The Lyrics Lettering 00014-Best Fake Smile by James Bay

The Work

The Inspiration

I've always been a fan of James Bay's music. His songs hit home for me. There's just such a variety in his music and one that stood out to me for my lettering design is the song "Best Fake Smile". The message in that song is great, you can pretend everything's cool but deep down it's eating you away. It's all about being true to yourself and dropping the act.

No you don't have to wear your best fake smile
Don't have to stand there and burn inside
Oh oh oh if you don't like it
And you don't have to care so don't pretend
Nobody needs a best fake friend
Oh oh oh don't hide it

The Process

The design process for this piece was enjoyable. I aimed to make the smile the focal point, creating a whimsical and fun yet meaningful message of stopping faking it. I intended to convey the idea of dropping the facade and embracing authenticity. Initially, I also considered adding the line: "Nobody needs a best fake friend", but decided to drop it.