Draw a perfect 'S' in 15 seconds with this typography trick

Whether it was a sneaky doodle or busted out when creating poster designs, there was a time when everyone loved bubble writing. And although you may no longer be in primary school, if you want to create a condensed 'S' shape, then a child's tip may be just the thing.  

Lettering artist Ian Barnard has tweeted a super-short video demonstration of how to create a condensed 'S', saying that the tip came from his daughter. Barnard's condensed 'S' is sharper than standard bubble writing. It's got a cool urban edge to it, similar to the ones we see in our favourite graffiti fonts. Check it out below.

The condensed 'S' has evoked warm memories for people commenting on the Twitter thread. Bonez Designz remembers it as the 'Superman S':

Whereas Erica Rodriguez speaks for the crowd that made some small adjustments to make it a dollar sign:

In fact, according to YouTuber LEMMINO in a video about the 'Universal S' (below), the condensed 'S' has been spotted as far back as 1890, in a book called Mechanical Graphics, so it's clearly a popular choice.

But it's a tricky one to master due to the letter's awkward geometry. So next time you need to draw yourself a geometrically perfect, well-balanced 'S' just get yourself one of the best sketchbooks available, and follow the advice from Barnard's daughter. 

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