy has survived throughout history despite
printing presses and copperplate engravings and dedicated followers of the art expect it to outlast the next big
invention of the 21st century. “
Calligraphy today finds diverse applications. These include graphic design, logo design, type design, maps,
menus, greeting cards, invitations, paintings, legal documents, diplomas, memorial documents, props and moving images for film and television, business cards, and handmade presentations. Today, many calligraphers are
busy with the addressing of envelopes and invitations for public and private events. (Sanford, 2010)
Lettering
When we talk about calligraphy then we often use the word Lettering. Lettering can be simply defined as “the
art of drawing letters”. The dictionary defines lettering as “The act, process, or art of forming letters.” The term
lettering may also be used to cover every kind of letter-making, including calligraphy, drawn lettering, monumental letter carving, typeface design, and so on. Logos, headlines and most works for reproduction fit into
this category. After a lot of sketches, a magazine headline or logo may be freely executed in simple calligraphic
strokes.
Often lettering is hand-drawn, with pens, graphite or brushes, although some people start their work directly in
Adobe Illustrator. So calligraphy is based on penmanship with written letters and lettering is based on drawing
letters. (Picture 1.06) (Picture 1.07)
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(Picture 1.06) Illuminated lettering in the Lindisfarne
Gospels, from the Gospel of Mark. This particular page
showcases a lettered portion as opposed to a calligraphic
passage, i.e. drawn rather than written.
(Picture 1.07) Inside a Gutenberg Bible. Note the mixed use of
blackletter typography and hand-lettered drop caps, mimicking the
contemporary German calligraphic style.
(Picture 1.08) Title pages from German avant-garde
publications “Dekorative Kunst” and “Pan”, examples of
lettering during the Art Nouveau movement.
Lettering and calligraphy also followed cultural trends. It`s represented strongly through Art Deco and Modernism, on posters, logotypes and book covers. The recent art of creating film titles also provides us with a wide
range of illustrative lettering styles from the 20th century. Lettering went through a variety of permutations like
the organic styles of the 70′s, the new modernism of the 80′s, and the grungy 90′s styles which brought us to
our now modern lettering scene. (Alessio, 2013).
What is the culture background of calligraphy?
Modern western calligraphy is rooted in the development of written symbols and letterforms over thousands of
years. (Waters, 2008) Nowadays there exist three main styles of calligraphy: The Western (Roman), Arabic and
Chinese (oriental). Here, East Asia includes China, Korea and Japan. Writing is first and foremost a form of art
and is still alive today. In highly industrialized Japan, the children still learn the fine art of writing with a brush
in school. But there is also the Semitic writing circle, which belongs to the Hebrew and Arabic script, and the
Indian script circle. (Hartmann, 1986)
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Chinese Culture
Around 1500 BC the Chinese developed a complicated writing technique using more than 1500 characters and
today calligraphy is still one of their most respected art forms. (Sanford, 2010) Like painting, sculpture, poetry,
music, dance and opera, it is a full member of the family of arts and therefore calligraphy is closely linked to
daily life. (Tingyou, 2003)
Yet, Chinese calligraphy is more than just an art. In China it is believed that a person’s handwriting shows education, self-discipline, and personality. It’s very common to judge peoples handwriting. In a way, handwriting is
like a persons face: everyone tries to keep it at its best. They even have calligraphy clubs, associations, magazines, and local and national competitions. Also, famous newspapers also publish columns on Chinese calligraphy. Another unique cultural phenomenon is water calligraphy. In the early morning people, old and young,
go into parks or uses sidewalks to do their morning exercises in calligraphy. They bring a special brush and a
bucket of water and then start writing with their brushes on the pavement. (Picture 1.01).
Picture 1.01. Ground calligraphy, 7:30 a.m. in Beijing.
The writing on the right reads: “An elegant room does not
have to be big.” [ PHOTO BY WENDAN LI ]
Picture1.02. Chinese writing brushes on a brush stand.
[ PHOTO BY WENDAN LI ]
The art of calligraphy has also spread to nearby countries such as Japan and Korea, where it is practiced and
studied with great enthusiasm. The difference to the western calligraphy style is that they use brushes. One feature of the brush is its flexibility and frequently made from animal hair. Different types of hair create varying
degrees of firmness and softness. (Picture 1.02)
The Chinese brush is very flexible so that it can be used to write strokes in various shapes and thicknesses.
