Jessica Hische’s website index defaults to Jessicahische.is/awesome – and since internet URLs never lie (case in point: Facebook = book of faces, Myspace = …your space), there’s no need for us to question the fact that she’s anything but awesome.

While she may have been cited as one of Forbes’ 30 to Watch Under 30 (twice), there’s a good chance Jessica’s household-name status stems from her work on Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom – as the yellow title script was done by none other than her hand. However, to us design school grads, Jessica has been a hot topic of conversation for years; her straightforward design mentality (read: Should I Work For Free?) being not only an inspiration, but also a guide to the way in which we operate as creatives. As such, it’s safe to say that besides being awesome, Jessica Hische has also helped shaped our design consciousness since we were conscious enough to have a design consciousness – and that’s why we had our own “awkward sweaty fangirl” moment when we secured this talented letterer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed “crazy cat lady” as one of our GIRL GUIDE features.

Design school taught me to cut embellishments, skip unnecessary anecdotes and get straight to the point. So without further ado, it’s time for me to stop raving and let you see for yourself as to why this all-around coolgal is one of our (and soon to be your) biggest design-spirations ever.

What piece of work are you most proud of? Can you describe the typical process you go through when being commissioned a project?

It’s hard to say which piece I’m most proud of because sometimes small victories can seem like really big accomplishments! I put together a logo critique pdf recently (I called it a “logo physical” and in about a dozen or so pages explained all the little tweaks I would make to their mark to make it more awesome) and I was SO proud of how it turned out. If I had to say overall pride though, it would be the title design that I did for Moonrise Kingdom. It was such an honor to be able to work with Wes Anderson — it was one of the most surreal and special experiences of my career so far. When the movie opened in San Francisco, forty of my friends got tickets to see the show together and I cried when everyone clapped at my name in the credits!

A typical process for me begins with research (which I either do myself (by reading the book / article I’m designing for, investigating the brand I’m working with, etc) or the company I’m working with hands over their research (which is the case with advertising projects, usually)). Next I do word association brainstorming, in which I make long lists of words that pop into my head, some are visual references and some are random. From this list, I’ll come up with a few concepts by referencing the words I’ve written down, merging very different ideas together to come up with unique visual concepts. Next, I’ll do some light thumbnail sketches to figure out layout options and after that I proceed to the pencil sketches, which are sent to the client for approval. One is chosen, and I create the final artwork in Adobe Illustrator as vector art.
 

 

Source: John Madere
 

After graduating with a BA in graphic and interactive design you immediately began working at Louise Fili Ltd. Since then you established yourself enough as a freelance illustrator that you could branch out on your own. What’s the best part about being your own boss?

The best part about being independent is having a flexible schedule. Sometimes I feel extremely motivated to work and will work a sixteen hour day, and sometimes the weather is just too nice to not take the day off and go on an adventure! Of course deadlines guide just how much flexibility I have in my schedule, but it’s really nice to feel in control of my own destiny and to be able to take time off when I need it. Most freelancers work longer hours than they ever did at their day jobs, but it’s their choice to do so.
 

 

Source: Jessica Hische
 

How did working for a graphic design firm that specialized in food packaging and restaurant identities influence your style?

It was less the subject matter and more Louise’s typographic tastes that influenced me. She’s a self-proclaimed Italophile (and a bit of a Francophile too) and working with her introduced me to an amazing array of vintage type from Italy, France, and all over the world. I definitely fell in love with vintage typography in college, but my tastes were refined while working for her.
 

If you could build a cool-girl army who would be in it?

This is a tough question! I think it would be all lady comedians (comediennes?), but mostly because I want to hang out with all of them and be that awkward sweaty fangirl shaking with excitement. Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, etc!
 

You started gaining recognition for your personal projects “Daily Drop Cap” and the “Should I Work For Free” flowchart. What are you tips for using social media and personal blogs to advance your career?

The most successful side projects are either great daily eye candy or help/educate others in some way. Should I Work for Free is silly and humorous but it also helps people talk about the difficult topic of pricing jobs. A personal blog can be used to showcase work, but it can also be used to educate others about the process of design or to demystify what goes into making your artwork. I think in general the best advice I can give is to be yourself. I spend very little time promoting my own work through social media and instead use it as a way to stay in touch with the community, speak my mind, and point people toward things that I find interesting. People want to follow you, to get to know you, not to get cold and impersonal self-promotion blasts.
 

What is your go-to girl power song?

I don’t think I have a go-to song but I love making mixes to work to! I have a mix called “Top Down, Spirits Up” which is great for getting me pumped up.

Where do you go to to find design and typography inspiration?

A whole mess of places—visual bookmarking sites like Pinterest, design blogs, links people send me on Twitter, old Type Directors Club annuals, local sign painting, books on calligraphy, etc. I’m surrounded by type and lettering nerds that love sharing things that they discover so I always feel like there’s too much to see!
 

Source: Jessica Hische
 

If you were a typeface, which would you be?

I’d need a good mix to represent all the different parts of my personality—a swashy script for my girlier moments, a friendly sans-serif for day to day, a serif with just a touch of personality for my business-power-lady days, and a super goofy display face for when I’m being silly.
 

In an interview with Design Boom you mentioned that “ink never really dries on the web.” With so many publications making the shift from print to digital, what does this mean for the future of typography?

Typography is really the art of arranging type (not the art of drawing it, which is type design) and it definitely gets complicated when you typeset online! If you want a flexible / responsive site, you have to give up a bit of control when it comes to typesetting (especially when it comes to creating perfect hyphenation). Type design though is flourishing because of the web, there’s a whole new group of people that now need typefaces and who also appreciate a lot of the geekiness that goes into making type.
 

 

From Hische’s Daily Drop Cap.
 

You’ve spoken at web design conferences and do quite a bit of coding (even though people mainly know you for your typography work). When and how did you get into coding? Any tips for anyone trying to get in web design?

My top tip for getting into coding is to have a project you care about that you want to build. It’s difficult to learn anything unless you have something to apply that learning to—something you actually feel invested in. I learned coding because I wanted to have control over my portfolio site and began by editing CSS bit by bit, using existing templates, until I had the courage to work from scratch. Russ (my husband) and I built a site dontfeartheinternet.com to pass on some of our knowledge to folks trying to learn how to do HTML and CSS. It’s in no way a complete resource, but definitely makes coding (really, markup and styling) a little less intimidating. I love that when I have ideas for side projects I don’t have to worry about finding someone to help me make it—I can do it myself!
 

 

Source: Jessica Hische
 

What is some advice you would give to someone looking to start a career in design, in particularly freelance design?

I’ll be very practical with my advice: have about six months of expenses saved before you go freelance. No matter how fast the ball starts rolling with clients it still takes time to get paid! Having a little money set aside will help keep you from turning into an unproductive ball of anxiety.
 

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Header image: Michael O’Neal