Calligraphy (from Greek καλλος kallos "beauty" + γραφος graphos "writing") is the art of beautiful writing. A style of calligraphy is described as a hand or alphabet.

Calligraphy today ranges from functional inscriptions and hand lettering to fine art pieces where the expression of the handwritten mark may take precedence over the legibility of the letters. Well-crafted calligraphy differers from typography; characters are fluid and spontaneous, improvised at the moment of writing.

Modern calligraphy continues to display itself in the form of wedding and event invitations, maps, and most published works involving writing. Some of today's calligraphy has little to do with the artistic discipline of each character, but instead is simply good penmanship that attracts attention and has a style of its own. This type of calligraphy is referred to as “modern calligraphy”, also called New York Calligraphy created by the New York calligrapher Anne Robin and San Francisco calligraphy created by Katie Hughes of Artichoke Ink.