For Leona Fietz, Typography Is More Than Inspirational Messages and Pretty Fonts

Queensland typographer Leona Fietz says she was never the neat handwriting kid in primary school. These days though, the 25-year-old is making waves with her custom lettering and bespoke fonts. She’s been commissioned to design everything from wine labels to EP covers, and you’ll also find her bold murals decorating walls in Toowoomba and Brisbane.

“During university I was always drawn to design that included custom type and illustration,” she tells The Creators Project. “Artists like Timba Smits, and Jessica Hische. But it wasn’t until after graduating and working in full time design roles that I started keeping a sketchbook and creating a folio of hand lettered work.”

A lettering-based practice quickly grew from there, and now Fietz is staging solo shows, making zines, splashing paint on bricks, and running typography workshops.

In the age of Instagram, she admits, “there are a lot of pretty quotes out there.” Which is why she steers clear of cheesy inspirational messages. “Brush lettering has become very popular, and all types of creatives are making that kind of content…they’ve got good intentions, but I’m not a big fan of the positive or bossy brush quotes that tell you to feel or do something.”

Instead, Fietz aims to stand out from the crowd. It’s trickier than you’d think. “The little imperfections of a hand done piece are what make it,” she explains. But of course, “there is a difference between something that’s well crafted with a human touch and something that looks amateur.”

Although she works with digital tools, most of her projects begin with a hand drawn sketch. “I think being a typographer now means finding a way to use those tools in a way that leaves the viewer not completely sure of the process, and creating your own unique method that works for you.”

When she’s looking for inspiration, the designer has a veritable network of artist friends from Brisbane and around Australia at her fingertips. “People I go to for advice or a pep talk are Carla McRae, The Velvet Insides, Georgia Hill, Frank and Mimi, Luke Day and Matthew Wong,” she says. “I also love the work of Ken Barber, Erik Marinovich, Martina Flor, Gemma O’Brien , Lucas Grogan and Stephen Powers.”

An effective piece of typography is one that looks and feels so simple that it seems effortless. Behind the scenes, though, lie decades of influence and years of study.

“I’m interested in the craft and history of typography, and how to add meaning through a treatment,” Fietz says. “I love boldly patterned and textured floral illustration that’s mixed within great letterforms. Or super manipulated type that sits further along the illegibility scale… also a really punchy, clever simple piece that says something funny.”

You can find out more about Leona Fietz here or follow her on Instagram.

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