Drawing Letters

A six week online course with Chris Campe

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People are so weird: a friend of a friend’s goes to bed every night with a hot water bottle, and by morning, the bottle is empty. The woman is not just always cold, she’s incredibly thirsty too.

What does this have to do with lettering? Quirks like these often hold an inventiveness that is rare in design.

But I’m not interested in unrestrained eccentricity that breaks every rule. What interests me is the tension between wanting to be individual and wanting to belong: the desire to create something of your own, without getting it wrong.

Lettering is full of rules, some of them centuries old. I teach you those rules first, as a foundation. Then I show you experimental ways to bend them, break them, and move past them. Always guided by one question: »Does it have to be this way? How else could I make this work?«

That’s exactly what this course is about. The goal isn’t flawless lettering. It’s your own approach. I’ll show you how letters work, why they look the way they do, and what happens when you find your own answers to »Does it have to be this way?«

I’m Chris Campe. I’ve been designing lettering for 15 years, published seven books on it, designed postage stamps for Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance, won international awards, and inspired hundreds of people to love letters through my teaching.

I want to know what you want to do with lettering. In this course, I’ll help you push past your hesitation and find your own way with letters.

Target Audience

• Designers who work with type but can’t draw it themselves—yet!
• Illustrators who want to get past their hesitation with lettering and use it in their own projects
• Creatives who work with language and communication and want to rediscover type from a different angle: copywriters, editors, media educators, for example

Is This Lettering Course Right for You?

• You work creatively and have an eye for type, but you still hesitate when it comes to drawing it yourself.
• You may already have some experience with lettering, but you’re missing the foundation to develop your own letterforms.
• You want to work seriously on something for six weeks. Daily practice, individual feedback, exchange with colleagues who share your interest in type.

I was afraid that I paid too much to learn some basic stuff about letters, taking under consideration that I already knew something. But I do not regret the cent, it was fully worth it. I felt like child in Disneyland (at least child from 90s, from poor and gray Poland; not sure what makes today children jumping for joy).

Katarzyna, Teilnehmerin Frühjahr 2026

The next course in German: September 2026

I haven’t set the date for the next course in English yet. Probably spring 2027, and it’ll be at a different time, not Tuesday night CEST.

General Information

• Live webinar via Zoom
• 6 sessions, 2 hours each, Tuesdays 6:00–8:00 PM CEST
• September 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 10, 2026
• practice assignments and individual feedback
• Group exchange on Slack
• Small group of max. 15 participants

Course Fee

€900 plus VAT where applicable

Registration

Get on the waitlist and you'll be the first to know when I open registration.

Join the waitlist

I included my first hand-lettered piece in my portfolio for the book fair, and I was surprised how well it was received, and that there’s apparently increased demand for this among publishers.

I definitely wouldn’t have had the nerve to offer that as a service without the course, and if I can land a job from it, the investment will have paid off many times over! Thanks for that already!

Kathrin Wessel, participant fall 2024

What’s Special About This Lettering Course

Yes, I show techniques and explain the basics of lettering. But beyond that, three aspects are central:

• Access I share my way of thinking about lettering and help you to develop your own approach to lettering.
• Exchange I integrate the potential of the group. Most of the participants are experienced creatives, their exchange with each other is an essential part of the course and also inspiring for me.
• Feedback I help the participants with individual feedback. I enjoy thinking my way into the work of the individuals and providing impulses that sharpen their focus the most.

Course Contents

In six course units, I will teach you the most important insights and techniques from my 15 years of lettering experience.

I will show you

• what role calligraphy and the history of lettering play in lettering
• how the letters are related to each other and how you can systematically change their appearance
• where to find inspiration and how to use it
• how to combine font styles into successful layouts
• the basics of digitizing analogue lettering and a glimpse into type design

We’ll also talk about the importance of a personal approach and attitude to lettering.

Week 1: Calligraphy & Basics

We start with calligraphy exercises. Using a basic font, you will learn the most important principles of font design—basic form, rhythm, proportion.

Week 2: Form & Tools

I will explain how different writing tools influence the shape of letters, introduce you to some milestones in the history of writing and invite you to try out historical forms.

Week 3: Variation & Expression

I will show you how you can systematically modify the basic font to change its look and give it more expression.

Week 4: Form & Content

You will learn how to combine form and content, how to develop your own forms from typeface templates and how to use the look and feel of different font styles as a means of expression.

Week 5: Drawing Technique & Layout

You will develop a lettering in several steps and learn which tricks make it easier to design more complex lettering layouts. You will enter the final week of the course with a final project and a reflection task.

Week 6: Reflection & Outlook

The course ends with an outlook on the next steps - tips for digitizing analogue lettering and a brief insight into type design.

Course Format

Live Sessions Plus Video

This course is a weekly live webinar via Zoom.

I will record the course sessions and send a link to the video so you can watch the sesssions several times.

The videos will be available to you for three weeks after the end of the course.

Exercises as Homework

I encourage participants to practice every day during the course. 20 or 30 minutes is enough—you will be amazed at how much it helps. The exercises from the course help you to keep at it. Please, plan some time for this.

Exchange via Slack

Ask questions directly during the live sessions or later on Slack.

On Slack, you can also upload your homework, read my feedback on the exercises from all participants and exchange ideas with each other. Being part of this group is motivating and inspiring.

The next course in German: September 2026

I haven’t set the date for the next course in English yet. Probably spring 2027, and it’ll be at a different time, not Tuesday night CEST.

General Information

• Live webinar via Zoom
• 6 sessions, 2 hours each, Tuesdays 6:00–8:00 PM CEST
• September 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 10, 2026
• practice assignments and individual feedback
• Group exchange on Slack
• Small group of max. 15 participants

Course Fee

€900 plus VAT where applicable

Registration

Get on the waitlist and you'll be the first to know when I open registration.

Join the waitlist