Typography art
9 minutes read

Typography is everywhere.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we see it in every material that has text in it, from newspapers to blogs, advertising, infographics, or art. 

This goes beyond being a simple or random arrangement of letters—it’s an art that helps brands make a statement.

In today’s article, we’ll take a more in-depth look at typography art and how it’s been used by different typography artists.Create Ad Campaigns 1

What Is Typography Art?

Typography art is defined as any form of art which involves letters, words, or phrases. This includes painting, sculpture, digital rendering, or any other creative technique that the artist wants to use.

To have a better understanding, I did some research and compiled 25 examples of awesome typography art that involve different mediums and approaches.

To make it easier for you to follow, I grouped them by the 15 typography artists that made it all possible.

1. Peter Strain’s Posters

AOI award winner Peter Strain created this stunning typography poster as part of a series commissioned by Pottermore. The collection features a total of four pieces, each focusing on an iconic quote from one of the seven books.

Peter Strain Poster Typography Art

Image Source

Not a Harry Potter fan?

Strain has several other eye-catching typography posters in his portfolio, including portraits of David Lynch, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and Freddie Mercury.

Peter Stain Typography Poster

Image Source

He’s also a huge fan of Wes Anderson’s movies, so you’re bound to find some of them depicted in his work.

Who wouldn’t want to have some of these typography art prints decorating their walls?

2. Sabeena Karnik’s Paper Letters

Sabeena Karnik brings a unique and colorful perspective to the typography word art world.

She creates her pieces using paper quilling. The technique involves long thin strips of paper, glue, and a lot of patience.

Sabeena Karnik Typography Word Art

Image Source

The colorful paper is either rolled, pinched, or cut into smaller pieces, and then carefully glued in place. You can see Karnik doing this with tweezers in many of her Instagram videos.

Besides individual letters like the one above, she also puts together more intricate designs, some for household names such as Google, Adobe, and Instagram.

Word Art Typography

Image Source

3. Lex Wilson’s 3D Illusions

Lex Wilson is a typography artist fascinated with the way the human brain is fooled by optical illusions.

He creates clever 2D drawings which the viewer perceives as 3D, like the one below, as well as 3D projections that appear 2D when looked at from certain angles.

Lex Wilson Art Example

Image Source

He is also interested in the duality of English words and has created several foam sculptures based on this idea. The same piece can read “REAL” from a particular vantage point and “FAKE” from another.

Lex Wilson Ilusion Typography

Image Source

4. Paula Scher’s Maps

A partner at the renowned New York design firm Pentagram since 1991 and one of the most famous designers in the world, Paula Scher is no stranger when it comes to typography art.

Her work, like the Tiffany & Co. and Citi logos, to name just a few, greatly influenced the world of typography graphic design as we see it today.

In MAPS, a collection of 39 paintings, drawings, prints, and environmental graphics, the artist uses colorful typography to map out the entire world.

Map Typography Art

Image Source

Each piece has its own theme, such as US zip codes, politics, airline routes, median home prices, and climate.

Some of them are as big as 12 feet (3.7 meters).

Paula Scher Abstract Map

Image Source

5. Alexis Persani’s 3D Digital Letters

French artist Alexis Persani takes typography graphic design to a whole new level, with these colorful, shiny, detailed 3D letters that make you want to reach out and touch them.

Alexis Persani Creative Alphabet

Image Source

His art incorporates various materials, patterns, and objects, forming unique alphabets, words, and phrases.

On his page, Persani displays several of his typography artworks. Some look like they’re made of water, steel, or paint, but all of them are fascinating nonetheless.

Digital 3D lettering is the modern take on typography art, and Persani is showing us all how it’s done.

Alexis Persani Design Milk

Image Source

6. Pae White’s Supersized String Art

This exhibition by Californian artist Pae White takes typography string art to the max.

Titled Too Much Night, Again, it is essentially an enormous thread sculpture inspired by her insomnia.

Pae White Typography Art

Image Source

The artwork features 48 kilometers (roughly 30 miles) of yarn in the colors purple, red and black, spelling out “TIGER TIME” on one wall and “UNMATTERING” on the opposite wall.

The threads converge near the ceiling, creating a haze of different colors reminiscent of the mind of an insomniac.Create Ad Campaigns 1

While White isn’t primarily known for typography art, this exhibition definitely earned its spot on our list.

Pae White Art Typography

Image Source

7. Ralph Ueltzhoeffer’s Celebrity Portraits

Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, David Beckham, Madonna, Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, Jack Nicholson, and Audrey Hepburn are just some of the celebrities featured in Ralph Ueltzhoeffer’s typography portraits.

Text Portrait Design Art

Image Source

Does the font look like old computer input? That is because the artist selects biographies and other information that defines these celebrities from Wikipedia and thousands of other online sources.

Then, he sets these words, line by line, on a black background until they create the desired effect.

In doing so, Ueltzhoeffer also makes a statement about how the digital information available about us online defines us in the eyes of others.

And who can be more affected by this than celebrities?

Angelina Jolie Portrait

Image Source

8. Fred Eerdekens’ Light and Shadow Play

One of Belgium’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Fred Eerdekens, makes typography art by combining three mediums—language, material, and light/shadow.

His work can be interpreted as a study of the connection between visual cues and the linguistic meaning behind them.

