Cachet – print ad, Karen Cheeseman and Les Usherwood, 1976

The ad itself was created very quickly. It was based on a simple concept, but the execution was anything but simple.

Most of the body copy was lettered by hand to maintain the feeling of personal notes. The greatest difficulty was creating a different signature for each fictitious person. Letterers are usually taught to perfect their own personal style, but rarely asked to create believable signatures in styles completely unlike their own.

While the problem was mainly the signatures, even the body copy had its issues. Since it was hand-lettered, there were constant adjustments for letter spacing, line length, and weight. And as any letterer will tell you, maintaining consistent weight and proportion across a page is not easy.

Les Usherwood was in the studio every day while the ad was being created. Although he wasn’t involved in its design, he made a point of encouraging us – offering praise when things were going well, and helpful suggestions when they weren’t. He believed that if you wanted to be a letterer, you had to be willing to work until every detail was right. His high standards made an impression on all of us.

Looking back, I realize how much I learned from Les – and from the process of creating this ad. It wasn't about simply getting the work done. It was about understanding what made each piece of lettering feel authentic, natural, and alive. – Karen Cheeseman