Compared to our Western watercolour paintbrushes, Chinese writing brushes are usually stiffer. (Picture 1.03)
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Calligraphy can be roughly divided into two types: brush calligraphy and hard-pen calligraphy, which includes
writing with any instrument other than a brush, for example, fountain pens and ballpoint pens. Hard-pen calligraphy (Picture 1.04) apparently began in reaction to the adoption and fast spread of hard-tipped pens from the
West. (Li, 2009).
Picture1.03. Collection of the National Palace Museum (Taipei).
Picture1.04. Hard-pen calligraphy by Ren Ping,
an artist in China.
Islamic calligraphy
The Arabic calligraphy is one of the greatest arts of the Arabs. Because Islam forbade to create idols, there was
no space for arts like sculpture or paintings, so the Muslims directed their talents towards calligraphy. Another reason for the development of their calligraphy style was the need to make copies of the Quran. A special
difference to other calligraphy styles is that Arabic is written from right to left. (Sanford, 2010) Also there are
no capital letters and some letters have more than one form depending on how they are coupled to other letters.
At one time they had about thirty styles of calligraphy, but today there are just six main standard styles, two of
which are taught at school. (Picture 1.05) (Moustapha, & Krishnamurti, 1993)
Another difference is that the Arabic script has been used much more for decoration and artistic expression. Because it was forbidden for the artists to draw human or animal forms, they were forced to do designs based on
strictly geometrical forms or patterns of leaves and flowers based on calligraphy. Arabic calligraphy is therefore
used for porcelain, for carpets and other textiles, on coins, and as architectural ornament. (Picture 1.06)
The art of calligraphy is still alive in the Arab world and wherever the Arabic alphabet is used. Almost
everything is designed with calligraphy like coins and paper money, wall posters and advertising signs, covers,
books, and the major headlines in every newspaper and magazine have been written by hand. (Nawwab, Speers,
1994)
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Picture 1.06. Arabic calligraphy on the Dom of the Rock mosque
Picture1.05. Different styles of arabic calligraphy
The 23 year old American calligraphy artist Everittee Barbee said in an interview: “ The importance of the
Quran coupled with the banning of iconography in Islam made calligraphy the highest form of art for more than
a thousand years in societies that were the most liberal and enlightened in the world during most of this time.
This enduring reverence allowed Islamic calligraphy to reach a height of perfection and beauty not found in any
other form of writing in human history”. (Barbee, 2012).
How does analog calligraphy look like nowadays?
Today, the best calligraphers have to start with a lot of historical study and technical practice and learning from
the high points of calligraphy’s history. It is important to study fine arts, graphic design, music and many other
subjects. Through much hard work, skill and taste as well as a personal style may develop. Waters (2008) says
“As in all arts, we respect the past and learn from it, but we must also create things which have some relevance
in today’s world”. (Waters, 2008)
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Examples of modern calligraphy
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Which kind of trends existing in Calligraphy and how is calligraphy used nowadays?
This section will introduce modern designers and calligraphers from around the world, and show how they
implement for example the Arabic scripts into their artwork and designs. The art of calligraphy is now not only
limited to handwriting and written communication in letters anymore, it has extended to become a creative artwork movement that modern artists use to express their talent and ideas, such as street art, graffiti, tattoo, body
art and poster designs. Many advertising agencies are using calligraphy art to promote their products as well.
(Elmansy, 2013). A lot of modern artists and designers also get their typography and art inspiration from calligraphy. The following paragraphs will deal with several artists who uses calligraphy to visualize their ideas and
creativity in different ways. Some artists follow old calligraphy styles and script standards, while other artists
invent their own styles that mark their work. (Alessio, 2013)
Peter Gould
Peter Gould is a talented designer, digital artist, and photographer from Australia, who was a pioneer in the
emergence of new Muslim design. He runs his own design studio, and works for clients such as Sony, Colgate,
Vodafone, and McAfee. Peter Gould usually uses Arabic calligraphy in a creative way both in his commercial
designs and artwork. Furthermore, he incorporates innovative ideas in Arabic calligraphy to design items such
as clothes, mobile apps and more. (Elmansy, R. 2013).
Eduard Dimasov
Eduard Dimasov is a Russian art director, designer, and calligrapher, who uses Arabic calligraphy in most of his
unique artwork. Although he studied philosophy, he also studied Arabic and has one of the most eye-catching
Arabic calligraphy profiles on the web. You can easily identify his style by its simplicity and unification. He
uses free Arabic style in his work and relies on the curves and the flow of the letters along with experimenting
with different materials. (Elmansy, R. 2013). Furthermore, Dimasov also uses Arabic calligraphy to create
amazing logo designs and digital art, as can be seen below.
