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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

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* February 2019 FITC Amsterdam · *Upcoming* February 2019 Graphika Manila · *Upcoming* April 2019 Crop Conference · *Upcoming* April 2019 AIGA Charlotte

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

 

INSTAGRAM

“What pen is that? What paint is that? What brush is that?"😅⠀
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As an answer to the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of DMs and comments I’ve gotten about the supplies I use, I put together a page with links to every tool I genuinely use to create my work + run my business. 👉🏽Head on over to the link in my profile to read up on the goods & maybe even grab a few for yourself because it’s Friday & you’re worth it ✏️✏️✏️⠀
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Oh and did I mention this is also the theme of the brand spankin’ new #HOMwork assignment I sent out today?✨ Sharing tools is cool, but my true sweet spot is sharing my conceptual creative process + insights with you through this weekly email & free creative resource library (both of which you’ll get when you sign up with the link in my profile or at homsweethom.com/subscribe) ♥️💌♥️ ⠀
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#letteringsupplies #handletteringtools #creativeprocess #letteringpens #freelancedesigner #letteringpractice #strengthinletters #letteringchallenge #handletteringworkshop
Oh of course the week I happen to be in New York it decides to snow storm 🤷🏻‍♀️ TIME TO GO STOCK UP ON KALE & KOMBUCHA TO PREPARE FOR HIPSTER HIBERNATION with my bb @zzdesign 🌿🥃
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(Haha just kidding we don’t have kale. I went out this morning and got us a half dozen bagels, cream cheese and a shit ton of cookies 😉)
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#snowday #fuckwinter #nycsnow #snowthanks #goawaysnow #isitsummeryet #iswinteroveryet
Want to boost your creativity, sharpen your lettering skills, and *finally* get comfortable sharing your work with me & a community of over 25,000 cool creators? 🙌🏽 Join me for #HOMwork, a FREE weekly creative challenge I’ve been running for over a year now. Sign up to receive a creative prompt every Friday morning with the link in my profile 💌 Did I mention you’ll also get instant access to my Creative Resource Library of free tutorials & workbooks that I update monthly? 😍
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How it works: every week, I send out a thought-provoking mini creative brief for you to letter & share on Instagram using the hashtag #HOMwork. We all browse through the hashtag and check out each other’s work, find new people to follow, and leave supportive comments to cheer each other on! 👏🏽
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After talking with tons of creatives over the years, I realized that figuring out WHAT THE HECK TO LETTER/DESIGN 😩 was a huge road block for a lot of people to even begin working on something. So at the beginning of 2018, I created #HOMwork as a way to help get you started 💡🚀💡
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Each prompt is packed with insightful musings about the creative process and standing out online as an artist. If you’re bored of lettering challenges that just give you a list of words, HOMwork might be *exactly* what you need. (Don’t get me wrong - simple challenges are good for practice, but I wanted to make something a little juicier for ya 🍑🍑🍑)
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P.S. While the challenges mostly lend themselves to lettering, anyone can join and complete the challenges in the medium of their choosing! ✏️🎨🖌✂️🖍
Would you subscribe to HOM Magazine?!🤩 Jk this isn’t real - it’s this week’s #HOMwork assignment: if your creative business was a magazine, what would it’s February 2019 cover look like?⭐️⠀
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So, why magazines?🧐 One way to help curate your creative voice is to think of your brand as a magazine. There’s a TON we can learn from these glossy publications, specifically the way they structure their content. Think of a health magazine - the overarching theme is health but within that topic, there are more specific sections: exercise, mental health, diet, etc. (If you're more of a TV person, think of yourself like the Food Network and your sections as the shows!)🍳⠀
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Consider everything a magazine cover needs to convey to the viewer from the broad genre to the specific think pieces. What types of articles would be inside, and what would the catchy cover lines be (aka old-school clickbait)👀? Then illustrate or letter the cover in your style!✏️⠀
