Meet Adam Khan - The Letter Fella

As with most children of the 80s, Adam was bombarded with an assortment of brightly-coloured cartoons, movies, and video games, that were specifically made to sell toys. Although laws were put in place to stop this happening, those stories that were told always had a great sense of morals of good and evil and were a great escape for many whose day-to-day life were not as happy as the shows being watched.

Adam told our sister magazine Voice: “I was absolutely obsessed with video game and VHS box art – I’d often enjoy the packaging more than the actual content! The illustrations, graphics, and lettering spoke to me so strongly, I’d soak in all of it and try and reproduce it every chance I got.

“As a kid the world made little sense to me, I always felt able to express myself more fluently through drawing than with words. Drawing was one of the only things which I could control so I did it obsessively.

“I think the earliest memory I have of drawing was of an image of Sonic the Hedgehog, which I drew in school at the age of four. The kids on my table crowded round and told me how good it was, and I’ve been chasing that high ever since!

“Autism runs in my family and my childhood was a very confusing time for me, letters were consistent and reliable when the world around me wasn’t.

“I’m half Pakistani and my dad taught me Arabic from a young age. He opened my eyes to the calligraphic beauty of the Arabic alphabet and the ornamentation which would adorn the Quran.

“Living in Pakistan at a young age I was hugely inspired by the brightly painted, hand lettered trucks and buildings. For longer than I can remember I’ve been drawing letters and characters.

“My first big break came when I was 10, as I got printed in the short-lived British version of The Lion King comic. I drew Zazu tricked out in very 90s attire and got a book token as a result. We were on holiday when the issue came out, so I missed it, I was DEVESTATED. Twenty years later I finally tracked down a copy in the collection of a Dutch The Lion King merchandise collector and she happily united me with the issue.

“My head was always in the clouds throughout school, so art was only ever going to be my option. I studied media, then art and design and then film making as higher education.

“A lot of people are a fan of Drew Struzan, he’s the guy that’s most recognisable in the movie world for poster art. He’s done incredible artwork for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back To The Future, and Big Trouble In Little China.

“Whereas most people like the illustrations of the movie stars, I’d say I’m more obsessed the fonts and the colours used, as most of those big franchises have such a strong logo identity without having to use an image of the movie star for people to know what it is – brand identity gets my creative juices flowing!

“Good branding can instantly send the message you want as a business owner across to the customer – there are so many fonts available, each with their own personality to convey a mood or emotion. It sounds a bit weird for people who are not really into it, but there are happy fonts, sad fonts, expensive fonts, which are used with expert precision by big corporations to get their branding right for market.

“Upon finishing school, I had no idea what to do. Being a full-time lettering artist/illustrator is the dream, not quite full time yet but nearly there!”

Lettering artists have excellent design and creative skills to produce letters with unique shapes and forms for individuals and businesses who use them for logos, products, and signs. Lettering artists also assist with creating lettering for advertisements and advertising materials, such as brochures and white papers.

“During my time in further education, as well as being surrounded by very creative friends for most of my adult life, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to other like-minded people and talented artists, one being Coop of Dapper Signs in Bristol. Going back to what I said earlier, his style is so fresh and fun, I’ve eaten in some interesting food joints just because his signs are on the place making it look amazing!

“I’ve been very fortunate to have been asked to make a multitude of things for people, ranging from calligraphy, murals, signs, lettering, and illustration work.

“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was working with a bride to create a wedding gift for her future husband. I worked meticulously on this piece of artwork, as it was highly detailed with illustrations representing key moments in their relationship, leading up to the step they were about to take on their wedding day. She presented the finished piece to him at the alter and they both looked ecstatic holding my artwork, it was a truly beautiful process to be a part of. Then, at some point during the wedding, someone accidentally threw it out – absolute nightmare!

“I once did a huge family tree in calligraphy for a gent’s 80th birthday, his family commissioned it as a surprise. His name was centred in the middle of the piece to show he was the head of the family. I was told he got very emotional and it’s always such an amazing feeling to me knowing my work can bring that out in people.

“The scariest thing I’ve painted was an enormous logo on the side of a restaurant building in Abergavenny – the logo started at the very to and finished halfway down it. There was a withering shed directly in the way, so I had to stand on that a lot of the time and I had to partially construct a scaffold on top of it just to reach the highest bits. That was a bit scary! Don’t tell my dad!

“Very often I’m being contacted last minute, as signs seem to be an afterthought. This has always surprised me as a sign, conveys the very essence of a business. A well-presented sign will attract customers on the darkest of days.

“I’m getting more work post covid, as I think people are fed up with automated perfection. There’s character and life in hand lettering – warts and all. Especially for independent businesses which want to establish a homely connection with their customers – cafes, bars, and barbers for example.

“The real kicker is when people tell me my work looks so good it looks printed! It’s a compliment and an insult at the same time!

“Hand painted letters in the Western world were on the brink of disappearing altogether in the 90s and 2000s due to the cheap and quick nature of vinyl signs. But there’s been resurgence in recent years, as people yearn for feeling that human connection again.

“A sign is usually the first point of contact between a business and a customer, so it needs to convey the soul of the establishment quickly and correctly. A lettering artist can do that for you in ways a machine can’t because so often a printed sign lacks character and warmth, and customers can tell when a sign has been thrown together as an after-thought.

“My customers also want work which is unique to them. They might come to me with fully formed ideas, but very often part of my role is to help them realise their vision. I get such a kick out of taking the fuzzy images in a client’s head and working with them to turn those images into a reality. That way the customer gets to be a part of the design process instead of just getting someone else to design it entirely, and that’s what makes a customer really feel attached to the work.

“The processes and tools I use to craft a sign are almost identical to how a sign writer would have done things nearly 200 years ago. It’s an extremely laborious and precise process, and that’s something I must convey to customers straight away. This is an ancient craft – it’s not going to be quick. Usually, I calculate a rough estimate and then go over it by several hours, trying to get it perfect. Every. Single. Time. But I sleep better at night knowing I’ve given my work everything I’ve got!

“I was hired to reproduce the signs of Pontypridd Lido in a very short timescale to coincide with their re-opening. The original signs had been damaged in a flood and they’d been let down last minute. There were 20 odd signs which needed to be painted in English and Welsh all around the lido and the weather was freezing and horrible. Luckily my incredibly talented artist friend James Tottle was free to come and help and together we got the work done just in time.

“I mostly work on wood and glass. I paint in 1 Shot enamels, and it lasts for decades. You can still find ‘ghost signs’ from the 1800s which were painted with similar enamels – it lasts a very long time.

“My wife asked me to paint a Dumbo mural to welcome our daughter into the world a few months ago, that was a very meaningful process for us and hopefully it’ll stand the test of time, well, until she starts taking interest in relationships.

“I’ve been creating personalised handwritten Santa letters for many years, so it’ll be wonderful to finally make one for my own child. Writing Santa letters to children each Christmas is always so rewarding, especially when I get videos of the kids receiving them. It’s so fun to be part of the magic. Especially as I’m the least likely Santa you’ll ever meet – being raised as a Muslim and never actually celebrating Christmas!

“Usually, the parent has written most of the letter to Santa and I’m just adding a bit of Christmas flair to it. But it always makes me smile to see the parents bargaining with the child through Father Christmas. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to write things like '…and if you could please just stop fighting with your sister so much, I’ll be sure to bring you an extra special present!'

“I’ve been told that receiving the letters feel like they’re holding something magical, and I couldn’t be more delighted with that thought.”

View more of Adam’s work via his social media pages.

07596 415360 - letterfella@gmail.com - Facebook: @letterfella - Instagram: @letterfella