Jonny Hannah

Jonny Hannah’s hand lettering is exquisite, a perfect example of an artist who has a completely unique voice who tends to apply what he finds enjoyable to draw and render to all subjects; he tends not to adapt to the brief, but instead adapts the brief to what he would like to do.

Jonny Hannah’s lettering style is so intrinsically linked to his hobbies, loves, and of course his illustration style that he is a prime example of an illustrator who imprints their graphic signature on everything they do. Companies will hire Jonny because they like his style and execution. It appears that Jonny creates his art primarily for his own fulfilment rather than finding a unique voice for a specific job or company.

A highlight of Hannah’s work is the sheer variety of letterforms he renders, based on a number of reference sources such as 1950s’ posters and his love of Jazz and Northern Soul style graphics. Probably created with a range of materials before being transferred to photostencil for screenprinting. Some of the letterforms are intricately decorated with patterns; some cut out block letters; others are heavily serifed, ornate scrawls. They are always a key part of his work, playing off his illustrations to, in affect, form a tapestry of nostalgic idiosyncratic illustrations.

“In ‘A Catalogue of Disasters’, a book for the Royal College of Art, he pays homage to vintage country fair, using every kind of shadowed letter he can think of.”
The cover for ‘A Catalogue of Disasters’ appears to have been done exclusively with ink, pen and brush, uniting seemingly disparate forms neatly together.

This can also be said of the cover for ‘Introducing the Unquiet Grave’, where Jonny has screenprinted his letters. This treatment of printing them in the same colour and opacity gives them a unity they would not have otherwise had. The opacity also allows parts of the letters to take on a different quality, mixing with the textures and colours underneath.

Jonny is a master of uniting different styles of hand lettering seamlessly, not only with each other, but also with the images he produces.


“The pure joy of handlettering is evident in Jonny Hannah’s work, which is replete with unusual styles of shadowed letter, both invented and simulated. In his seamless marriage of letter and image, the melange of quirky and discordant visual approaches draws the eye to the message and adds textural patterns to the entire composition.”