We’re happy to announce that registration for this year’s conference is now open. Take advantage of early bird pricing by registering by June 30th. You can save even more on registration by joining the Society of Typographic Aficionados or renewing your SOTA membership. See the registration page for details.

Christian owns and operates Helms Workshop, a design and brand development studio in Austin, Texas. He’s also co-owner of Frank and Standard Grit Textiles.

Beginning his career as an intern for Michael Beirut at Pentagram NY, Christian went on to blaze an unremarkable trail through Manhattan before serving as a founding member of John Bielenberg’s socially-conscious design collective, Project M. After a stretch at McGarrah Jesse, Christian co-founded the celebrated design collaborative The Decoder Ring Design Concern. His obsessive sketching and perpetual motion soon resulted in award-winning work for clients ranging from Spoon, Wilco and Modest Mouse to AT&T, Toyota and the Obama campaign.

In Fall 2010, Christian founded Helms Workshop and began work on brand projects for Hasbro, Lone Star Beer, Lollapalooza and Happy Cog. The studio also partnered in launching self-initiated ventures like Frank restaurant, Standard Grit Textiles, and We&Co, a new social app with former Coca-Cola marketing head Marc Mathieu. Most recently, Workshop began working with Jack Daniels on their national Independence Day campaign for July, 2012.

Christian lectures across the country, has served as a juror for the Communication Arts Design Annual and received awards from a host of esteemed entities including Communication Arts, Graphis, Step, ID, Print, and Metropolis — not to mention a gold record from the RIAA. He is currently featured in the May/June 2012 Communication Arts Illustration Guide.

Winner
Niko Skourtis, 26
New York, NY

Niko studied at California College of the Arts. For his undergraduate thesis project he created an interactive database, Typograph, that catalogs the past thirty years of typography. Typograph presents data from the Type Directors Club annuals through various interactive platforms. These platforms include an interactive chart displaying data for each typeface, a dynamic image-based timeline, and visual representations built using the Processing — providing an atmospheric perspective on the past thirty years of typography.

Our judging committee was unanimously impressed with Niko’s work, chosen from a pool of nearly forty applicants. Here are some examples of what the judges had to say:

“Successful database and web design to easily portray typographic information in a digestible and meaningful manner.”

“That this individual is an accomplished designer and programmer, just makes me want to see where his talents will lead him in future.”

Special Recognition

The judges would also like to recognize another candidate, Nick Sherman. At the tender age of 29, Nick has a resumé that many would envy. He currently works for Font Bureau and Webtype, where he promote fonts for use both in print and web. Nick has become a regular at TypeCon and his contribution to the field of typography is considerable. The judges would like to recognize this contribution and look forward to seeing what the future holds for Nick.

For ten years, Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers have been working together as The Heads of State for clients as diverse as The New York Times, Starbucks, the School of Visual Arts, Penguin, and bands like R.E.M., Wilco, and The National. Throughout those years they’ve had an up and down relationship with typography. This talk will feature various typographic tales in which our heroes fall in love with letters, rebel against fonts, forsake letterforms to become illustrators, and then beg for forgiveness.

The date and time of this special event is to be announced.

Bethany Armstrong, Jo De Baerdemaeker, Steve Bardolph, Nathan Adam Beadel, Scott Boms, Matthew Carter, Antonio Cavedoni, Nancy Sharon Collins, Rafael Díaz, John Downer, Nathalie Dumont, Craig Eliason, James Fritz, Patrick Giasson, Emily Gordon, The Heads of State, Cyrus Highsmith, Mark Jamra, Akira Kobayashi, Craig Kroeger, Indra Kupferschmid, Gerry Leonidas, Jean-Baptiste Levée, Ian Lynam, Kamal Mansour, Ricardo Martins, Steve Matteson, Erin McLaughlin, Kathleen Meaney, Ketty Miranda, Vince Mitchell, Gillian Mothersill, Bill Moran, Jim Moran, Sharon Oiga, Amy Papaelias, Matthew Peterson, Thomas Phinney, Ashley John Pigford, Dan Reynolds, Daniel Rhatigan, Steve Ross, Jay Rutherford, Yvette Rutledge, Stuart Sandler, Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer, Amie Segal, David Shields, Julie Spivey, Neil Summerour, Jason Cranford Teague, Tricia Treacy, Guy Villa, Erik Vorhes, Carey Watters, and many more.

Presentations and workshops will explore topics such as: the library of the future; Marshall McLuhan and design; vernacular lettering; identity development with students; Cherokee syllabary; typeface legibility; the changing world of font licensing; stories from the Monotype archives; Mayan writing reform; responsive web fonts; press checks in the web age; creative pangramming; optimizing typefaces for the cockpit; wood type galore; and so much more.

Keep an eye on the conference program, the education forum and workshop schedules, as well as the special events pages for the latest updates and additions.

Each day, the museum will offer two simultaneous workshops offering attendees the opportunity to experience letterpress printing in the 4000 sq. ft. printing studio. Attendees will use Show Card and Vandercook printing presses, plus selected type and printing plates from our collection. In another part of the museum, we will also offer a letterform cutting workshop. Participants will work with hand presses to create one-of-a-kind letterforms and prints using thin wood veneer and X-acto knives.

Workshop participants arriving from Milwaukee will be divided into two groups. One group will spend the morning in the pressroom and the other group will be cutting and printing letterforms. Lunch will be provided in the museum. After lunch, the groups will switch workshop sessions. Sessions will be led by Jim and Bill Moran, with help from museum volunteers. The workshops will end at 5:00 pm and attendees will return to Milwaukee.

The cost of these workshops is $150.00 for each day and will include round trip transportation from the conference hotel to the Hamilton, lunch (vegetarian option will be offered), and supplies.

