After leaving her day job as a graphic designer in September 2009 to become a full-time freelance illustrator and letterer, Brooklyn-based Jessica Hische decided to assign herself a little project. As Hische explains it, “I wanted something to keep me motivated when client work was slow, to keep me inspired when I was working on things that weren’t so inspiring, and to give me something to do on a regular schedule when my life went from being incredibly regimented (day-job), to willy-nilly (freelance) – so began Daily Drop Cap. I originally planned to do an alphabet per week but realized quickly that it was hard enough to keep up with a letter per day. Within days of launching, the Daily Drop Cap site had received an enormous amount of traffic and within months, it had been featured on hundreds of design blogs. I didn’t know at the time that my little pet project would be what really catapulted me onto the design scene, that it would be how most clients were originally introduced to my work, and that it would forever brand me with the nickname ‘that drop cap girl’.”

At the start, Hische told her followers that the project would end after she completed her twelfth alphabet, but Daily Drop Cap is still up and posting wonderful Special Guest drop caps. Hische also invites individuals to download her drop caps for personal (non-commercial) uses. This all goes to show that sometimes the best way to promote your talent is not by boasting about what you can do, but by doing what you love and letting the world have a peek.