Type design in the computer age

What was it like to to design typefaces before digital era or launching a foundry in the 90s? This talk will explore these topics, illustrated by historical sources and ongoing typeface projects. In the context of designing typographic identities based on authentic roots: connotations, history, and even politics play a major role in type design.

How communities play a crucial role in designer career, as well how teaching reinforces the understanding of daily practice. As practitioners, we are influenced by our environment, we follow trends, and we try to understand them. But what does it mean to design typefaces today?

Let us question typographical genres, where to set limits in typeface revivals, and how to use sources and materials in an ethical way. And indeed, how to draw the line between interpretation and piracy. Let us reject the opportunism, shortcuts, and bad practises that threaten our small typographic industry.

➽ Talk initially delivered for LetterExchange on Wednesday 19 November 2020, 18:30 UTC