Is Hand Lettering Good for Your Health?

If you’ve known my art for a while or even just for a bit, you probably know that adding hand lettering into my mixed media and watercolor journal pages is the icing on the proverbial cake for me. None of my art feels finished unless it incorporates words, phrases or outright walls of text!

I’ve often wondered why this is. Why when I create do I not feel complete unless I’m adding hand lettering into the art?

Well, I think this mystery is now solved, and the answer makes total sense to me! It goes back to the WHY of my art, or maybe more accurately, the WHY NOT of my art:

I don’t make art for anyone else but me.

Now that may sound disgustingly selfish, but at this point in my life, I just do not care. I NEED art making time in my life to calm my often disregulated nervous system.

Art is my medicine.

But why hand lettering? How does writing (actually it’s more like drawing) letters with my hand figure in to the “art for my health” model?

Well, as it turns out there are huge cognitive benefits to handwriting, particularly in script or cursive.

In an era dominated by digital devices, it can often feel like handwriting is getting totally lost in the sauce. However, a growing body of research suggests that the act of writing by hand has significant cognitive benefits, particularly for memory and learning.

In this blog post I’m going to explain why writing with our hand is good for us, and then I will offer you some suggestions on how to add this activity into your art practice!

Hand Lettering Benefits

Hand lettering can have a range of benefits for the brain, including a calming effect, coordination of the left and right brain, boosting cognitive skills, inspiring creativity, sharpening aging minds, and improving memory. It also involves more of the brain than typing does. This is especially important for aging individuals, as it can help keep their minds sharp and active. Furthermore, hand lettering adds a personal touch to visual communication, which can enhance our connection with others.

Hand Lettering vs. Typing Notes

Studies have shown that handwriting is more effective than typing when it comes to boosting memory. This could be due to the tangible product that handwriting produces, which may engage our brains in a way that typing on a digital device does not.

The Impact of Hand Lettering on the Brain

Engaging the fine motor system to write by hand has been shown to have positive effects on learning and memory. When we write letters by hand, it leads to higher levels of electrical activity in our brain. Handwriting activates widespread connectivity across many brain regions responsible for movement, vision, sensory processing, and memory.

Improved cognitive processing:

The act of forming letters with your hand engages multiple brain areas, including motor cortex, visual processing, and language centers, which can improve cognitive function and critical thinking. 

Increased creativity:

Handwriting can stimulate creative thinking by allowing for more fluid generation of ideas and connections between concepts. 

Better focus and attention:

The physical act of writing can help maintain focus on the task at hand, potentially reducing distractions compared to typing. 

It’s not as hard as you think it is!

And hand lettering into your art offers you great opportunities to let go of perfectionism! This isn’t professional calligraphy we are doing. Far from it!

Now that we are all completely convinced about the health benefits of lettering by hand, I want to let you know that at Willa Workshops, you’ve got lots of options when it comes to courses that are either primarily about hand lettering or where you actively employ hand lettering in the art itself:

Love Your {Imperfect} Letters with Wendy Solganik

Journal Into Your Art with Megan Quinlan

Love Your {Imperfect} Art Journal with Sarah Gardner

Journal Into Your Art: Junk Style with Megan Quinlan

Conclusion

In conclusion, hand lettering is more than just a way to communicate. It engages our brains in ways that typing simply cannot replicate, leading to improved memory, learning, and cognitive development. So, if you're an artist looking to expand your art tool kit or to enhance your work with another design option, consider putting pen to art more often! Not only will you reap the cognitive benefits, but you might discover how much you love your art with your own letters!

XOXO,
​​​

What’s your current relationship with lettering and your art journal?