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Hom Sweet Hom
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Photograph by Lauren Ronquillo

Photograph by Lauren Ronquillo

WORK HARD, SNACK OFTEN.

I’m a designer and letterer based in Detroit, schooled in New York, and raised in Los Angeles. Known for my bright color palettes, playful letterforms, and quirky copywriting, I’ve had the pleasure of creating work for clients like Starbucks, Google, AT&T, YouTube and TIME Magazine. My work has been recognized by Communication Arts, the Type Directors Club, and the Webby Awards. I’m also the author of the popular blog and book Daily Dishonesty.

I find that I’m happiest when creating; so, when I’m not working, you can find me—HAHA just kidding when am I not kind of working on something? When I’m not creating clever things for clients, you can find me selling your ex-boyfriend's tears and putting bread on my head.

For all things Hom, you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Behance, Dribbble, and Linkedin.

 

Hire Me

New business inquiries, invitations to speak, and interview requests can be sent to: 

Ryan Appleton
ryan@satelliteoffice.tv
p. +1 740 961 5995

Say hiiiiiiii*

hello@homsweethom.com

*If you’re a design student looking for information about me to write a paper, please check out my FAQ page before emailing me.

Learn from me

I teach a variety of online classes about hand lettering, creative marketing, and more! Click here to learn more.

Awards & Recognition

2018 Creative Boom’s 20 of Today’s Most Influential Graphic Designers · 2015 Mochi Magazine's 25 Game Changers Under 25 · 2015 TDC Certificate of Excellence · 2015 CA Typography Annual 5 · 2014 CA Typography Annual 4 · 2014 Art Directors Club Gold Cube · 2014 Folio Mag Best Cover Design · 2014 Graphis New Talent Annual Silver · 2013 HOW 6 Designers Changing the Face of Type · 2013 CMYK's Top 100 New Creatives · 2013 Webby Award Best Personal Blog

Speaking

*Upcoming* April 2019 Crop Conference · *Upcoming* April 2019 AIGA Charlotte · *Upcoming* May 2019 Fort Hays State University · *Upcoming* June 2019 LetterWest Conference

February 2019 FITC Amsterdam · February 2019 Graphika Manila · October 2018 Creative Works · August 2018 TypeCon · June 2018 RebelleCon · April 2018 FITC Toronto · 2017 CAMP Design Festival · 2017 CSCA Speaker · 2017 Letter West · 2017 The Design Conference Brisbane Keynote Speaker (watch here!) · 2016 Visual Playground Speaker · 2015 AIGA Nebraska SHOW Judge & Speaker · 2015 Hyperakt Lunch Talk · 2015 FindSpark #HireMe Panelist · 2015 SVA Creative Entrepreneur Panelist · 2013 Montreal Meets Speaker

Press

The New York Times · NYLON Magazine · Buzzfeed · Bustle · Cosmopolitan · Brit+Co · Design You Trust · Grubstreet · NY Daily News · Fox 5 News · Brooklyn Magazine · Well + Good · DNA Info · Badass Lady Creatives · Design Work Life · You The Designer ·  Swiss Miss · Design TAXI · Complex Magazine · Paste Magazine · Modcloth

Interviews

Creative Pep Talk · Adobe · Skillshare · Brit + Co · Hyperakt Lunch Talk · Boxy Mag · Working Not Working · Imprint Magazine · Abduzeedo · Pack Hacker

Writing

Dear Burnt Out Art Director · 10 Things Beyonce Taught Me About Being a Bosslady Freelancer · When I Grow Up I Want To Be A* Artist · Eating Not Eating · 3D Type Tutorial · 22 Thoughts from a 22 Year Old 

Teaching

The Art of Lovely & Legible Lettering · Chalkboard Lettering

 
 

Selected Clients

Adobe · Airbnb · AT&T · BBDO · The Boston Globe · Google · Hallmark · LinkedIn · LG · Los Angeles Magazine · MailChimp · Microsoft · Random House · (RED) · Ritz Carlton · Samuel Adams · Simon & Schuster · Starbucks · School of Visual Arts · Target · TIME Magazine · TimeOut New York · Tresemme · Tumblr · Veuve Clicquot · Yelp · YouTube · Y&R

 

Follow me on Instagram!

