Lettering is the art of drawing letters rather than writing them, and is therefore distinct from [handwriting](/glossary/handwriting), [calligraphy](/glossary/calligraphy), and [typography](/glossary/typography).

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![A bespoke piece of lettering, drawn by Jessica Hische, for the word “Lettering.”](images/thumbnail.svg)
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Lettering by [Jessica Hische](https://www.jessicahische.is)
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Although lettering is unlike typography in that no [characters](/glossary/character) are fixed, most lettering artists employ a uniform construction to their [letterforms](/glossary/letterform). With the use of [OpenType](/glossary/open_type) features such as [alternate characters](/glossary/alternates), typography can also sometimes resemble lettering. However, “true” lettering is created for a specific use case; i.e., a drawing of a particular word or phrase.