Micro trends: Graphic design aesthetics

2: Hand-drawn

As an antidote to highly-polished perfection, the raw product of the human hand has become increasingly alluring. It sits in stark contrast to slick digitally-produced graphic design.

The hand.written.letter.project by Craig Oldham has slowly gathered momentum since it began in 2007. It started life as a reaction to the depersonalisation of email, texts and tweets. Designers and creative thinkers were invited to send a handwritten note with comments relating to their thoughts about the handwritten word.

Another artist embracing this aesthetic is Jonathan Gray, who has worked under the name Gray318 for the past 12 years. His distinctive hand-drawn type has graced the covers of many books, the dramatic, painterly images resonating with the reader and drawing them into the novel. Similarly, Marion Deuchars’ hand-painted typography for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Royal Mail stamp collection effectively captures the dynamic nature of the iconic quotes she scrawls.

Capturing an air of authenticity and invitation, Spanish design studio Mllongo’s scribbled labels for Au Yeah beer capture a free-spirited quality. Illustrator Sarah Thorne combines naïve shapes with hand-drawn dashes and scribbles to achieve a playful, experimental approach for Topshop’s make up range. The resulting whimsical feel stands apart from the average sleek cosmetic packaging.