A talk from Seb Lester

Seb Lester is a professional type designer and calligrapher, he came in to give a talk to the class about his design career journey. He started as a student, mainly creating photorealistic paintings, after finding a book in the library on letterforms, he developed a passion for typography. After he finished his course he worked designing album covers for three years, however he wasn't happy with the job and eventually got himself a job as a Type Designer, Seb then went on to produce corporate typefaces for a range of companies such as Intel, Waitrose, The Daily Telegraph and Barclays, he also designed several typefaces which have then been bought and used by a variety of brands.

Seb felt he had no recognition from his successful career although his typefaces where used everywhere, as creating a typeface is quite anonymous, so he started to design more creative types, combining his designs with 3D and animation, however not many people liked what he had created. H then moved onto creating flat prints of creative type using memorable quotes and words, his designs where eventually recognised and have been used for Levi clothing and BMX.

Seb now focuses on calligraphy, he believes that working with typography and calligraphy together has helped him develop his skills when creating letterforms, he describes himself as obsessed with creating letters and words, spending most of his time writing letters and words. Seb finished his presentation with some advice on how to be a successful designer, he believes that passion for the subject is necessary to succeed.