I really enjoy calligraphy and the art of handwriting, so I was disheartened to find a recent article from Time magazine bemoaning the death of handwriting and good penmanship.

As long as I can remember, I’ve always appreciated the intimate and personal nature of a small handwritten letter to say “hello” or a note to say “thank you.” This was the main inspiration behind my work on a recent identity and ad campaign for local stationery boutique, Scribbler.

Aesthetically, I was particularly inspired by the work of calligraphic artists such as Betsy Dunlap, Maybelle, Bernard Maisner and Elvis Swift as well as historical letters and vintage postcards.

Betsy Dunlap >> http://betsydunlap.googlepages.com/bdunlap
Maybelle >> http://www.may-belle.com/index.html
Bernard Maisner >> http://www.bernardmaisner.com/index.php
Elvis Swift >> http://www.joaniebrep.com/swift.html

In this digital texting / tweeting / Facebooking age, the rarity of receiving handwritten correspondence makes it even more special. But I do hope that the work of artists like these, as well as stationery stores like The Scribbler will keep the tradition of the written note and social stationery alive.