I'm Ellie – aka Ellietype – a Glasgow-based lettering artist. I combine traditional signwriting techniques, retro typography & high-saturation colour schemes to create joyful, eye-catching pieces. I specialise in designing & painting lettering, by hand, for all types of projects: large or small, interior or exterior; from public art projects to commercial shopfronts; using gold leaf, enamel, spraypaint & more...

My signwriting journey began in 2013 when I moved to Scotland and started doing blackboards for pubs & restaurants, inspired by a lifelong love of calligraphy and bartender colleagues' comments about my 'nice handwriting'. After honing my lettering skills with chalk & paint pens, I moved on to studying traditional signwriting techniques, using enamel & gold leaf. Around the same time, I picked up a can of spraypaint, with encouragement & tips from graffiti writer pals. I love to combine signwriting's structure, tradition & clean lines with the looseness & expression of spraypaint. I am completely self-taught, although my bachelor's degree in Architectural Design gave me a great foundation in technical drawing, layout & visual communication.

I spent 2015-2020 travelling around the world following the Fringe festival circuit; signwriting & mural-painting fit perfectly into the backpacking carnie lifestyle (there's a long tradition of journeyman signwriters travelling from town to town, plying their trade) and so I would paint wherever I ended up, in between working at festivals. I'm proud to say that I've painted signs & murals all over Australia, New Zealand & the UK!

Since moving to Glasgow at the end of 2019, I've worked from my Bridgeton studio (Department A), which I am privileged to share with a whole heap of amazing artists, many of whom I have collaborated with over the years. My practice has changed & evolved to include more public art projects, community engagement, and artistic collaborations, as well explorations into other mediums such as fabric banners & textile pieces. My favourite thing about my job is the variety of projects I get to work on. From community murals to festival stage design; from painting a double-decker bus to re-designing the front of a pub... it's always exciting & I can't wait to see what's next!