Frequently Asked Questions

Since I receive quite a few emails from students asking how I got into the business, what keeps me inspired, and how they can better promote themselves, I’ve compiled a list of some of the more frequently asked questions. If your question is not on this list, feel free to email me and I will try to get back to you.

How do you pronounce your last name?

If I were a real German I would pronounce it “Hish-ah” (first syllable emphasized), but since I’m American and we have our own way of pronouncing foreign words it’s pronounced “Hish” (just like “fish” but with an H).

Describe your design in one sentence.

“Jessica Hische’s work combines equal parts design, typography, illustration, brown sugar, and heavy cream.” (Thanks, Jason from the Heads of State, for perfectly summarizing my work!)

What inspired you to get into design?

I always knew I wanted to go to art school, in fact I transferred high schools in order to take more art classes. When I applied to school I thought I would be a painter or a sculptor—anything but a graphic designer—mostly because I didn’t really know what graphic design was. When I was in college I took a lot of electives in different art areas, always thinking I would end up majoring in that discipline. I loved glass, I loved wood-working, I loved painting/drawing, then I took a design class. I really loved the idea of having a problem to solve, of having limits and of having to communicate clearly what I (or the client) was trying to say. I liked how in design you were solving problems, that there were rules to follow, that the point was for people to GET what you were trying to communicate (unlike in fine art, where if people get it right away, you’re probably doing something wrong). I would procrastinate from all of my other work by working on design projects (I think a good way to figure out your passions are to look at what you do when you’re procrastinating from everything else). When there was an assignment for a single poster I would do five. I just couldn’t get enough of it.

Where did you go to school and why?

I have a BFA in Graphic Design from Tyler school of Art, Temple University, in Philadelphia. I mostly went to Tyler because it was a good school that I could afford. If I had any money saved or if my parents were paying for college I probably would have chosen RISD or SVA when I was in high school, but I’m so happy I ended up going to Tyler. I got a very hands-on experience there with the professors and I don’t think I would have had as good of an experience at any other design school.

How has your work evolved since college?

Like most people I look back at my college work and cringe at all of my embarrassing mistakes. It takes time to develop an eye for detail, so one of the major ways my work has changed is that I notice tiny mistakes I would have never noticed before. In general my lettering, design, and illustration work are all more refined. My lettering and approach to lettering has improved dramatically thanks to working for Louise Fili and also the time I spent in the Type@Cooper program.

How do you work? What is your process?

For illustration work and lettering work, I always start with pencil sketches—not because it is my preferred way to work, but because clients need to approve something before I can move to final. My pencils used to be quite rough but because I’ve been doing more and more lettering work for advertising clients, they’ve become more refined. After a sketch is approved, I jump into illustrator, usually not tracing my sketch for the final. I believe that the translation from sketch to final without tracing helps me correct my mistakes as I go. I idealize like how you would if you were drawing a person from memory versus from real life. I don’t use a lot of fancy tricks in illustrator, mostly just the pen tool. After a few years of working intensely with the program it has become more natural for me to work on the computer than by hand. I don’t use a wacom tablet (I hold a pen like a child holds a crayon (in a tight fist that will only catalyze the carpal tunnel)), just a mouse or the trackpad on my laptop. I usually work with the grid on at first, starting with a single weight line and then adding thickness or ornament later depending on what I’m trying to achieve. I make general decisions at the beginning to figure out what kind of lettering I want to draw (a script? slanted or upright? thick or thin? sans serif? retro feeling or more modern feeling?) and then add decoration / ornamentation after the “skeleton” is drawn.

How long does it take you to make things?

It really depends on the project. Generally the more illustrative and the less modular the lettering is the more time it takes.

What advice do you have for designers and illustrators that want to draw type?

If you want to be a good letterer, you have to make as much of it as possible and look at as much of it as possible. Buy old type books (if you can find them). Buy art history books about vintage type (Euro Deco is one I’ll always recommend—tons of great examples). Practice, practice, practice. If you have the patience to keep plugging along at it, you’ll be great in no time, I swear. There is no fast track to being a great letterer. No matter what tool you use, it takes time to master it and then once you’ve mastered your tool and developed your eye for detail the real fun happens.

What are some of your inspirations?

