What Should I Letter?

Oct 11

Written By Stacey

Beats me…but I know where to look.

Since I am still tweaking my video from last week, there’s not much going on this week to share. I’ve been collecting footage and photos for the video and the newsletter, assigning work for an additional video from student’s perspectives, caring for my own kid’s health issues, and trying to figure out what all I’d do about her and my classes and such if I got picked for jury duty (fortunateIy, I didn’t). Basically, a flurry of activity. But, I did get to do a few thumbnails for this week’s message that will go on my desk tomorrow for the kids to see.

I thought I’d try “Dream Big” this week and save “Awesome” for next week.

I have these quotes and a bunch of others just like them saved in an app called Notion. When I’m tapped for ideas and at a loss for what to letter (which can happen pretty easily these days), I can just pick something from one of the categories I have saved there. The app is pretty robust in allowing me to nest quotes inside of larger headings. This means, I can separate and organize quotes that are for women versus children…inspiring versus entertaining…things only black moms say, scriptural quotes, etc.

I wish I could say I thought up using Notion all on my own. But, I actually got the idea to start collecting quotes in Notion from lettering artist, Ian Barnard. He never seemed to be at a loss for great quotes that inspire me to keep going. So, I thought I’d give the app a try.

Still, there are a few other resources I’ve learned about to come up with ideas too…

Resources for Sourcing Lettering Quotes

WTF Should I Letter by Lauren Hom is a hilarious, albeit profanity-laden, lettering phrase generator for those times when you have no clue what to letter. While I’m controlling my language much better these days (even underneath the mask), my grandmother used to cuss like a sailor, so it’s difficult for me to get offended. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I’ve heard it all! Although not all of the suggestions are laced with vulgarity, be forewarned if you re trying to tame your tongue that this generator may not be ideal for you.
Lettering Maker by Martina Flor is another tool that can generate a lettering brief based on parameters you set like ‘beginner’, ‘advanced’ or ‘pro’. For the cost of your email address, you can control a few other things about your request as well. Once you tell the generator your parameters, it will give you a word or phrase to letter based on style, weight, contrast, etc. It will even allow for a deadline to be set for the brief! It’s a pretty cool taste of what it might be like to accept a job from a potential client.
Challenges abound for lettering (both online and in various lettering books and lettering courses). Most online challenges are about a month long, but feel free to go at your own pace and dip in and out of the challenge as needed sans the guilt trip. Challenges are meant to…well, challenge you. So, push yourself. But, don’t sweat it if you have to skip a day or two here and there because life does indeed happen. Finding a lettering challenge on Instagram is as simple as searching the hashtag “#letteringchallenge”. The @20MinutesOfCray account has one every month. Also, check out @calligraphymasters for great challenges.