Jacob Wise on legibility, expressive typography and referencing in graphic design

Born in London to parents who are both designers , it was during his final year at Kingston School of Art that Jacob decided to hone his practice. His decision to “delve into typography” was taken both out of love for the tradition and as a backlash to the ever-growing uniformity of design courses. “The term ‘multidisciplinary creative’ was bandied around art school a great deal whilst I was there. I don’t have an issue with it as I think anyone creative is inherently able to understand other creative disciplines, but I do see the danger in design courses becoming too homogeneous,” he tells It’s Nice That. “Obviously it’s good to have that sense of freedom but with the creative industry becoming more cut-throat and competitive, I think the value of becoming a professional within a niche area should not be overlooked.”

Since graduating in 2017, becoming a professional in a niche area is exactly what Jacob’s been working on. What started as an internship in September of that year at revered Munich-based design studio Bureau Borsche turned into a job, one which he stills holds today. “I’ve lost track of what I’ve worked on,” he explains of his time there. “It’s great because everyone dips in and out of projects – you’re always doing bits and bobs from day-to-day which is fast-paced but refreshing. Since my primary focus is typography, I naturally end up working on much of the type, lettering and logo design for clients,” he adds.

Despite volunteering to dedicate his time specifically to typography, it’s clearly an area in which Jacob has innate, natural ability. Not limited to one aesthetic, his letterings are as sophisticated as they are expressive. Although accomplished as a technical designer, in the years since he acquired a spare copy of InDesign aged 14, his process has developed into something intuitive and instinctive. “I’m spending far longer refining bézier curves and on the precision of my typography than I was a couple of years back,” he remarks, but no matter how complex the type, he’s resolute about one thing: “I always start by sketching.”

This initial expression takes place in sketchbooks and on paper , as “the computer really saps my confidence in bold mark making” he says. “For me, the sketching should be quick and rough as it’s only the composition and angles that are of interest – details always come last.” For example, the sketch for Jacob’s custom lettering 2019 was produced in a matter of seconds. It’s an approach which injects Jacob’s letterings with a fluidity and energy only possible through this form of organic creation. Once a basic composition has been decided on, he then spends a few hours refining and re-draws the curves and contrasts of the shape in Illustrator.

Entire typefaces start out the same way with rough sketches, before a “lengthy process of digitisation”. Jacob’s most recent typeface is titled Skrappa, a release which also marked the launch of his type foundry Wise Type. A bold and condensed typeface, it’s robust yet retains a certain elegance thanks to Jacob’s use of ligatures and a tall x-height. Skrappa was initially inspired by Ken Garland’s letterings for his 1964 manifesto First Things First , a seminal book which went on to shape how many designers approached their work. Presented as a uniform block of text, each letter of each word of Garland’s title sits neatly squared off along a baseline, a regularity only punctured by ascenders or descenders. Skrappa is much the same, borrowing this architecturally Brutalist style, rendered even more consistent by the uniformity digital type tools offer designers like Jacob today.

Referencing plays a major role in Jacob’s process, as he tells us: “If I hadn’t fallen into graphic design then it definitely would have been history. I believe I have quite an obsessive nature so when I discover something of historic interest, I really like to indulge.” While Jacob’s nods to the past are born from a genuine fascination with history, allowing him to incorporate his interests from outside the design world into his practice, it’s a process which has also helped inform his views on contemporary design. “I think it’s massively important to know and understand what has preceded within the context of design. That is how graphic design perpetuates,” he says, understanding that “you can be inspired by particular visual styles from the past but you should obviously refrain from blatant regurgitation – homage rather than pillage.” It’s in this space that Skrappa exists, as a tribute to a typographic bygone era.

Take Jacob’s recent work for London-based record label Whities 018, art directed by Alex McCullough. Featuring a single daffodil against a centred purple circle and black background, every one of Jacob’s letters snakes and collapses back in on itself in some way or another. “For us,” Jacob explains, “legibility was secondary to its function as an artefact of graphic interest. We revelled in the fact that it was borderline illegible which played directly into the bizarre and curious nature of Reckonwrong’s music.”

It’s a conversation which, although having been waged for a long time as Jacob points out, continues to produce exciting results. In much of Jacob’s work, it’s less that letters cease to function and more that they find a new role: image. Whether inspired by medieval times, or created completely intuitively, Jacob’s work continues to surprise. So what’s next for the typographer? “In Spring I’ll be leaving Bureau Borsche and moving to Rotterdam to focus full-time on typography and freelance projects, which is an exciting next step for me. I’d then like to start work on a more accessible and timeless typeface of multiple weights. Up to now, I’ve only really had a hand at display fonts so would be nice to focus my effort and time into creating something more ambitious.”