I worked for Louise Fili for two and a half years, she has definitely had the biggest impact on my work. Her collection of random vintage type ephemera is astounding. I read design blogs and look at images online a lot. I love vintage packaging. I like silly roll–your–eyes–ish jokes. I love talking to strangers. I love interior design and vintage/retro furniture design. I’m inspired by other designers and illustrators all the time, by their motivation and by their great work.

What other designers / illustrators inspire you?

So many it’s hard to say. I have a major design crush on Marian Bantjes and a brain/concept crush on Christoph Neimann (you should reread the illustrated article he did for Print a few years back (2005? 2006?) on being an illustrator). I have a really talented group of friends that also keep my motivation high. I see work every day on sites like ffffound, the dieline, etc. that makes me seethe with jealousy. Envy can be a big motivator.

How do you choose your colors?

If you saw my apartment, you would see that all the colors I use in my work are really just colors that I like. I love warm colors. I don’t really like the color purple. I am coming around to blue (aside from warmish robin’s egg blues which I LOVE). If I could put red/orange in everything I make I would.

Which do you like best, design, illustration or typography/lettering?

Definitely lettering. It combines everything I like about illustration with everything I like about design. Illustration is great because you’re working with art directors and people that (should) know what they’re talking about. Generally the process is pretty smooth because you’re not helping someone “realize their dream” or somesuch, you’re solving a problem, completing an assignment, moving on to the next one. The only thing that illustration doesn’t have that design does is variety. When you’re an illustrator, you have to work in a very similar style all the time, it’s what people come to you for. Designers are able to approach new projects differently each time, which is something I’ve noticed is also true with lettering. One day I might be drawing something super clean and fashiony, the next day something dark and crazy and blacklettery. It’s really hard to get bored when there are so many styles to work in.

What kind of day–jobs have you had in the past?

When I was in college, I had three internships. I worked for Quirk Books, SK Design Works and Headcase Design (all in Philadelphia). When I graduated, Headcase took me on as a full–time freelance employee. I worked on a lot of book projects there and did illustration in–house for them (their style is much more technical than mine now). I left Headcase to take a position as Senior Designer at Louise Fili Ltd. I worked with Louise for a wonderful two and a half years and learned so much about design and type there. While I was working for Louise, I also had a busy freelance career, doing a ton of illustration and lettering work at night. I left in September of 2009 because I was ready for my night job to replace my day job (and to potentially sleep for more than 4 hours per night).

How did you know it was the right time to go entirely freelance?

I was exhausted. I wanted to go fully freelance before I was so burnt out that I lost motivation to work. Also around the time I left people started mislabeling my freelance work as being Louise’s work, and I thought that it was probably the right time to branch out on my own. There were also several projects that I really wanted to start, but my schedule didn’t have any room to accommodate another project on top of my full time job and freelance work.

What’s the biggest change you have noticed since making the move from full time employment to freelance designer?

The main change for me has been managing my time and emails. Since I launched my Daily Drop Cap site, I get an enormous amount of email, especially from students wanting to do interviews. I try to answer them all, but it can take me days or a week or two to respond to some of them. Most students don’t realize the amount of email and bullshit paperworky junk that professionals generally have to deal with. I would say at this point over half of my day is spent answering email, talking to clients on the phone, organizing, and other general office tasks. It’s a relief when the workday is over and my REAL workday can begin, uninterrupted by email and general necessary internetting.

Do you have a favorite client to work with?

I like working for any client that is enthusiastic and nice and allows me to have a bit more creative control. Of the clients I’ve worked with in the past, the Boston Globe and Target have been great repeat clients. Every experience was smooth and fun. Working with big name clients like Tiffany and Co. is also fun because my parents “get it”.

Do you think that people/clients value the craft of creating letters?

At first some don’t, they try to get the effect they want by manipulating fonts themselves, but in the end you can only get true customization by hiring someone like myself to make it really work perfectly for the project. Sometimes after clients try to do it themselves, they’ll hire me and tell me to work from what they have but make it “better” or “make it work”.

Do you think that there will be a hand-lettering backlash because of how popular it is right now?

I think certain kinds of hand–lettering will eventually fall out of favor. I think anytime you are making something that is very current or trendy feeling, it will eventually fall out of favor because people will get tired of looking at it. I think incorporating vintage type in a subtle way (rather than in an instantly recognized “OMG vintage!” way) is a good way to avoid making things that are too trendy. My goal is always to make something that feels a bit more timeless. I don’t want my type to feel to feel dated in 10 years like much of the grungy type from the 90s feels now.

