Graphic designer’s skill with lettering seen all over town
It was Cruella de Vil who sparked his artistic awakening.
Spencer Bagert was in his kindergarten class at the time, and he had sketched a perfect picture of the classic 101 Dalmatians villain. His classmates were amazed at his ability to draw her precisely, as if she’d walked straight off a television screen and onto his notebook.
They showed the sketch to their teacher, who recommended Bagert take art classes. He knew right then that he was an artist.
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Now 25, the graphic designer hasn’t stopped creating art. Visit his website or Instagram, and you’ll see nothing but gorgeous lettering art, whether written with a black marker on white paper, drawn in multi-
colored chalk across a chalkboard or hand-molded in colorful icing or flour against a stark background.
“I’ve been an art kid my whole life,” Bagert says. “I grew up in boxes of crayons and watercolor paint. I really felt like art was something inside of me, and there was no other option.”
As Bagert grew up, he developed an obsession with words, whether sharp, wise turns of phrase or striking song lyrics. Then, he became entranced with making those words look as stunning as possible through lettering. He had fallen in love, he realized, with beautiful words—both in meaning and aesthetic—and he was a total goner.
Since graduating from LSU in 2014 with a degree in graphic design, Bagert has turned Baton Rouge into a veritable playground of his work.
He’s done lettering for the Louisiana International Film Festival and Lamar Advertising Company—where he works full time—and most recently, he created the lettering logo and menu board for Twine, the new local specialty food and meat market.
In October, he did the lettering for a poetry mural commissioned by the Walls Project and Forward Arts, Inc. at Howell Community Park.
This summer, Bagert created the Red Stick Together logo featuring the state of Louisiana turned on its side to resemble a heart.
“I love that little design,” Bagert says. “It means a lot, because home is where your heart is, and I’ve lived in Louisiana for 25 years.”
Bagert says in making the design, he didn’t want a logo that was over-the-top or grandiose but was instead effortless and effective. He wanted a logo that spoke not only for itself, but for other people whose hearts belong to the boot.
The simple and clever logo has become a big seller, with locals buying stickers, shirts and other merchandise featuring the design. A portion of the proceeds from purchases of the Louisiana-as-a-heart merch have gone to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation Louisiana Flood Relief Fund to benefit victims of the massive August flooding.
While the heart logo was less embellished, for much of his other lettering and logo designs, Bagert draws inspiration from the ornate hand-drawn woodcut typography of the late 1800s—and then he turns it on its head by using nontraditional lettering methods.
Whether it’s with ink, metal, wood, flour, icing or sprinkles, he can make beautiful words out of anything.
“I like to take that Victorian-era style and translate it into something that’s present today,” Bagert says. “I love getting my hands dirty with unusual mediums when I’m doing lettering.”
Bagert’s favorite place to test out new designs? The massive chalkboard in his apartment. There, he can work on his lettering skills, which he’d still like to improve further. He’ll never stop working at it, he says.
As for logos, Bagert says, come one, come all. He hopes to continue making logos for local businesses, keeping a creative finger on the pulse of the Capital City. For him, there’s nothing like seeing people’s eyes light up after he turns their design dreams into reality.
“I like to think of it as being the fairy godmother to Cinderella,” Bagert says, laughing. “You have all the magic, and you just need to get the people going. That’s what graphic designers do.”
Bagert’s Louisiana heart logo can be purchased as a sticker and on a variety of shirts and more merchandise at redsticktogether.com. A portion of the proceeds go to Baton Rouge Area Foundation Louisiana Flood Relief Fund. Find more of his work at spencerventure.com or instagram.com/spencerventure.
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