David Milan Takes Calligraphy Art to the Next Level

It’s been quite a while since we’ve been wholly inspired by a lettering artist. But when it comes to modern calligraphy, illustrator and designer David Milan knocks it out of the park. With clients that include giants like MTV, CNN, and HBO, as well as 130k followers on Instagram, Milan clearly has his work cut out for him.

“The hardest part of my job is finding a good quote or a word,” he told Lettering Daily. “I could spend hours looking for a good one. Since I have the phrase or word I start to make the sketches in different styles, after having chosen the best one I proceed to do it with a marker, brush or directly digital on a tablet. Finally, I place the lettering on a photo or image.”

“​I think the strokes are a very important element in order to create a nice lettering piece, also the thickness and kerning are very important,” he adds, talking about his techniques. “Sometimes I have the same mistakes, I usually see different works of great artists to have a better idea of how to do it and that’s how I improve my work!”

Influenced by his background in graffiti, his lettering art looks as though it’s actually popping out of the screen. Check it out for yourself: