Jennifer Hines experimented with collage paper shapes for her brilliant Accelerate Action design

Creatives play an important role in elevating International Women's Day (IWD) through helping amplify awareness raising. Via their creative contributions, audiences worldwide are engaged through collective action to help forge gender equality.

Each year the IWD Lettering Challenge, in association with the global Typism community, calls for creative designs that support an annual IWD focus and showcase the impressive talent of creators.

Here, we shine a spotlight on one such creative, Jennifer Hines, and showcase her IWD 2025 Accelerate Action design.

Jennifer is from Chicago, lived in London, and now lives in Amsterdam, where she works as a surface designer for licensing, and as a freelance illustrator for small businesses and editorial clients. 

She specializes in hand-drawn typography and custom lettering.

Jennifer is part of Typism 100, a directory that helps lettering artists attract new clients through showcasing their skills to a wider audience.

Using collage paper shapes for characters

Jennifer is a truly brilliant freelance illustrator and lettering artist from Chicago, USA, living the expat life in London, UK.

She enjoys drawing fun characters, food illustrations, cocktail illustrations, and illustrated recipes, as well as all sorts of other things, from animals to flowers to people to storefronts.

"It’s International Women’s Day and we have each other’s backs. Let’s Accelerate Action for women’s rights. I hoped to animate this, but didn’t find time, so hopefully in the future it will move. I’ve been playing around with collage paper shapes to compose characters," said Jennifer discussing her IWD design.

Combining a love of words and art

Jennifer's interest in lettering began after she started exploring graphic design and working in publishing - brush pens and hand-drawn words were fascinating to her. 

"Drawing letter forms and learning brush calligraphy felt so natural and I love how it combines my love of words and art in a more tactile and creative way. As I did more and more of this work on the side, it became my passion! It was nice to have words back in my life, and drawing has always felt very meditative to me. After years of doing artwork by hand, I started using an iPad to draw and add more color," said Jennifer.

Creating hand-drawn lettering for clients

Jennifer has degrees in fine art and creative writing and has spent over 20 years in illustration and publishing, helping people and businesses visually communicate ideas.

Over the years, Jennifer's expertise in lettering has grown from a word-a-day lettering practice to creating hand-drawn lettering titles for magazine covers, books, and teaching lettering to beginners. 

"As an illustrator who specializes in lettering, I love to draw words and communicate text in both literal and illustrated fashion. What I love most about lettering is that it combines my two loves of words and drawing. To create a successful lettering illustration I believe its important to balance readability and playfulness, so color, quirky shapes, and shadows are my go-to lettering elements. For me, the two most important qualities of a successful lettering illustration are legibility and fun," explained Jennifer.

"I think at heart I’ll always have a love of words and mark-making, so as an illustrator that means drawing and including letter forms or telling stories through my work. Over the years, I’ve developed an expertise in whimsical, quirky, or humorous illustrations to make people smile, often including word play or puns. My style is playful and fun, so sometimes people think my work is for children, but I actually make work mostly for adults like myself, who like colorful cute things," added Jennifer.

Unplugging from work with fun hobbies

Jennifer also believes that work should just be part of the day and that everyone should unplug, so in her spare time, you can find her giggling over puns, taking a walk or hanging in the garden, enjoying some tasty food and drinks, planning her next adventure abroad or next door, reading a novel or graphic novel, and listening to '80s music that she lkes to sing along to. Jennifer also loves photo booths. 

Check out Jennifer's superb talent and excellent work here. 

Share your creative talent with the world

Post your creation on your social media feeds using the hashtags #AccelerateAction #IWDtypism for a chance to be featured throughout the year.

Together, let's Accelerate Action for gender equality.