Chris is a truly multi-faceted and versatile creative. A designer, letterer, illustrator and teacher, she is the author of six books and is a regular speaker at events. She runs her studio, ‘All Things Letters’ in Hamburg, German, where she works primarily on editorial commissions and lettering projects – as well as running lettering workshops that are geared towards designers who are interested in learning the craft.
Chris’s early career began in as an apprentice in a bookshop and freelancing as a writer for a local newspaper. She has always been fascinated by communication in written form, which eventually led her into lettering, where she could combine her passion for illustration with her fascination for communication through words.
During her illustration education and career working in the creative industries, Chris’s experiences as a queer woman have impacted her creative practice: “Originally, for me lettering was a way to avoid drawing people and having to deal with gender stereotypes”. When studying at university she was convinced she needed to hide her identity to become a successful illustrator and wrote her Master’s thesis on gender representation in illustration. She tells us that: “A lot has changed in the last 15 years. Today young illustrators are being hired because they are queer and outspoken about political issues”.
We caught up with Chris to discover more about the experiences that have shaped her creative approach, why she started ‘All Things Letters’ and establishing herself as a leading lettering artist.
Can you tell us about the beginning of your career and what led you to design, lettering, and teaching?
After high school I did an apprenticeship in a bookshop because I love reading and I thought it would be a good idea to learn a trade before going off to art school. Also, I was living with my grandparents and wanted to stay home with them a bit longer.
When I finished the apprenticeship, I was torn: Should I go into journalism or design? I always wanted to write and already worked as a freelance writer for the local newspaper. But eventually I decided to study illustration because drawing was the only thing I kept trying even though the results never came out the way I wanted them to. Also, I felt too shy for journalism.
At art school I was frustrated with illustration often being so superficial. We talked about composition and style but never about “What am I doing when I make images – do I just picture the world as it is or do I create the world?” This was 15 years ago, way before people talked about diversity and the social responsibility of designers. For me it was a very real question. I drew figures that looked like me – short hair, casual clothes – and they got the same reactions as I did: “Oh, cool drawing! But is this a boy or a girl?” But I refused to draw long hair, a dress or breasts on a character, just to mark them as female.
So, when I finished my undergraduate course in illustration, I applied for a Fulbright Grant and moved to Chicago to study Visual and Critical Studies. I wanted to build a theoretical framework for what I was doing as a designer. At the end of two years I wrote my M.A. thesis about gender representation in illustration. My conclusion: Communication is based on codes, and codes always simplify the complexity of reality because they rely on stereotypes.
I didn’t really see a way out of repeating stereotypical images, at least not in applied arts where you’re trying to communicate specific things and need people to recognise what you mean. It felt like a dead end, and this was why I gave up figurative drawing and focused on lettering instead. Now people often say, “It’s so cool how you really found your thing in lettering!” But originally, for me lettering was a way to avoid drawing people and having to deal with gender stereotypes.
“I didn’t really see a way out of repeating stereotypical images, at least not in applied arts where you’re trying to communicate specific things and need people to recognise what you mean. It felt like a dead end, and this was why I gave up figurative drawing and focused on lettering instead.”
How did you start ‘All Things Letters’, what were your first projects and how did you establish yourself in the lettering industry?
I decided to specialise in lettering in 2014. At that time lettering was just beginning to become a thing in Germany and I was one of the first to offer this design speciality professionally.
I started with sending out portfolios to book publishers because that was the industry with which I was most familiar with and where had most contacts. Then I went to the book fair in Frankfurt, introduced my work to a few publishers and got a few commissions. From there things developed pretty effortlessly with the help of Instagram, where I have been very active from the beginning.
This sounds easy, but it’s important to note that I had already worked for about seven years before I started in 2014. I had never been employed full-time, but since 2007 I’d done illustration commissions and worked as a freelancer and publishing assistant for book publishers and magazines – sort of on the other side. Knowing how my clients work and what they need definitely made the start of my own business smoother.
“I decided to specialise in lettering in 2014. At that time lettering was just beginning to become a thing in Germany and I was one of the first to offer this design speciality professionally.”
Your type and lettering work has a unique style and personality. Can you tell us about your creative process and how you develop your skills?
It’s nice to hear that you find my work has a unique style. For me it’s sometimes difficult to see the coherence because I experiment so much. One idea leads to the next and I follow without asking “why am I doing this?” or “what is this good for?”
I do see a few patterns in my work, things I do repeatedly. For example, trying to fill up all the space by making a drawing go all the way to the edges of the format I work in. Also, I have a couple of guiding questions that I use to develop work: “Does it have to be this way?”, “How else could I do it?” or “What else can I get rid of to reduce this design to its essence?”
I’m always interested in how other people work, how they think about their work and why they chose one technique and subject matter over another. I also like to see how my work changes when I try to work like someone else. Imitating someone else’s work is very difficult but helps me understand the decisions the other artist made when creating a piece. Usually, those decisions would have never occurred to me – colour choices, composition, medium – but they teach me a lot about my own way of working.
Your portfolio features an incredible variety of projects, ranging from book covers to murals, and even stamps! What are the challenges to adapting your lettering work to such different formats and sizes?
I enjoy doing things I haven’t done before, so I try to take on commissions to allow me to explore a new medium or approach. For each project, I design narrative letterforms: the shape of the letters gives you an idea of what the text is about before you actually read the words.