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Ben Johnston
Ben is a 26-year-old Canadian calligrapher and also an designer who incorporates calligraphy into his work
and designs that vary from corporate identity to book and magazine covers, and product designs. He also uses
calligraphy to create logo designs. His artwork is marked by intersecting lines and letters that are inspired by
old calligraphy scripts. Ben Johnston’s client list includes large companies such as Disney, Shell, GM Motors,
Virgin, Audi, and Saatchi & Saatchi. (Elmansy, R. 2013).
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Jose Andrade
Jose Andrade, is a talented designer and calligrapher from Venezuela. His talent allowed him to work on different types of projects including art direction in advertising agencies. His talent is remarkable using both computer applications and traditional pen and other tools, such as charcoal (Elmansy, R. 2013).
These examples indicate that the evolution of calligraphy has not stopped with the change in technology and
that there is still work today for calligraphers. Thus the writing styles are not just calligraphic styles anymore,
they have been absorbed into typography and are now also type classifications (KAESTLE 2008). As we can
see calligraphers around the world are still using calligraphy in the new digital era to build new styles and
ideas that can be sometimes complete new styles, or extensions of the old Arabic calligraphy scripts. Many art
schools now have professors of calligraphy and training to become calligrapher artists. (Elmansy, R. 2013)
You may be most familiar with Calligraphy because of it’s use a lot in wedding invitations and other formal
flyers and logo design. We can also say that calligraphy had became a very exclusive art, because it’s not something many people are able to do because it takes a lot time of practise. (Enfuzed, 2013).
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However, Arabic Calligraphy had been treated with fear in for example the world of high fashion. In 1994 Karl
Lagerfeld of Chanel sent Claudia Schiffer down the runway in a tight bustier embroidered with an arabic script.
Critics pointed out that it was a passage from the Quran and Chanel immediately pulled the dress out of the
collection with an apology. Even though it was later revealed to have been verses from a Mughal Love Poem of
the Taj Mahal, it deterred designers from using them again. But now, a new modern Middle Eastern generation
is pushing to be heard, and have a piece of their culture and heritage stamped on fashions map. Gone are the
days that Arabic calligraphy had to be handled with fear. With cute little Arabic sayings such as “Smile and the
World will smile with you”, “Key to My Heart” in Arabic prints there was a fashionable trend in 2010 all over
the world (Zahrart, 2013).
Givenchy’s Designer Ricardo Tisci is constantly divulging into Arabic culture and trends for his fashion masterpieces.
Urban Calligraphy -Calligraffiti as Street art
Meanwhile, a separate word for the street art movement has established itself, Calligraffiti. Calligraffiti is an art
form that fuses calligraphy and graffiti. The internationally known dutch artist, designer and art director Niels
Shoe Meulman launched this movement in 2007 with a solo exhibition in Amsterdam under the same name.
Since then, his Calligraffiti pieces have been seen in various international exhibitions in Europe and North
America and Calligraffiti became a famous street art movement. (Wikipedia, 2013)
The dutch street artist belongs to the best in the field when it comes to street water art. With just a broom, he
manages to create the most beautiful water Calligraffiti. (Darell, 2012)
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Even the company Converse caught up with this new Calligraphy trend and created an Upside Down Tour in
associations with Niels Shoe Meulman who earned his stripes in the global graffiti scene in the 80’s through his
pioneering style. The Calligraffiti Upside Down Tour includes exhibitions, book signings, live mural painting
and lectures, kicking off in Sydney and continuing in Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore. Rather than shipping artwork from abroad, Niels will make site-specific art in each city. (Converse, 2013) In 2010 Niels also
designed a shoe for the sport company UMBRO owned by Nike. (Dohmann, 2010)
All the different examples shown here make one thing quite clear: This is not your grandmothers fancy handwriting. Calligraphy is often viewed as something little old people do, which has no connection to design or
art. Over the years the trend of abstraction in calligraphy has grown into an independent movement. (Crowde,
2013).
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How is it used in advertisement ?
As you can see below, a lot of famous brands in the world are created with custom typography, handwriting, or
calligraphy style.
Meanwhile we can see a lot of different Calligraphy styles in advertisement around the world.
From chalkboard menus to storefront signs and fancy wedding envelopes, handwritten lettering has experienced
a comeback in visual communications. Whether it is modern calligraphy by hand, or produced in a clean digital
graphic, it is currently used a lot in magazines and print advertisement (Laws, 2013).
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Compared to the asian world they use the calligraphy brush style still for every visual communication from
packagedesign to movieposters, books and for product design.
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