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ARTIST
Working in calligraphy means bridging the old and new worlds, he says. “A lot of my calligraphy juxtaposes modern sentiments, ideas and language with ancient craftsmanship. It feels fresh, modern, relevant and accessible to a lot of people.”
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eb Lester, a London-based type designer and illustrator, fell in love with calligraphy during a particularly difficult period. “Three-and-ahalf years ago my partner was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer,” he says. “Everything was normal and then suddenly Pamela was having an emergency operation. It was an incredibly tough time for both of us.” Seb dropped everything to take care of his partner. At the time, he had been focused on digital letterform work, working independently after nine years as a type designer at Monotype. He had begun playing around with calligraphy pens, but with no serious intentions, aware of the sheer amount of time required to become proficient. Now, with his work on hold, all of that changed. “I could barely turn on my computer during this period, let alone do complex digital work,” he says. “Suddenly the only creative outlet I had was sporadic sketchbook doodling, and I started doing more calligraphy. It was therapeutic for me and offered me much-needed respite from being a full-time carer.” Today Pamela is in remission, and Seb says he has emerged a better artist and designer with new skills and knowledge. “That will always be a beautiful thing,” he says. “Sometimes clouds do indeed have silver linings.”
Seb’s Instagram account recently spiked in popularity after the social media platform showcased his work. He now shares his work with more than 163,000 followers. “The demographic is now literally 7 to 80-year-olds, and people come from all walks of life, all over the world,” he says. “I have to be respectful of that and adapt. I have reigned in a lot of the sweary calligraphy and quirky humour that people may know me for.” Though he’s playing it safe, he expects to relax into interacting with this expanded audience. Particularly exciting to him is the number of young people he sees becoming interested in calligraphy. “They’re applying calligraphy in new contexts and with a progressive, exploratory and sometimes irreverent attitude,” he says. “I see calligraphy influencing logo design, graphic design and graffiti. I find this new relevance and interest very exciting.” All this, he says, is part of calligraphy’s current renaissance: “Until recently, calligraphy had a bit of an image problem. In the UK it conjured up images of elderly ladies in church halls copying out passages from the Bible. I love the traditional aspect of calligraphy, but it is only one side of the story today.” “Calligraphy is a powerful medium with broad appeal,” he says. “It has the ability to move and inspire people. It needs to evolve to survive but I am hopeful that is happening.” seblester.co.uk seblester.com
What began as therapy has now become an integral part of Seb’s career. “I have a hybrid way of working that combines traditional and modern tools,” he says of the appeal of calligraphy. “I feel that this working process lends an authenticity to much of my work.” It has also given him a depth of knowledge about letterforms. “To understand calligraphy is to understand the foundations on which modern typefaces and typography have been built,” he explains. “It involves getting inside the Latin alphabet in a way that working digitally doesn’t allow.” Seb lauds what he calls “a great synergy” between calligraphy and type design. “I am capable of developing a much wider range of styles of typefaces with a much greater degree of understanding,” he says. “I understand line, rhythm, movement and texture in ways I never could have imagined before. I have a much wider palette of tools at my disposal and that makes me a much more versatile designer and artist.”
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