Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here.
This is the third episode in a 5-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!
This episode features the legendary, the one and only, Jessica Hische! Jessica is a lettering artist and New York Times Best-selling author based in Oakland, California. She specializes in typographical work for logos, film, books, and other commercial applications. Her clients include Wes Anderson, The United States Postal Service, Target, Hallmark, and Penguin Books. She’s been named a Print Magazine New Visual Artist (20 under 30), one of Forbes 30 under 30 in Art and Design, an ADC Young Gun, a “Person to Watch” by GD USA, and an Adweek “Creative 100”. She is also the co-founder of Studioworks—business management software for creative studios.
In this conversation, you’ll hear Jessica’s origin story in graphic design and illustration, how she works with sources of inspiration and what her process looks like (yes, verbal brainstorming!). You’ll hear how and why technology has changed Jessica’s process and how she thinks about the topic on so many creatives’ minds: AI. Finally, Jessica shares that it’s a small world, after all, and that, in fact, is a really big deal.
I’m also joined by Chris Rouleau, co-hosting this episode alongside me.
You can find visuals and links discussed in the show notes at www.talkpaperscissors.info.
This episode was recorded as part of a guest lecture series in GCM 806 - Advanced Typography in winter 2025 at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Let’s listen in…
About Our Guest:
Jessica Hische is a lettering artist and New York Times Best-selling author based in Oakland, California. She specializes in typographical work for logos, film, books, and other commercial applications. Her clients include Wes Anderson, The United States Postal Service, Target, Hallmark, and Penguin Books. She’s been named a Print Magazine New Visual Artist (20 under 30), one of Forbes 30 under 30 in Art and Design, an ADC Young Gun, a “Person to Watch” by GD USA, and an Adweek “Creative 100”. She is also the co-founder of Studioworks—business management software for creative studios.
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Music:
A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License
Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle