A New Chapter Unfolding
MAY 2026
On April 1st, I landed in Naarm/Melbourne, and since then I’ve been going through a big adjustment period: sleeping on an inflatable mattress, followed by a fold-out sofa bed in the living room, then a mattress in the kitchen, and currently on our bedroom floor… Moving in our belongings and unpacking boxes could have been an enjoyable process, but I’ve dreaded most of it.
I’ve been reminding myself that these are normal feelings: uncomfortable days of feeling lost in translation, which will pass too. I know this well, as I’ve moved 25 times in the last four years, and although this is a different kind of move, it still carries a familiar challenge: change.
As a wise friend told me last month, “once you have settled in, you won’t like the idea of going anywhere else, even if it’s your ultimate dream destination.”
Workwise, I’m in the process of splitting my professional services into two main areas: design services and calligraphy education. As some of you may know, last year I launched an educational platform called Writing Calligraphy, devoted to sharing knowledge and offering tools for students to approach calligraphy within a contemporary framework.
Last week, I started a new Instagram account, @writingcalligraphydotcom, and I’d love to invite you to join me there, as well as take this opportunity to reintroduce myself and what I do.
My name is Maria Montes. I’m a graphic and type designer specialising in branding for the luxury and cultural sectors. My core practice sits at the intersection of typography, lettering, and calligraphy, crafting monograms, wordmarks, brand symbols, packaging illustrations, and surface patterns.
Alongside this, I’ve been teaching calligraphy independently since 2014, working with 500+ in-person students and 150+ online students across all continents. I’m currently teaching a 4-month calligraphy course (in-person and online), and I’ve just opened two seats for individual classes in case you’d like to join me.
Finally, I’m redesigning my design website to better reflect my work across branding, packaging, lettering, and illustration, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Thank you for travelling with me, it means more than you’ll ever know.
Maria xx
Below, you’ll find an updated design lecture which includes many things I’ve learned during the past 4 years; plus, a video tutorial showing you the steps I followed to craft Barcelona lettering design.
On the last section, you’ll find a book recommendation and two scholarships to share with your students interested in all things type and design.
Type Design Education x Graphic Designers [Updated 2026]
In 2022, I gave a guest online lecture part of the Principles of Typeface Design class lead by Troy Leinster at Type@Copper in New York City. I decided to make this presentation public as I thought it could be beneficial to other graphic design students and mid-career practitioners interested in learning more about typography and typeface design, but not seeing themselves becoming full-time type designers, as this is my particular case.
In April 2026, I closed a fully remote chapter and decided to update this visual presentation with everything that I have learned since 2022 —which is a lot!
Barcelona | Script Lettering Design Process
In the video tutorial above, I walk you through the steps I followed to design the lettering above.
Stage 1 (Analogue):
Using a mechanical pencil and precision eraser, I developed several iterations of the lettering starting with its skeleton version, then adding swashes and flourishes to finally adding contrast.
Stage 2 (Vectors/Glyphs):
Refining curves and finessing the structure using Glyphs App and Adobe Illustrator.
Stage3 (Applications):
I created a monogram B design for the thumbnail of my article and a header image with the design going all the way to the edges.
Additional resources:
T Y P E 🤓 F A C E S
Brand Principles by Kevin Finn
I’m currently reading Brand Principles by Kevin Finn, and I can’t recommend it enough. Kevin explores in depth the difference between brand and branding, and clearly explains the distinction between being a business and becoming a brand.
Additionally, last week I watched an interview with Kevin and the team at JUST Creative, and I truly loved it. This talk is a great introduction to his book, so go and give it a listen!”
Beatrice Warde Scholarship | $5,000 USD
Named in honour of TDC’s first female member, the Beatrice Warde Scholarship has been awarded annually since 2015 to one woman or non-binary student entering their junior year of college. Successful applicants must demonstrate strong work centered around typography, type design, lettering, editorial design, or related communication fields.
This $5,000 USD scholarship is proudly sponsored by Monotype, where Beatrice worked for over 40 years.
Adé Hogue Scholarship | $5,000 USD
Also, sponsored by Monotype and created in partnership with the Broderick Adé Hogue Foundation, this $5,000 USD scholarship is presented to an outstanding BIPOC student entering either their junior year of an undergraduate program or their first year of a graduate or post-grad program. This individual demonstrates exceptional ability and promise in type design, lettering, calligraphy, or type-focused graphic design.
The Adé Hogue Scholarship is named in honour of the brilliant art director, designer, and letterer whose talents and passion were taken from our community too soon.