Fred Eerdekens Light And Shadow

Image Source

The twisted aluminum and copper coils mean nothing at first glance, but when placed in the right light, they reveal the right words.

These words are sometimes poems written by the artist himself, which often bring together opposite and even contradicting notions, echoing the play of light and shadow.

Poem Word Shadow Typography Art

Image Source

9. Farhad Moshiri’s Knives

You might have seen some of Farhad Moshiri’s typography artwork on social media—especially the knives sculptures.

What is fascinating about Moshiri’s art, besides the variety of colors and mediums he uses, is the underlying irony and humor in it.

Life is Beautiful Knives Art

Image Source

In “Life is Beautiful” (pictured above), comforting words are spelled out using knives—objects often associated with violence. Moreover, the fact that these knives are stuck in the wall suggests frustration and anger.

His work also reminds viewers that appearances can be deceiving. When you get closer to one of his sculptures and see what it’s made of, you find your expectations have not been met.

10. Nicola Yeoman’s Installations

Nicola Yeoman combines still life with typography to create masterful art installations.

For her series called “Alphabetical,” she arranged a multitude of seemingly discarded objects in what looks like an empty industrial space to spell out letters like E, Y, X, or D.

Using paint or the negative space between these objects, she makes the letters visible only from a specific vantage point.

Nicola Yeoman Installations Letter

Image Source

Besides her gallery work, Yeoman has also collaborated with big names such as Alexander McQueen, H&M, Selfridges, Jay Z, and The New York Times. 

In the editorial piece for the Times, she recreated the publication’s iconic first letter in an eerie and mesmerizing sculpture made of wood sticks and translucent fabric.

Nicola Yeoman Forrest Sculpture

Image Source

11. Stefan Sagmeister’s 250,000 Cents

Typography design rockstar Stefan Sagmeister is known for his album covers, commercials, typography posters, and books, as well as for his dedication and attention to detail.

In 2008, he spelled “Obsessions make my life worse and my work better” out of 250,000 euro cents on the streets of Amsterdam.

The mural took eight days and involved the work of more than 100 volunteers.

Stefan Sagmeister Cents Art

Image Source

Spectacular Coin Street Mural

Image Source

Unfortunately, after the coins were left unguarded for the public to interact with, some of them were stolen, which prompted the police to swipe up the remaining coins and take them away less than 20 hours after the opening.

12. Ebon Heath’s Dancing Sculptures

Ebon Heath’s work proves that typography art doesn’t have to be legible to make a powerful statement.

Dancing Sculpture Art Typography

Image Source

Heath creates dynamic sculptures by putting together words he creates or curates on a specific theme. To accurately mimic natural movement, he collaborates with dancers and choreographers.

His goal is to liberate the words from the dormant 2D space of the paper (or screen).

He started out by creating his typography artworks from hand-cut paper. Later, he switched to laser cutting, which gave him more freedom in choosing his materials and allowed him to experiment with larger-scale projects.

Ebon Heath Dancing Sculpture

Image Source

13. Craig Ward’s Shattered Glass

A well-known typography artist who has worked with brands like Starbucks, The Washington Post, Peugeot, and MasterCard, Craig Ward doesn’t shy away from telling the stories behind his work on his blog.

For this piece, titled “You Blow Me Away,” he collaborated with photographer Jason Tozer. Ward’s typography was printed on several 7mm sheets of glass, through which various objects were fired.

Craig Ward Words In Picture

Image Source

The collection of photographs resulting from this project “are also studies in the boundaries of legibility as [the artists] managed to capture the glass at various stages of destruction,” as Ward himself tells his blog readers.

14. Karl Grandin’s Festival Posters

Created for the Hove Festival in Norway, these playful and unique posters make use of smart typography graphic design.

Karl Grandin Music Festival Poster

Image Source

Karl Grandin’s artwork stands out from any other lineup announcements. It incorporates the names of the artists that are going to perform in a bigger picture.

From Zen masters to squid monsters, these posters are bound to draw a crowd. And they did, at least until the festival closed down after a final edition in 2014.

Music Festival Art Typography

Image Source

15. SEEN UA’s Graffiti

Finally, you can’t talk about typography art without talking about graffiti.

Graffiti is the quintessential form of typography wall art. It represents freedom, brings color to the otherwise bleak streets, and often incorporates powerful social commentary.

Artist Richard Mirando, better known as SEEN UA, is a veteran US graffiti artist, famous all around the world.

He started out spray-painting subway trains in New York City back when the trade was still in its infancy and eventually earned the title of the Godfather of Graffiti.

Richard Mirando Graffiti Typography

Image Source

The artwork pictured above is one of his creations from the streets of Los Angeles.

Conclusion

As you were able to see from these 25 creative examples, typography art has no limits. It is as diverse and influential as any other type of art.

What was your favorite one out of this list?Create Ad Campaigns 1

Diana Bolboaca
Passionate about creating meaningful connections and partnerships. When not swapping emails, I chase contemporary art and consume what most people would define as “too much music”.

2 Comments

  1. The title and title of an advertisement are the most effective factors in creating attention, and if the title of the advertisement is created as a logo type with a creative initiative, it plays an important role in creating attention.
    Thanks for the creative logos you have provided.

  2. Thank you for posting this informative blog. keep sharing

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You may also like

More in Inspiration