Shorthand Calligraphy: The Art of Writing Signs That Breathe
Shorthand Calligraphy: The Art of Writing Signs That Breathe
By Martín Córdoba
Shorthand has historically been regarded as a technique in service of speed, synthesis, and precision. For years, I practiced it as a parliamentary and sacred oratory stenographer; I used it in shorthand speed competitions, taught it to new generations of students, and valued it as an indispensable tool for faithfully recording the spoken word.
However, over time, I discovered that shorthand signs, far from being mere functional strokes, possess their own aesthetic strength: a silent beauty that reveals itself when observed with different eyes, the eyes of someone who contemplates; not someone who races.
Thus was born, almost as an artistic intuition, shorthand calligraphy. Not as a rejection of the system’s original purpose, but as an expansion of its meaning. This practice involves the handcrafted creation of shorthand signs for visual and expressive purposes, not for speed or utility. It’s a way of writing in which every stroke seeks harmony, clarity, and rhythm, as if each circle, ellipse, curved or straight line breathed on its own, unhurried by the pace of dictation.
What is Shorthand Calligraphy?
Shorthand calligraphy is an aesthetic form of writing based on the signs of the Pitman System, although its spirit could easily extend to other systems. Its purpose is not speed or functional transcription, but the visual and harmonious expression of strokes. It is shorthand without haste: a practice that avoids the vertigo of dictation and embraces the slow rhythm of contemplation.
In this approach, the signs are carefully executed using traditional calligraphy techniques, seeking balance, clarity, graphic dynamism, and formal beauty. Each straight or curved line, each space between signs, is conceived not as a means to another end, but as an end in itself, worthy of being observed and appreciated for its form.
It is a discipline that transforms fast notes into artistic gestures. In shorthand calligraphy, signs are not only carriers of meaning: they are also image, gesture, and composition. This writing can be admired by those who understand shorthand, but also by those who are simply moved by the dance of strokes.
The Origin: Sheets Born from the Slow Stroke
In 2005, I had already written the gramálogos —shorthand abbreviations— the Manual de Gramálogos Parlamentarios in calligraphic form. And in 2010, I decided to carry out a small personal experiment: to take texts that resonated deeply within me —songs, poems, spiritual and legal excerpts— and represent them in Pitman Shorthand in Spanish, method of the Academias Pitman of Argentina (Taquigrafía Pitman Comercial y Parlamentaria). I did so not with the urgency of transcription or the rush of dictation, but slowly, with aesthetic intent, with the calm pulse of someone who wishes to draw rather than record.
Thus emerged the first sheets of shorthand calligraphy: 23 handwritten pieces, crafted by hand, using traditional calligraphy techniques I learned between 1994 and 1995 in the Calligraphy Course at the Academias Pitman in Tucumán, Argentina, under the method of professor Eduardo N. Calcagno. I placed great care into each stroke, seeking not only fidelity to the sign but also beauty in its form.
Some of these sheets transcribe deeply moving songs like La saeta, Color esperanza, or Sueña. Others feature poetry by Alfonsina Storni, Baldomero Fernández Moreno, and Leopoldo Lugones. I also included the Orthodox Lord’s Prayer and the Preamble to the Constitution of the Argentine Nation. I did not approach this with academic or exhaustive intentions, but with the intimate desire to show that shorthand signs can also be poetic gestures.
A Writing That Is Heard with the Eyes
Many people have told me they don’t know shorthand, yet when they look at these sheets, they feel a strange kind of emotion, as if the signs were speaking to them, even though they don’t understand the language. That reaction confirms what I suspected from the beginning: shorthand calligraphy doesn’t need to be decoded to be felt. One only needs to pause, look, and let the strokes draw you in.
On several occasions, I have recommended —and I repeat it here— that you listen to the songs while observing their corresponding calligraphic sheets. This practice enhances the sensory experience, as the visual rhythm is complemented by musical rhythm. The shorthand sign, aligned with the melody, comes alive: it becomes a vibrating stroke, a singing shape.
Even those unfamiliar with the Pitman System can enjoy this form of writing. Shorthand calligraphy does not demand literal interpretation; it invites free contemplation, like someone admiring a musical score without reading music, or a painting without knowing the technique behind the brushwork. There is beauty in the gesture itself.
The Legacy of a Stroke
I created these sheets because I felt it was necessary, because, after years of using shorthand as a tool, I began to see something more in its signs: a hidden aesthetic, a veiled harmony that asked to be revealed.
Today, perhaps without intending it, those sheets have become a small constellation of strokes seeking to open a new path. If someday someone chooses to walk that path, to explore their own shorthand calligraphy and compose new signs with a visual spirit, my greatest wish is that they do so with the honesty of a slow stroke and a devotion to form.
Shorthand calligraphy requires no permission or doctrine, but it does require love for the signs, attention to detail, and a keen ear for the silences that every writing also draws. I simply wanted to show that signs can be contemplated: that they write, yes, but they also breathe.
© 2025 Martín E. Córdoba. All rights reserved. This article has been written with contemplation and respect for form. Reproduction, in whole or in part, by any means, requires the author's express permission. Sharing it while citing the source honors the slow stroke and the word that breathes. Shorthand Calligraphy (Caligrafía Taquigráfica) is an original concept by the author, developed in 2010.