What is the biggest frustration you encounter when creating your work?

The thing that frustrates me most is when clients are very picky about things that do not matter in an illustration. There are certain changes that I understand, but when some minute background element has to move ever so slightly for no reason whatsoever it frustrates me to no end.

What do you feel is the most challenging part of being a designer/illustrator?

I think pushing yourself to experiment can be really challenging. Once you are good at doing a certain thing, you fall back on it instead of moving forward and trying new things. You should be always challenging yourself to do new things or at least to push the envelope a little bit. If you don’t, it can be really hard to stay motivated. Time management and keeping a good schedule is also very challenging. When you work for yourself, it can be tough to not procrastinate or to spend too much time on one thing and not enough on another. It’s important to be really organized, to have a calendar of all of your deadlines, to only reply to emails at certain times of the day, and to keep a master list of jobs you are working on, what projects are in what stage, what needs to be invoiced, who needs a quote, etc. This is the stuff you aren’t taught in school, and is not second nature to many people (including me), but if you don’t stay on top of this stuff, it can really impact your work in a bad way.

How are design clients and illustration clients different?

Illustration / hand-lettering clients are far different to work with than design clients, I find that I have to sell myself less–usually by the time people come to you for work they know they want to work with you. With design you have to sell yourself as much as your ideas. There are just so many good designers (and unfortunately good designers that will work for cheap!), so convincing someone that you are the one perfect for their project can be a challenge. When working on design projects, you sometimes have more freedom to experiment. It’s not about a style, it’s about doing what is right for the assignment. If someone saw my illustration portfolio, they wouldn’t think “let’s hire this girl that works in vector to punch the type out of metal with a hammer and nail”, I would love to do that, and am capable of it, but because illustration is based on mostly on maintaining a style, I won’t get a call to do that anytime soon.

What are some of your priorities when starting a new design project?

The main concern should always be “is this appropriate for the project/client”. Because I’m a designer and illustrator, people hire me looking for a specific style, but I think to be a true designer you must be adaptable to any project. If a client comes to you with an identity for a restaurant you wouldn’t solve it the same way you did for a book cover. I think sometimes people lose sight of this and the style becomes more important than the message. We’re designers, of course we want to make things pretty, but if it isn’t right for the job it doesn’t matter how fancy you make it.

What is it like to be a young designer/illustrator in the business? Do you think being young has helped or hurt you so far in your career?

You get a lot of attention for being young and talented. There are competitions geared toward designers under 30 like ADC’s Young Guns competition and Print’s New Visual Artist competition. In the beginning, your youth can become a stumbling block when clients expect cheap prices for your inexperience. You’ll hear a lot of toxic phrases like “this will be a great portfolio piece” and “this will give you great exposure”. Do what you can to keep industry standards high and not undercut other designers for working for nothing or next to nothing. Once you get some momentum and a good reputation, your youth becomes something positive as clients love to feel like they’re “in the know” and hiring a new “it” designer.

Why did you start drawing type?

Really, out of necessity. I was broke in college and couldn’t afford to go on an awesome font spending spree and didn’t have the time to pore through the free font sites for something actually worth using. I noticed in school that my hand drawn type would make the project feel more cohesive and special, so I tried to make custom type as much as possible for projects. Now almost everything I make has hand-lettering in it. One major disadvantage to being good at hand-lettering is that I am TERRIBLE at picking out fonts for projects. Every time I’ve needed a crazy display font for something, I’ve just made it myself because it takes me less time to make it than it does to scour the internet for something good. Don’t ask me to recommend a similar font to anything I’ve made, I won’t know what to tell you and then I’ll feel like a lame designer.

What advice do you have for a young illustrator or graphic designer?

When you’re not doing client work, do a lot of personal work. It takes a lot of practice and exploration to be a great designer, so do it in any way possible. When looking for a day job, decide what is important to you. Jobs at big places or advertising firms tend to pay better but the work is less creative. Jobs at small studios pay less (much less sometimes) but the work can be really creative and rewarding. Plan ahead. Think of the kind of work you want to be doing and try to find the most direct path to that.

What is the design/illustration scene like in NewYork/Brooklyn?

The art scene for each discipline is fairly tight knit. Illustrators tend to hang out with illustrators, designers with designers. The American Illustration party and Society of Illustrators parties make it easy to run into other illustrators and get to know other people in the city. Design is a bit different because it is more diverse. The advertising scene is very different from the boutiquey design scene. There are events for everyone.

