Art Nouveau (Graphic) vs Script

Script is the cross-discipline counterpart of Art Nouveau (Graphic) — kindred celebration of the flourished, hand-drawn line.

Alphonse Mucha — JOB cigarette papers poster (1896)

Art Nouveau (Graphic)

The poster and print language of the Belle Époque — sinuous 'whiplash' line, idealized women wreathed in flowers and flowing hair, ornamental borders, and hand-drawn lettering fused into a single decorative whole.

  • Sinuous 'whiplash' lines and organic plant/vine motifs
  • Idealized female figures framed by flowing hair and flowers
  • Hand-drawn lettering integrated with the illustration
  • Decorative borders, halos, and arabesque framing devices
  • Flat, muted lithographic colour — gold, ochre, sage, rose
Full Art Nouveau (Graphic) guide →
Type specimen — Script (Script family); set in Dancing Script (OFL)

Script

The family of typefaces that imitate handwriting, from the disciplined loops of engraved formal scripts to the relaxed strokes of casual brush and pen hands. Letters lean, swell, and — in most scripts — physically join.

  • Letters joined by entry and exit connecting strokes
  • Slanted, gestural axis imitating handwriting
  • Looping ascenders and descenders
  • Flourished or swashed capital letters
  • Modulated stroke weight from pen or brush
Full Script guide →

At a glance

Art Nouveau (Graphic)Script
Era1890–1910c. 1550–present
DisciplineGraphic DesignTypography
RegionFrance, Austria, Belgium, United StatesFrance, England, United States, Global
FamilyArt Nouveau, Belle ÉpoqueScript
Formal traitsorganic-line, ornamental, hand-letteredconnected-script, slanted, flourished, hand-modeled

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