Incisive Letterwork was formed in !988 by Brenda Berman and Annet Stirling. They first met at the City and Guilds of London Art School where they studied lettering with Bertold Wolpe. Brenda Berman had previously trained as a painter at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, Annet Stirling as a graphic designer at the Akademie voor Kunst en Industrie, Enschede, NL.

Incisive Letterwork focuses on large scale architectural inscriptions and word sculpture. The physical aspect of working with raw stone, the exploration of the marks tools can make and a working relationship with a Dorset quarry all influence their designing and the way they carve.

In 1996 they were awarded a Churchill Fellowship and travelled in Italy studying marble and Roman and Renaissance inscriptions.