Registration for these workshops will be available once the main conference registration opens.

Photo by Nick Sherman

As a reminder, the deadline for SOTA Catalyst Award entries is also Friday, March 9th. If you are under 30 years of age and creating original work in type design, type history, or other areas related to typography, please consider entering.

MKE is the shorthand code for Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport and visually suggests the word ‘Make’.

SHIFT is a straightforward term which we’re all familiar with.

Putting the two together, we forge the phrase ‘Make Shift’ — which also works on several levels.

‘Make’ reflects the creation of things, including type. ‘MKE’ is the host city, an industrial hub which has a deep rooted history of making things. ‘Makeshift’ implies improvisation, creativity, and the temporary or ephemeral nature of things — such as is the TypeCon event itself. ‘Shift’ is a change in direction, speaking to the continuous movement from letterpress to hot type to cold type to the digital desktop to the web.

It’s also a tip of the hat to the shift key found on our keyboards.

On a related note, SOTA is excited to be working with a group of talented design students from the University of Georgia on the conference identity.

We can’t wait to see what they brew up.

The recipient will be awarded up to $1,500 USD in reimbursement for transportation and lodging expenses to attend the TypeCon2012 conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — July 31st – August 5th. They will also have their conference registration fee paid for and will give a 20-minute presentation during the main conference program.

The SOTA Board of Directors hopes that this introduction to a large audience of typographic aficionados will be a catalyst in the career of the recipient.

Judging Committee

Geraldine Banes (formerly Geraldine Wade)
Amelia Hugill-Fontanel
Charles Nix
Mark Simonson

Submission Deadline

March 9th, 2012

Notification of Award

March 30th, 2012

Requirements

You must be 30 years of age or younger on August 2nd, 2012 and must attend TypeCon2012 in Milwaukee — August 2nd – 5th, 2012 — to make a presentation during the conference.

The following materials must be emailed to email hidden by the submission deadline. A single PDF file (may be multiple pages) containing the following information is preferred:

1. Examples of a specific project or related group of work to be the topic of the presentation
2. A brief description of the presentation (100 words or less)
3. A letter explaining your involvement in typography (300 words or less)
4. Optional: Online links to additional work or background information

Include your name, date of birth, postal address, organization or university affiliation (if applicable), email, and phone number with area code. Applicants from outside the U.S. or Canada should include their country dialing code as well.

Update! The deadline for programming proposals has been extended to Friday, March 9th, 2012

The Society of Typographic Aficionados (SOTA) is now accepting programming proposals for its fourteenth annual conference. TypeCon2012 will be held at the InterContinental Hotel, July 31st – August 5th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and will once again offer an affordable program designed for type makers and type users from all walks of life.

We are currently reviewing proposals for contemporary and historical presentations and panel discussions, focused hands-on workshops in both the digital and non-digital realms, and a variety of programming for the Type & Design Education Forum and other special events.

Topics for presentations at TypeCon cover a broad range of interests, including: typography; type design; font production; graphic design; new media; printing history; calligraphy and hand lettering; the book arts; advertising; type in motion; literacy; type sales and marketing; legal issues; type and design education; and other related areas.

Deadline for proposals: Friday, March 9th, 2012

Standard programming formats are as follows:

Main Conference Program

Friday, August 3rd – Sunday, August 5th

Full-length Presentations

• 40 minutes, including time for audience Q & A

Type in 20 Presentations

• 20 minutes, including time for audience Q & A (if any)

Panel Discussions

• Requires a minimum of 3 panelists representing a range of experience and expertise in a given topic. An experienced moderator is necessary for all panels — programming committee will choose a moderator at its discretion if an appropriate candidate does not emerge. A moderator may also serve as a panelist where appropriate. Panel discussions range from 45-75 minutes, depending on the topic.

Pre-Conference Workshops

Wednesday, August 1st – Thursday, August 2nd

Workshops should give attendees and opportunity to “get their hands dirty” and expand their creative and/or technological horizons.

Full-day Workshops

• 7 hours (with break for lunch at midday)

Half-day Workshops

• 3.5 hours (no break)

Type & Design Education Forum

Thursday, August 2nd

Please refer to the separate education forum call for speakers.

Tours & Special Events

Tuesday, July 31st – Sunday, August 5th

Any ideas that showcase typography and design in Milwaukee and the surrounding region are welcome.

Proposal Guidelines & Requirements

You may submit multiple proposals.

In order to consider your proposal, we will need the following:

• The type of programming spot you are seeking
• The title of the presentation, panel, workshop, tour, or other event
• A concise one-paragraph description of your topic (up to 100 words)
• Complete supporting materials for review (visuals, theses, articles, abstracts, etc.)
  • the more details you provide, the better
  • workshop proposals must include a list of supplies that will be required
• Your biography, edited for publicity (100 words maximum)
• Your CV, resume, or long form biography (including areas of interest and specialization)
• Speaking references (if you have not previously presented at TypeCon)
• A short statement on why you wish to participate in TypeCon
• A print quality headshot
• Any other material that supports your proposal

Please use PDF, RTF, or ASCII files for text. Headshot images should be TIFF or JPEG format, 2″ x 2″ @ 300DPI minimum size. Compress all files in a single ZIP archive labeled with your name and the type of program spot you are seeking (eg: TC12_Main_LastNameFirstName). If your ZIP archive is larger than 20MB, please send a link to a downloadable file rather than an email attachment.

Email proposals to email hidden by Wednesday, February 29th, 2012.

The programming committee will review all proposals for possible inclusion in the conference schedule.

See also: TypeCon2012: Education Forum Call for Speakers

Photo Copyright © Henrique Nardi. All rights reserved.