A Comprehensive Review of Kiley Bennett’s ‘Super Simple Hand Lettering’

 

I’ve been a fan of Kiley in Kentucky for a while, ever since I found her first “50 Ways to Letter A” – I found it when only the A & B worksheets were even available. Kiley has always had a really unique style and it’s something that I’ve always admired. She is one of my favorite lettering artists out there, because of her unique view on lettering & life (and if you don’t listen to the Misses Ambitious podcast with her and Blaine from Ms. Fit Food, you’re missing out!)

 

So when she came out with a book, I knew I had to get it. Super Simple Hand Lettering came out a few months ago, and I bought it on pre-sale from Amazon. I know I’m not a beginner when it comes to lettering, but I still wanted to support her and see what her book had to offer. Plus, I’m a strong believer in always working to hone your skills, even if you feel like you have all the skills you need.

 

I went through the book cover to cover, tried some of the exercises and tracing, and analyzed it from an intermediate lettering perspective. So I’m going to share with you my honest thoughts about the book, who I think the book works for, and anything I think would be helpful to you if you’re trying to decide whether to buy the book.

 

*Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links, at no extra cost to you. This helps support my blog and allows me to continue to make free content. I only recommend products that I use and love. Thank you for your support!

 

 

 

Super Simple Hand Lettering has a lot of elements in it, and each one brings a unique piece of content for this book.

 

20 Traceable Alphabets

Easily the best part of this book. Kiley gives us TWENTY different alphabets, both with cursive & classic calligraphy styles and more basic hand-drawn fonts. Even as an experienced hand lettering artist, I often want to experiment with new styles or a new project calls for a different lettering style and I can’t think of some letter forms.

 

 

 

Create Your Own Alphabet

The most unique part of the book is the pages to create your own alphabet. This is what makes Kiley stand apart from the competition – she doesn’t just teach you to copy alphabets, she gives you the tools to create alphabets unique to you.

 

 

 

Practice Sheets

With each alphabet, there is also a practice sheet to go with it. This allows for you to write the letter yourself, rather than only tracing it. There is also a few “Practice Exercises” spread out within the book, which I think is very unique. Rather than doing all the alphabets together, then all the exercises together, Kiley put exercises within alphabets that make sense together. These exercises include flourishes, serif practice, and my personal favorite, envelope practice (see photo below).

 

 

 

Projects

Some books with projects are not super fun, or don’t allow for extra practice (or learning new skills). Kiley’s projects are all super unique and allow for practicing different letter forms, on different materials, and real life examples of projects you really want to do.

 

 

Art

Not only is there a section with a Gallery for lettering inspiration, as a fun surprise, there are four art prints with perforated edges to rip out of the book. These are all super cute, fun lettering pieces that Kiley made – and would offer some serious inspiration if a beginner would to hang it on their wall.

 

 

Best Fun & Useful Surprise

The column on the side of every alphabet. In the column, Kiley gives suggestions for where & how to use the alphabet in real-life projects

 

 

 

 

 

Kiley recommends a few different brushes for starting your hand lettering journey – and I couldn’t agree more with them. Her brush pen recommendations are the Tombow Fudenosuke (my personal favorite) and a black Tombow Dual Brush Pen. If you’re only looking to learn the alphabets, the Tombow Fudenosuke is all you need. But, having the Tombow Dual Brush pen is a good idea as well, because it is a larger, more vibrant brush pen. I use both in everyday lettering, so it’s not a bad idea to have both of them.

 

 

There are tracing papers included in the back of the book, but there are only four. If you plan to use tracing paper to complete the book, I’d recommend a cheap book of tracing paper as well.

 

 

 

In some lettering books, the lettering can become overwhelming and can be hard to read when trying to learn. This is not the case in Super Simple Hand Lettering. Kiley combines her very easy to read hand lettering with an easy to read printed font, so the book is very easy to read and understand. The information and the lettering is laid out in a very organized, yet fun, way that is easy to follow and keeps you visually interested.

 

Aesthetically, this book is wonderful. Kiley has a colorful brand, and this book is just the same. There are so many colors, but the amount of colors doesn’t overwhelm. The color is placed in perfect spots, as backgrounds, small details, etc. The way the book looks just makes you want to learn lettering, because it makes it look super fun.

 

 

Although 95% of this book is great and doesn’t need a single change, there are two things I thought could make the book better.

 

1. Some of the letters get a little close to the binding of the book, which makes it hard to write/trace.
2. There is no real practice in the book (or no alphabets large enough to practice on) for the larger Tombow Dual Brush Pen, which I think has a more difficult writing technique & needs a unique practice. I would have loved to see a few alphabets big enough to be used with the large Tombow brushes.

 

 

I definitely think a beginner lettering artist would benefit the most from this book. Kiley gives all the tips, techniques, and practice one would need in order to learn lettering for the first time. She explains everything in a super easy way, and gives easy & fun projects to help along as they learn.

 

I don’t think Super Simple Hand Lettering is just for beginners though. Here is a list of other people that could benefit from this book:

 

• Beginners with no experience
• Beginners with a little experience but need more practice
• Crafters who need help adding fun lettering to their projects
• Intermediate letterers that are having a hard time figuring out their “style”
• Intermediate letterers that need more lettering inspiration
• Experienced letterers to use as a reference when they run out of ideas
• Brides who need help figuring out how to address envelopes
• Logo designers who want to create hand-drawn logos
• Anyone who wants to DIY an invitation, party decorations, etc.
• Everyone else who wants to learn something fun!

 

 

10/10 would recommend this book to anyone interested in lettering. Not only is it an incredibly fun book to look at, it is the most helpful lettering book I’ve come across. It has a unique take to learning lettering, that stems from finding your own style, rather than just copying someone else’s style. When I was learning to letter, I went through tons of alphabets to find out what letter styles I liked the look of, and felt organic when I’m writing. I only wish this book was out when I was learning how to letter. So, if you are a part of any of the groups listed above, you’ll benefit from this book.

 

So go buy it now!

 

 

 

Like this post? Save it for later: