21 Typographic Design Artists Explore Lettering, Illustration and Image

Typography can carry a voice before a reader reaches the words. That’s the thread running through this Directory of Illustration feature: a gallery of 21 artists who bring lettering into illustration, graphic design and image-making. The selection points to a broad range of uses, from editorial and publishing to advertising, with five profiles offering a closer look at the practices behind the work.

The featured artists approach letters from different starting points. Some build them by hand, some combine lettering with illustration or paper craft, and others draw on music and visual identity work. For design teams, that variety is useful: it shows how typography can act as the subject of an image, a structural part of a composition, or a bridge between a brand’s words and its visual character.

Five practices, five starting points

Oscar Wilson — Début Art

Oscar Wilson graduated from the Graphics (printmaking) course at Leeds in 1994. After working at Advanced Graphics London, a fine art screen printer, he set up his studio in 1996. He lives and works in North London. BMX and skateboard culture from the late 1970s and early 1980s shaped his early visual interests; later, London’s emerging electro scene drew him toward letter-based graffiti. He also works with his brother Ben as Wilson Brothers.

That background connects lettering with subculture and music, where letterforms can signal a scene as much as communicate a name. Wilson’s printmaking experience offers another point of reference: a process rooted in making and reproducing images. View his portfolio, visit his website, or see his Instagram.

Agustina Gastaldi — JSR Agency

Spanish artist Agustina Gastaldi works across lettering, paper craft and illustration. She first studied Product Design, then moved into Graphic Design. After graduating, she worked at Barcelona studio Vasava on projects for Nike, PUIG, Uniqlo, Hotel Ritz, Atlético de Madrid, EMI Music, Moët Chandon, Mango, EasyJet and Estrella Damm.

Her path across disciplines suggests a flexible way of thinking about letters: they can be drawn, constructed from paper, or integrated into a broader illustration. That range gives art directors several possible roles for type within a brief, from a prominent image-making element to a detail that helps a larger composition hold together. Explore Gastaldi’s portfolio, website, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Becky Thorns — Meiklejohn

Based in Cornwall, Becky Thorns completed a Fine Art degree at Falmouth University in 2015 before moving into illustration and graphic design. Travel and nature inform her detailed, textured illustrations and lettering, which she describes as aiming to include narrative and a sense of adventure.

Texture and storytelling give lettering a different job from setting information in a neutral voice. The forms can help establish a place or mood, while detail invites a closer look. For projects that need a distinctive tone, Thorns’ nature-led influences offer a reminder to draw from the subject matter and the artist’s own observations. Browse her portfolio, lettering work and Instagram.

Dave Homer

Sydney-based illustrator and designer Dave Homer was previously Art Director at Sony Music. He later co-founded Debaser, a design and illustration studio focused on music, which produced artwork for Australian acts over 11 years and received four ARIA Awards for Best Cover Art. Homer continues to take on music-related work, with illustration and hand-drawn typography now at the centre of his practice.

His process starts away from the screen: he says most of the work begins with pencil and paper before it moves to a computer. That sequence leaves room to test the shape and rhythm of a letter by hand, then use digital tools to refine and prepare the artwork. Homer has also held solo painting exhibitions and is working toward another. See his portfolio, website and Instagram.

Beato — Début Art

Portuguese-born and London-based, Beato is a multidisciplinary designer whose work covers bespoke typography, visual identities and image-making. He has worked in graphic design and illustration for nine years, collaborating with clients in fashion, sport and music. Recent commissions include Nike, Carhartt and Esquire.

That mix puts custom lettering alongside identity and image, rather than treating it as a finishing touch. In a visual identity, bespoke forms can give a name a character that a standard typeface may not provide; in editorial or image-led work, they can tie words directly to the composition. View Beato’s portfolio and website.

A gallery of 21 specialists

The wider gallery brings together 21 typographic design specialists from the Directory of Illustration. Alongside the five profiled artists, it includes Adam Koon, Ahoy There, Alesia Nava, Andrew Footit, Call Me Al Studio, Chris LaBrooy, Conrad Garner, Frede Tizzot, Jan Bielecki, Justin Metz, Mark Matcho, Muokkaa, Melvin Galapon, Peter Quinnell, Sam Falconer and Stephan Walter. The selection also features Oscar Wilson, Agustina Gastaldi, Becky Thorns, Dave Homer and Beato.

The gallery is best read as a set of starting points rather than a single style recipe. For a project, look at how each artist handles the relationship between lettering and image: whether letters dominate, sit within a scene, or supply texture and tone. Then consider the production method and the assignment. Hand-drawn work may suit a brief that calls for visible gesture; paper craft can make form and material part of the message; a practice informed by printmaking can bring a different sense of shape and reproduction. These are ways to frame a commission, not rules to apply without regard to context.

Image credits for the opening artwork, listed clockwise from top left: Alesia Nava, Oscar Wilson, Mark Matcho, Dave Homer, Chris Labrooy and Agustina Gastaldi. The individual artist images are credited to the artists shown. Visit the Directory of Illustration to view more typography art.