Typeface Review

Mission Script

Reviewed by Tiffany Wardle de Sousa on March 13, 2013

There have been many releases this year that deserve praise, many designed with the love and care of someone with years of experience. That said, Mission Script, from the young, up-and-coming James Edmondson, was the typeface I was most interested in writing about. James is a designer and lettering artist who has shown improved skill with each successive project. Seriously — I’m totally stoked to see where this kid goes!

Mission Script is tall in x-height, and a very slight in tilt. These are benefits. The ample lowercase allows this script to be read at smaller display sizes and greater distances than others in this genre. The font comes with a modestly useful amount of alternates for adding variety of shape to any line of text. After all, Mission Script is for display typography. You should be using it as accent, not for long paragraphs, and not at small sizes.

There are moments of awkward hesitation in some pairs. But when viewing a few lines of type, most of the hiccups become more of a bounce in the line, and give this design its uniquely hand-lettered, not-too-perfect effect.

Mission Script is not woebegone in the least, and can effortlessly help a designer emote Grandma’s favorite corner ice cream shop, or that cool new thrift store downtown.

Tiffany Wardle de Sousa is a typographer living and working in San Jose, California. She earned her MA in the Theory and History of Typography & Graphic Communication at The University of Reading. Active in the type community, Tiffany has written for several design publications, served as a SOTA board member, and was a Typophile moderator.

7 Comments

  1. I’m a little weird about script faces (read ultra-critical, easily bored) and due to my line of work I never ever use them. But this one is so beautifully formed it caught my eye. It has a rare perfection. I think Doyald Young would have approved.

  2. James says:

    Marian, your comment about Doyald means a great deal to me.

    Your work was one of the reasons I started going to art school in 2007, and seeing this comment now, the semester that I’m graduating, nearly brings a tear to my eye! Thank you!

  3. Kevin t sikanyika says:

    I adore this hand.

  4. Rox Francisco says:

    my type of handwriting, awesome!

  5. Susan Hook says:

    how can i get the mission script font

  6. Susan, you can license Mission Script via Lost Type.

  7. I also recommend the similar Viktor Script from James Edmondson and Erik Marinovich.

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