Great Brits: Seb Lester – Type Designer, Illustrator & Artist
St Bride Library, a treasure trove for all of those interested in printing, publishing and graphic arts, hosted another successful talk last month by British type designer, artist and calligrapher extraordinaire Seb Lester.
During ‘Peace, Hellfire & Tits’ (named after some of his limited edition prints) Seb Lester described his life in letters from his early student work to corporate type design, recent projects and his passion for the calligraphy craft form.
In such a technology driven world, it was refreshing to hear someone talk with such enthusiasm about a traditional art form such as calligraphy which Seb has taught himself through experimentation, historical research and a good old fashion love for something. His belief that ‘you need a knowledge of your craft to be a successful designer today’ has obviously driven him in the right direction… in just one week his new calligraphy font film received 830,000 views which speaks volumes for people’s love of this skill.
Sketchbook, February 2013 from Seb Lester on Vimeo.
Seb Lester’s personal projects are a fantastic combination of his colourful language and humour and the beauty of calligraphy. First glance you expect them to say the gushy stuff calligraphy is stereotypically used for, but on the second take you notice the humour – his way of ‘breaking bad news gently with calligraphy’… always something to put a smile on your face.