Art & Design
Calligraphy & Lettering Quiz
The ancient art of beautiful writing — from Arabic scripts to Copperplate.
The ancient art of beautiful writing — from Arabic scripts to Copperplate.
The Book of Kells, created around 800 CE, contains some of the most elaborate calligraphy ever produced in Western art. This 50-question quiz explores the full sweep of beautiful writing across civilisations — from Roman square capitals carved into Trajan's Column in 113 CE to the Ottoman tughra, from Edward Johnston's revival that inspired the London Underground typeface to the flowing strokes of East Asian shufa. Whether you're a practising calligrapher or simply fascinated by letterforms, this quiz covers the scripts, tools, masters, and traditions that shaped how humans have written beautifully for millennia.
For thousands of years, humans have elevated the act of writing into high art. The Roman inscription on Trajan's Column, completed in 113 CE, still serves as a model for type designers today. Islamic calligraphers developed intricate proportional systems based on the rhombic dot. Chinese masters identified five distinct scripts, from formal Seal script to the rapid, abstract Cursive (Grass) script. This quiz spans all of these traditions.
Each round presents 10 randomized multiple-choice questions drawn from a pool of 50, so every playthrough is different. You get instant feedback with explanations after each answer, plus a shareable score at the end.
You'll explore Western scripts from Uncial to Copperplate, the five Arabic calligraphic styles, East Asian brush traditions, the tools of the craft from broad-edge nibs to qalam reed pens, and the lives of master calligraphers including Wang Xizhi and Ibn Muqla.
Calligraphy is the art of writing — letters are formed in a single fluid stroke using a pen or brush, with the tool's angle and pressure creating thick and thin variations. Lettering is the art of drawing letters — each letterform is constructed and built up rather than written in a single pass. A calligrapher writes; a lettering artist draws.
Because Islam traditionally prohibits figurative representation of living beings, visual creativity was channelled into non-figurative forms. Calligraphy, as the medium for the Quran — the direct word of God — became the supreme art. Skilled calligraphers were among the most esteemed artists in Islamic civilization, and their work adorned mosques, palaces, coins, and everyday objects.
For Western calligraphy, beginners typically start with a broad-edge nib holder, a selection of nibs such as Speedball C-series, bottled calligraphy ink, and smooth layout paper. For Copperplate, a flexible pointed nib and thinned ink are needed. East Asian calligraphy requires the Four Treasures of the Study: a sumi brush, an ink stick, an inkstone for grinding, and rice paper.
Last updated: March 2026