What’s the best and worst thing about being a graphic designer in Brooklyn?

The best thing is that there is so much to do. There is always a design or illustration event to go to and you’ll always run into people you know there. It feels almost small–town–ish, in that I can show up to an event alone and know that there will be someone there that I know and can talk to. It’s pretty hard to say what the worst thing is, because I feel like this city is the perfect place to be a designer or illustrator. Because there are so many designers here, the competition for work is very high, which can be great if you work for yourself or if you have enough chops to get a good job here, but it can be harder to stand out as a young designer for that reason too.

How has social media helped promote your work?

Twitter and other social media outlets are IMMENSELY helpful in promoting your work. Because news spreads so quickly through networks, your stuff can be seen by a lot of people very very quickly. If you are connected to even one person that has a large network connected to them, your work spreads exponentially. Social media can also help show a bit of your personality to potential clients. There are dozens of people doing similar work to you but if you’re the most accessible / seem nice online, clients may contact you before someone that has no online presence or doesn’t seem open / accessible.

What is your favorite Letter?

R or K

Buttermilk is your first commercial font—how long was it in development before you released it?

It was in development on and off for about 2 or 3 months.

Which letters proved the most difficult to create?

The creation of the letters wasn’t nearly as hard as doing the kerning and making ligatures and figuring out how to idiot–proof it. If I had to name a character that was hard to make it would probably be the uppercase J (which I still think is just ok, but I hate J’s) and the %, which for some reason was giving me grief. Looking back at Buttermilk now, a couple years after its release, I of course have the same cringey embarrassment I have for my early design work. I’m still very proud of it because it was my first typeface, but I’m definitely excited to work on more and show how my tastes and skills have matured.

What were you inspired by when creating Buttermilk?

I drew a few words for a logo we were working on at Louise Fili Ltd. and the logo ended up being killed. I really loved the letters I drew (which I think were originally a bit inspired by bodoni poster italic) so I decided to draw a full alphabet anyway. Making it into a font was more of an exercise for me to learn how to use Fontlab.

What’s the meaning behind the name “Buttermilk”?

I think when you name a font, you want to pick something that feels in character with the font and also looks beautiful when set in the font. I originally wanted to name the font “Yours Truly” but there were already three or four bad fonts named that. Buttermilk popped in my head one afternoon and it felt right. It’s a very thick, round word that feels feminine but not too feminine which I think matched the font perfectly. It also utilizes some of my favorite characters of the font, the uppercase B the tt ligature and the lowercase k. You really can’t go wrong if you name a typeface after food, wine, or women.

What words would you use to describe the “character” of Buttermilk?

A bold script that is fun but still sophisticated and is feminine but not “girly”.

Do you plan on making more fonts in the future?

Absolutely. It’s a pretty time consuming process though and I am only one woman so it is slow-going. I recently attended Cooper Union’s Type Design continuing-ed program to learn the real ins and outs of font-making.

Do you feel that your work is rewarding? How so?

I definitely feel that my work is rewarding. I live for the “great job!” emails back from clients and the actual creation process for me is usually very fun. The kind of clients that hire me also makes it rewarding. I’m almost never doing illustrations of depressing or dark topics, everything is usually fairly light–hearted but still interesting. I think the nature of the work I do makes other people happy as well. I am constantly getting emails from strangers saying how much they loved a certain piece, requesting prints of things, telling me that my work made them smile. How rewarding is that!

Do you have any words of praise to give to the letterpress process & any nightmare stories?

I. Love. Letterpress. I think what I like most about the process is the immediate satisfaction you get from making prints. Turn the crank and it is done. Letterpress makes literally anything look better. I’ve seen people letterpress scrawly drawings and it looks amazing. I think the only nightmarish things about it are the cost of plates if you want to make big things, difficult registration, and a massive swollen hand after a long day of printing (When I printed my alphabet posters, my hand swelled up and hurt so much I had to request an ice–pack when I was out at a restaurant later that night. I had no idea that just turning a crank for 7 hours could do that).

When do you know that you’ve “made it” in the typography world?

I don’t know when you can say you’ve “made it” in design/type, but I think the ultimate goal is to be able to say “I pay my bills by making pretty things”.

Why do you think people get so passionate about fonts and typography?

