Johanna Calligraphy vs. Cursive

To me, calligraphy styles are more visually pleasing. I think it has to do with the varying letter thickness, which we perceive even subconsciously. The thickness varies with the angle at which the pen is held.

We're all familiar with Times New Roman. Have you noticed that the letters have changing thickness? You could conceivably write Times New Roman with a calligraphy pen, but not with a ball-point pen. The font Arial, though, has uniform letter thickness. I'm a Times New Roman person more than an Arial person, so I'm with the calligraphy crowd. Plus, it's what I do, so.

A few examples below might help you make up your mind.


Calligraphy:

Calligraphy, fountain pen

Calligraphy, using a calligraphy marker

Handwritten styles:

Cursive, with ball-point pen

Cursive, more flourish, with ball-point pen

Handwritten, cursive, with thin Sharpie

There's no Justice in the World

"And there never was." — Muse: A Soldier's Poem, Black Holes and Revelations, 2005

Gothic Style

I keep waiting for that magical Transylvania, Romania address, but it just doesn't happen. Illinois will do for now.

Return Address?

While it's true that it looks more formal, and more formal is often synonymous with classier, writing you return address in calligraphy is not something for everyone. It's more expensive, more time-consuming, and frankly, not at all necessary, in my humble opinion. That doesn't mean you have to skip it if that's what you want to do. But the alternatives are just as nice: preprinting or personalized stamps.

Keeping it Neat

Clean, neat italics can have as much impact as their more colorful, flourish-y counterparts.

 

Gel Pens

My most loving mother was an English teacher, and as a direct consequence I have many memories of visiting the school supply store when I was a kid. I used to love the pens section; all the different colors you could want and a little pad to try them all out on... Gee, I should've known it would turn out like this.

My Stash

These are lyrics to the song "The Only One" by the Black Keys from their album Brothers.

Purple Ink

Random Pictures

I'll get bored every now and then and end up writing lyrics to a song, some line stuck in my head. If I have a pen it ends up being in calligraphy. If I like it, I'll take a picture. Here are a few examples.

Gold on White

It's not as inspiring as gold on a darker background, but ...

A Truth Universally Acknowledged

Jane Austen really gets me...