You have published several books about lettering and type design. How do you balance this side of your profession with your design work?
So far, I have published six books. Three of them are how-to books about lettering and type design, a total of 600 pages of text, illustrations, and book design which I wrote in just three years – that’s an insane amount of work. So, when I was working on those books, I had to turn down many commissions, I just didn’t have the time. But making money with books is difficult, especially with specialised books that contain a lot of text and are geared at an advanced professional readership. I make about 1,50 Euro per sold copy, of a book that sells for 30 Euros in stores, and if the books sell 4000 copies on the German market over a span of several years, that’s already really great.
Still, a few years ago I realised that despite the difficult conditions of the book market I want to write books. Books are so central to my life that I want to write and publish them even if it costs me money. I felt that I had to accept this and thought: “I want to publish books. I’ll have to find ways to cross finance that, otherwise I’ll be forever angry at the publishing industry.” So, it’s the lettering commissions and workshops that pay for the books.
Workshops and teaching lettering are a big component of your career. How did you start and what are the things you enjoy most?
I started teaching because some friends asked me if I could show them how I do what I do. This was back in 2014. Idid one workshop, but not everyone got a spot. So, I did another workshop. Again, more people wanted to join than we had places for. I kept doing workshops, but the waiting list just grew. I doubled the prices, thinking that would scare people off, but it didn’t. Then I started to build a mailing list to manage all the people who were interested. Eventually, I found that I prefer working with designers rather than with people who want to try lettering as a hobby. So, I raised the prices again and made the content more ambitious. Since then, my workshops have been geared to other designers. I enjoy seeing how quickly many of them pick up new skills and apply them to their own ideas.
“ I found that I prefer working with designers rather than with people who want to try lettering as a hobby… Since then, my workshops have been geared to other designers. I enjoy seeing how quickly many of them pick up new skills and apply them to their own ideas.”
Do you work with many clients outside of Germany?
I actually don’t work for international clients very often and I really regret that. I would love to! Please get in touch if you would like to commission me 🙂
How has being a queer woman impacted your career?
The answer to this question is huge. I don’t know where to start. There are so many stories I could tell you about how being queer has affected my career and the decisions I’ve made.
I’m not sure how to make this short, but here’s one story: When I was still at art school, I thought I needed to keep my queer identity and my identity as a professional illustrator apart. I even used different names. In the queer community I was ‘Chris Campe’ and at art school, at work, and on my website, I was ‘Christine Campe’. After a few years of this, it became difficult to keep the two identities separate, they began to blend into each other. Then a queer friend who was working in marketing said: “‘Chris Campe’ – that’s a name with brand potential!” So ‘Chris Campe’ it was.
Looking back, it depresses me how strong my internalised homophobia was, especially because this wasn’t in the 1960s but around 2007. I was convinced that I needed to keep my queer identity hidden if I wanted to be successful as an illustrator. A lot has changed in the last 15 years. Today, young illustrators are being hired because they are queer and outspoken about political issues. I have some hesitations about this development because I think it’s also a sign of late capitalism adopting subcultural cool and making it work for their commercial purposes. But it’s still great that some queer people in the global north have less need to hide.
“A lot has changed in the last 15 years. Today, young illustrators are being hired because they are queer and outspoken about political issues.”
A lot of people in the creative industries struggle with imposter syndrome and self-doubt – have you experienced this and how do you deal with it?
Of course, I suffer from self-doubt sometimes, but I think imposter syndrome is a myth. And I don’t like that so many women subscribe to the idea.
I tell myself that if I want others to think my work is great, I’d better lead by example. I try to never talk negatively about my work or myself and I think that half of life is knowing when to mute yourself. It makes me unhappy when women belittle themselves and make excuses for their work before even showing it. Why waste energy on putting yourself down? Others will do that for you anyway and if you don’t stand up for yourself – who will?
“I tell myself that if I want others to think my work is great, I’d better lead by example. I try to never talk negatively about my work or myself and I think that half of life is knowing when to mute yourself.”
Do you have any words of advice for women and gender expansive creatives considering a career in the design industry today?
- Find a way to get in touch with yourself. For me writing is the best method to do that.
- Practice trusting your gut feeling and go where your energy leads you. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s not going to be right.
- Learn how to negotiate and negotiate your fees: always ask for more than they offer you. If a client offers 1000 that’s what they would ideally only spend on your service, but they expect you to ask for more and when you do, they will take you more seriously. It’s not even about the money, it’s about coming across self-assured and professional. And no, you can’t just say: “I don’t like to negotiate” or “I am bad with money”. You can’t afford to say that unless you marry rich or know you’ll inherit money. But you can learn financial management skills and they can be fun and playful – like a sport.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
I used to dream of working independently in my own studio space with people contacting me with the words: “We love your work!” I am still amazed that this dream has been my reality for quite some time now.
In the future, I would like to get my work in front of a broader and more international audience. I would also like to write at least one book that reaches more than just a few thousand people. Two years ago, I started working on a novel, so maybe in five years this novel has published and the movie rights have been sold. I like that idea!
“I used to dream of working independently in my own studio space with people contacting me with the words: “We love your work!” I am still amazed that this dream has been my reality for quite some time now.”