I think people generally love language, words, phrases, and quotes so to see a great word illustrated appropriately typographically can be beautiful. Illustrated type is a very accessible kind of art. People with no background in art or design can look at a really beautifully drawn word and appreciate it and you don’t have to be on some higher cerebral plane to get the meaning of it. I think designers get passionate about fonts because to be an “expert” in font use and recognition makes them feel as though they are “expert” designers. But like anything, just because you have the knowledge doesn’t mean you can apply it perfectly in every context. In my opinion, the really great designers are ones who have a good working knowledge of fonts (but maybe aren’t a walking font encyclopedia), and are really just good at using what they know appropriately for each project. Great designers and art directors are really excellent curators.

What fonts do you like?

There are too many to name! I’m of course a big fan of anything H&FJ does, I love Hannes Von Dohren’s tyepface Brandon Grotesque and his new typeface Pluto, Mark Von Bronkhurst’s Sweet Sans has become one of my new favorites to use, but really most of my font excitement surrounds web fonts because of all of the internet projects I’ve been doing. For this site, I use Benton Modern enabled through Web Type as well as Mark Simonson’s Coquette enabled by Typekit.

Are you a serif or a sans-serif kinda girl?

Definitely a serif girl! So much more variety and much more fun to draw.

What fonts do you like to use in Microsoft Word?

I don’t use microsoft word, BUT if I was going to pick a universal font that I like for web and whatnot, it’s Georgia (particularly Georgia italic). It’s a beautiful typeface that is really well crafted.

What do you feel about anti-font campaigns like “Ban Comic Sans” are they valid?

I actually think that bad fonts should never be banned. They are perfect red flags for clients with poor taste or “designers” that have no idea what they’re doing.

How does type affect your everyday experience?

I have a theory that my process for drawing type has affected my memory negatively. I work in a sort of stream of conscious way when it comes to type, only making general decisions up front and letting the type kind of evolve as I go, and I think not having to consciously queue up “inspirations” as I go along is slowly destroying my short term memory.

Why did you start Daily Drop Cap?

I knew when I went freelance that I wanted to take on a project I wouldn’t have the time for when I had a day job. Originally, I wanted to do an alphabet per week, but realized quickly that my schedule was a bit too packed for this. Instead I opted for a letter per day and after a brainstorming session with friends, I realized it wasn’t just making the letters that would make it popular, it was making it more interactive and allowing people to reuse the drop caps.

Some of your work has been copied and used without permission: what is your take on sharing content and how have you handled plagiarism of your work?

I am of course very against plagiarism of any kind. I try to reserve my reactions for when it is really obvious though so I don’t look like I’m policing the internet for art thieves. I have definitely written an email or two to people that use the term “inspired by” a bit too loosely and strongly worded emails to people that don’t acknowledge their “inspiration”. I’m always really thankful when people alert me to work they see online that is either a misuse of my work (taken from other sites and used without permission with other articles (design blogs excluded of course) or a plagiarized version of my work. I’m actually thinking of letterpress printing a little “Certificate of Valor” to send to other designers and illustrators that point out plagiarists to me.

Where are you headed? What are you currently pursuing and/or what isn’t there yet that you’re interested in making happen?

I love what I do already. I want to of course continue pushing my lettering especially now that I have time to do some experimentation and try new methods. I want to make more self-authored things, lots of letterpress type related projects and products, write/illustrate a children’s book, and push my Daily Drop Cap project further and into more mediums.

What do you do when you’re not working?

Mostly playing with my cats, watching the internet (netflix watch-instantly and hulu), treating myself to pork-fat heavy meals (and therefore slowly draining my bank account), riding my bike around Brooklyn, impulsive procrasti–cleaning, and hanging out with my fiance/friends.

Will you send me high–res images of your work?

Nope. I sell prints through my site, so if you would like to purchase a print that is not featured in the store, send an email request and if I get multiple requests I will post it. If you’re writing a magazine article (not a blog article) I can of course send you high res art if you need it, please grab jpgs of the images you need from my site as placeholders.

Can I ask you more questions about your process / your work?

Unfortunately because of the crazy amount of emails and interviews I get from students and other people, I won’t be able to answer more questions. You can feel free to still send them along and if I get a few repeats of the same question I will add the question and answer to my FAQ. Feel free to email me anytime just to say “hi”, I just can’t answer “20 questions” emails anymore as it’s started to impact my schedule in a major way.