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👉🏽P.S. There is one *very real thing* about this faux-cover: exclusive access to my brand spankin’ new Creative Resource Library! It’s packed with FREE tutorials, worksheets and resources for designers & creative entrepreneurs, and I’ll be updating it with new goodies every month. When you sign up for #HOMwork with the link in my profile, I’ll email you the library link + password right away🗝👀✨ Whatcha waiting’ for?!
⭐️INTERNATIONAL IPAD GIVEAWAY WITH 3 WINNERS!⭐️⠀
Yup, you read that right - we're kicking off the month of February with an amazing iPad giveaway! I teamed up with a group of lovely lettering ladies to give 3 lucky winners each a 32GB iPad (the newest model!) AND an Apple Pencil to either start or continue their lettering journey!💕⠀
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👉🏽Entering is easy:⠀
1.) Follow:⠀
@surelysimplechallenge⠀
@thepigeonletters⠀
@homsweethom⠀
@pocketfulofletters ⠀
@m2bstudio⠀
@oak.lettering.co⠀
@theletteringworkbook⠀
@doublemlettering⠀
@theindysign⠀
2.) Like this photo⠀
3.) Tag 3 friends in separate comments⠀
**For 10 bonus entries you are welcome to screenshot this image and post it to your feed. Repost with the hashtag #febipadletteringgiveaway. Please no accounts created just for giveaways. ⠀
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Giveaway will end on 2/5 at 11:59 pm PST. Winner will be announced no later than 48 hours in the updated caption of this post. We extract all the comments and use random.org to generate the winners. We do not personally choose the winners, they are randomly selected, so please don't DM us about why you should win - if you do, you will be disqualified.⠀
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This is not endorsed or sponsored by Apple or Instagram. Open worldwide. International winner must be willing to pay for shipping.
🍳The HOM family Recipe for Success👇🏽
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A handful of ideas, roughly chopped
1 cup intuition
1/2 cup confidence (homemade is best but store bought is fine)
3 cups of DOING THE DAMN THING
1/2 cup support from friends
1/2 cup knowing when to rest
2 tablespoons of figuring it out as you go
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
Salt, pepper, and sass to taste
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Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing with your hands until well-combined. Form dough into balls and deep fry until golden brown. Serve with a side of spicy mayo & a big glass of ‘don’t overthink it’. 🍷🍷🍷
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This week’s #HOMwork was a fun one!🙌🏽 Want to get your creative juices flowing this weekend? 👉🏽 Sign up w/ the link in my profile to read this full assignment, receive a new creative prompt in your inbox every Friday morning, AND get exclusive access to my brand spankin’ new ‼️Creative Resource Library!‼️ It’s packed with FREE tutorials, worksheets and resources for designers & creative entrepreneurs, and I’ll be updating it with new goodies every month. When you sign up with the link in my profile, I’ll email you the library link + password right away🗝👀✨
OMG HOMwork is baaaaaack and better than ever! 🏆 New prompts, new guest teachers, and new freebies. 👉🏽 Sign up w/ the link in my profile to receive a new creative prompt in your inbox every Friday morning….plus something BRAND NEW I put together: my Creative Resource Library! ✨ It’s packed with FREE tutorials, worksheets and resources for designers & creative entrepreneurs, and I’ll be updating it with new goodies every month. When you sign up for HOMwork, I’ll email you the link + password 🗝👀
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Finding your unique creative voice has been a consistent theme throughout this challenge because it’s one of the topics I get asked about the most! 🙌🏽 I truly believe that finding your voice as an artist starts with finding your voice as a human. 👉🏽 Enter this week’s assignment: Make a list of everything you love in life (I mean EV-VER-RY-THH-AN-NG), and then create an intricate design that incorporates as many of those things as possible!
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I know this may seem daunting (I recommend writing out at 30+ things), but the point is to get as much out in this brain dump as possible: everything you care about, have a curiosity for, enjoy doing, dream about, etc. 📝 Your creative voice is hidden in here somewhere, and I like when I can see everything all on one page. Plus, the long list of items will help you flex your detailed drawing + lettering skills! 💪🏽✏️
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‼️Psst…I hid a tiny smiley face in the artwork above - comment below if you can find it 😊