🌸Spring & summer workshops announced!🌼 Next week I’ll be in New Orleans (4/24) at @lionheartprints and Charlotte (4/26) with @aigacharlotte to teach my popular Sketchbook Lettering for Social Media workshop, and this summer I’ll be hosting THREE different lettering workshops in my brand new Detroit studio. Grab the full details and links to all the tickets with the link in my profile or at homsweethom.com/classes ✏️✏️✏️ . In-person workshops are great if you prefer hands-on instruction and the accountability of showing up to a class. I love teaching workshops and getting to meet you all, too! Work has gotten busier for me over the past two years, so I don’t host as many in-person workshops as I used to (especially out of town ones!). Tag your New Orleans and Charlotte lettering friends since those two are coming up fast 🙋🏻‍♀️ . I’m en route to Baton Rouge to speak at @cropcons right now and will embark on my Southern work tour from there! Can’t wait to meet a bunch of you at the workshops in New Orleans, Charlotte, and, of course, back in Detroit ✨🏠 . Photo of me and @skulltulas (in the best shirt ever 🌈) in one of my workshops in NYC taken by @bridgetbadore 📸 . . . . . #letteringworkshop #nolalettering #charlottelettering #detroitlettering #artworkshops #handletteringworkshop #learntoletter #letteringpractice #sketchbooklettering #drawingletters
✨HEYYY SCHOLARSHIP HEYYY✨ Want to win a trip to the @letter_west conference and level up your lettering skills from June 6th to 8th this summer? And hang out with like-minded creatives who also geek out about letters as much as you do? THEN KEEP ON READING! 👀👀👀 ~ @letter_west Conference is an event that assembles hand-letterers of all skill levels to meet, learn together, and celebrate the art of lettering. I’m speaking + hosting two panels there, and I truly believe it’ll be such a game-changer for lettering artists who want to turn their love of letters into a serious business 🙋🏻‍♀️🏆 ~ Last year, I ran this scholarship and awarded it to the lovely @moniqueaimee, and this year I'm really excited to be able to give another talented artist the opportunity to attend an event like this too. The winner will receive one ticket to the Letter West Conference (not to be confused with the retreat) and $800 for hotel + travel expenses 🎟✏️💰✈️🍔 ~ How to enter: * Create a piece that shows off your lettering skills using the phrase “Forever bettering my lettering” * Post your artwork on Instagram using the hashtag #HOMxLetterWest2019 and tag me @homsweethom and @letter_west * In the caption, write 1-2 paragraphs about why you love lettering and what winning this scholarship would mean to you. ~ Entries are due by May 1st at 11:59pm EST and the winner will be notified via DM on May 3rd before 6pm EST. The scholarship is open anyone over the age of 18. You can find all of the contest details with the link in my profile or at homsweethom.com/blog/letter-west-scholarship-2019. Good luck!!! Tag a friend who should enter 😉♥️✏️
Weeeeee where my Cleveland people at? 🙌🏽 I had the pleasure of lettering and illustrating the cover + interior of this month’s issue of @clevelandmagazine ✏️✏️✏️ which is all about the most Cleveland-y things in Cleveland! I had so much fun working on this meaty project because I got to flex my illustration skills AND learn a ton about Cleveland. If you see one in the wild, snap a pic and tag me in your post or Story!✨📸 . Special thanks to @mqba for the awesome project and art direction & also to @annlettering for helping me with production on the interior spread so I didn’t have to pull an all-nighter 😅. 2019 is the year of me asking for (and truly, truly accepting) help from others to run my business as it grows 🌿
Have you been waiting for a sign from the universe to take action on something?💫 If you’re waiting on one, you could be waiting for a reaaaaaally long time. So this week, we're taking fate into our *own* hands for this week’s #HOMwork assignment (link is in my profile to sign up for the weekly email!)💌 ~ The assignment is to turn a sign you’ve been waiting for into an *actual* sign by lettering or illustrating it (bonus pts for mocking it up on a billboard, poster, or any other physical sign - get creative with it!)✨ ~ 👆🏽This piece is the sign I've been waiting for when it comes to making decisions in MY business. It's a golden bit of advice my business coach @the_content_queen gave me last year when I was having a hard time deciding what steps to take next with my content and online courses. 🤔 Sensing my hesitation, Rebecca asked me, “Well, what would feel good to work on right now? What would be fun for you?” and then dropped these words of wisdom on me: “I think you should follow the fun.”🙌🏽 ~ I loved it so much that I jotted it down and lettered this as a reminder to myself (and other creative entrepreneurs in a similar space) that the reason my business exists is because I directed my time and energy towards something I loved and enjoyed (which to me, meant something fun!). I immediately felt unstuck and began to list off ideas for classes, blog posts, and content that sounded fun to make, and we began to roll out a plan 💕 ~ I know every business is different, but I think it’s especially important for art/creative-based entrepreneurs to focus on making things that they *actually* enjoy making. Think back to why you started your business in the first place, and use that as your compass 🔮 The beauty of running your own biz is that you get to call the shots, so if you’re ever feeling stuck about what to do next with your content, marketing, or creative projects, I hope these three little words will be as helpful for you as they were for me ♥️
“What paint is that? What brush is that? What’s your blood type?”🤔 ~⠀ Ok just kidding no one ever asks me that last one, but as an answer to the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of DMs and comments I’ve gotten about the supplies I use for painting murals🎨, hand lettering✏️, documenting my work📸, and running my biz💡, I put together a page with links to every tool I genuinely use to make all the magic happen ✨ ~ This is @behrpaint Ultra Premium Interior Enamel that I picked up from @homedepot, and it’s what I use to paint indoor murals! I typically get it in an eggshell finish (matte but with a tiny bit of slickness so it can withstand a bit of scuffing from living your life around it) 👊🏽 ~ 👉🏽 Head on over to the link in my profile to read up on the goods & maybe even treat yourself to a few of my faves ⭐️ . . . . . #muralart #muralartist #behrpaint #artsupplies #homedepot #womenwhopaint #muralarts #muralist #creativetools
Happy Friday! Work hard, wine often...err I mean, snack often 😉🍷🍜 NEW STUDIO MURAL COMPLETE after 3 full days of work. Excited to show you some behind the scenes soon 💕 . . . . . #mural #artstudio #homsweethom #foodillustration #pastel #handlettering #goodtype #typespire #typegang #thedailytype #designspiration #artistsofcolor #artistsofinstagram #detroitmurals #womenofillustration
When u make cute art but are also really weird 🙃 *SNEAK PEEK of the mural I’m painting in my brand new studio space* can’t wait to share the full piece w/ you this weekend! 💕 P.S. It’s gonna be big enough for me to finally host workshops! Who wants to learn lettering and marketing from me in person this summer? 🥰✏️💡