Mirage Font: A Brush-Lettering Project and Its Rediscovery

Chris Costello’s original family account explains that he drew Mirage using ink and a calligraphy brush, then filed the project away. He later rediscovered a photostat of the character set roughly fifteen years afterward and decided to digitize it. The story documents the process behind a particular alphabet, without supplying a precise date for the initial drawing.

Costello describes an intention to evoke writing associated with imagined ancient settings and suggests travel, history and greeting-card applications. These are design associations, not proof that Mirage reproduces a specific civilization’s alphabet. Preserve that distinction when labeling a project. A promotional illustration or historical subject should not be mistaken for evidence of the font’s actual origin or linguistic coverage.

Write the title and a short explanatory line before adding imagery. Look at the spacing around each brush-like form and keep punctuation clearly identifiable. A busy illustration can compete with expressive strokes, so compare a plain background first. Give a subtitle a simpler role and enough room to explain the subject. Avoid using decorative lettering as a substitute for accurate contextual information.

Permanent Marker, Cinzel and Source Serif 4 are independent specimens, not Costello’s Mirage files. Compare the same original title and supporting sentence to explore different degrees of informality and formality. Keep the chosen publisher and exact family name in production notes. If a colleague supplies another font called Mirage, identify it separately before assuming the outlines, spacing or supplied features match this project.