A few weeks ago I traveled to San Francisco to photograph another subject for my series on noted graphic designers. Jessica Hische is an incredibly talented and versatile letterer, illustrator, and designer who, at the age of 28 has created an enviable and prominent place for herself in the graphic design world.
My assistant and I arrived at her studio in the Mission district one afternoon and I was immediately overwhelmed with the number of fascinating objects and artwork in her, nevertheless, uncluttered space. There were countless examples of her beautiful hand lettering work, lots of interesting furniture, LP’s and a turntable, and a fine collection of the world’s best bourbons.
This plethora of arresting props presented an unusual photographic challenge - too many great objects from which to choose. To make matters worse, she was really fun to talk to about almost everything. Jessica’s considerable language skills are known to many through her hilarious and informative blog pieces. Those talents also came across in her easygoing and lighthearted conversations. I had to force myself to concentrate on photographing her.
The end result was well worth it. I like to think that this photograph, my favorite from the shoot, conveys Jessica’s considerable artistic talents, quirky sense of humor, supreme confidence, and good taste in drinking. It also nicely shows off her Type tattoo. Altogether, she could probably give “The Most Interesting Man in the World” a run for his money. At the very least, I know she has inside jokes with total strangers.