Enhance your TypeCon experience with inspirational design and typography workshops.
Workshop registration will open soon.
Full day workshops break for lunch from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm.
This information is subject to change.
Wednesday, August 28th
Full-Day Sessions
Brush-written Romans to Roman Type Forms:
The Anatomy of Majuscules
Presented by: John Downer & Paul Herrera
Cost: $225 (Two Day Workshop)
Location: To be announced
The ancient Romans devised systems of proportion that are still applicable today. The flat brush was the basis of formal Roman lettering. Understanding the tool enables students to incorporate important principles in both hand lettering and type design. The first day will be devoted to brush technique and refining the letterforms. The second day will be devoted to pencil tracings and preparation of the drawings for the eventual purpose of scanning and digitizing. We will not, however, be using scanners or computers in the classroom. The exercises will be strictly analog.
This is a two day workshop.
Participants must be prepared to attend both days.
Chinese Calligraphy
Presented by: Qiu Yin & Ming Wei
Cost: $125
Location: To be announced
SimHei, SimSun, FangSong, and Kaiti are the four basic fonts for Chinese typesetting. Developed from traditional Chinese handwriting, these fonts reflect the softness of brushes and suit right-handed writers. Chinese aesthetics, after thousands of years of development, continues to exercise a strong influence on Chinese handwriting in the modern era. The Chinese Calligraphy Workshop is dedicated to bringing the unique experience of writing with a soft Chinese brush for the designers beyond the Chinese-character cultural circle and helping them to learn the trick and fun of writing Chinese characters stroke by stroke. Just as pen writing has fundamentally influenced the traditional Chinese handwriting, the special texture of brushes may also prove inspiring for western writers and type designers.
Reduction Block Printing
Presented by: Mary Bruno
Cost: $125
Location: To be announced
In this workshop you will see reduction block printing broken down to its most basic terms. I will show a wide range of how I have used reduction block printing. We will use simplified images transferred onto linoleum blocks, then carve and plan out how the gradual layering from light to dark colors will play out in a minimum of three stages.
I will cover the many aspects of successful reduction printing:
- The best images to use for this process
- The best tools and presses for this process
- How to plan colors and layering
- How to plan size of block and size of paper
- How to see in stages of this process
Prerequisites: You must be comfortable carving a linoleum block.
Type Intensive
Presented by: Neil Summerour & Jean François Porchez
Cost: $125
Location: To be announced
This workshop is set aside for the young type designer — with few or no professionally — released typefaces. This intensive, one-day workshop will include small group interactive sessions of dissection, critique, and discussion of each individual’s typeface. After this small group, designers will have an opportunity to refine and rework for a second, large-group critique and discussion about the direction each designer’s typeface can pursue. General advice will be given, on a one-on-one and group basis, related to production, workflow, marketing, and more in order to guide the young type designer in a positive and informed direction.
Wednesday, August 28th
Half-Day Sessions
Advanced Glyphs Geekery for Type Designers
Presented by: Georg Seifert
Cost: $75
Location: To be announced
Have you been using Glyphs for creating typefaces, but feel like you have not used it to its full potential? Join the lead developer of your font editor, and get to know the latest and greatest tricks in the software. Take full control by learning how to use color layers, filters, corner components and smart components. Take your workflow to the next level with project files and extensions, and harness the power of custom parameters.
Prerequisites: Prior experience in type design is required. Bring your laptop (Mac) with the latest version of Glyphs installed.
ㄱ to ㅎ: An Intro to Hangul Design
Presented by: Aaron Bell
Cost: $75
Location: To be announced
Back by popular demand! Do you sometimes dream of ᄒ, or find yourself staring a little too long at a wayward ᄅ? Have you wanted to try your hand at designing Hangul, but have no idea where or how to start? Then this is the workshop for you!
During this session, we will dive headfirst into the fascinating world of Korean type, both historical and modern. You’ll learn about the rules that govern Hangul (and which ones you can break!) and try your hand at your own Hangul letters. With lots of examples to look at, one-on-one instruction, and critique, you will come away with everything you need to start your own journey toward Hangul mastery.
Materials will be provided, but if you have favorite drawing or sketching tools, feel free to bring them!
Prerequisites: If you’d like to digitize your work, please bring your laptop.
Letterpress Printing Cool Things at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Presented by: Bill Moran
Cost: $75
Location: Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Details to follow.
Thursday, August 29th
Full-Day Sessions
Brush-written Romans to Roman Type Forms:
The Anatomy of Majuscules
Presented by: John Downer & Paul Herrera
Cost: $225 (Two Day Workshop)
Location: To be announced
The ancient Romans devised systems of proportion that are still applicable today. The flat brush was the basis of formal Roman lettering. Understanding the tool enables students to incorporate important principles in both hand lettering and type design. The first day will be devoted to brush technique and refining the letterforms. The second day will be devoted to pencil tracings and preparation of the drawings for the eventual purpose of scanning and digitizing. We will not, however, be using scanners or computers in the classroom. The exercises will be strictly analog.
This is a two day workshop.
Participants must be prepared to attend both days.
Type Design for Non-Type Designers
Presented by: Matteo Bologna & Georg Seifert
Cost: $125
Location: To be announced
Go beyond choosing the same fonts from the type menu to creating your own typefaces and become your own type designer. This full-day workshop will introduce you to the basic skills necessary for the wild journey into the super fun world of type design.
Go through the basics of designing and generating a typeface with the font design software Glyphs (Mac only). In the morning session we will learn the basics of drawing a font, generate the font, and use it in Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator.
In the afternoon, we will add additional letters to the font, fit and kern them, and add diacritics. At the end of the day, we will not have a finished font, but a respectable start and hopefully you’ll be infected with the type making bug.
Throughout the workshop, Glyphs lead developer Georg Seifert will be present and give live software support, and if you have a feature request, he will implement it right away.
No prior experience is required in font design, but basic Adobe Illustrator skills are necessary.
Prerequisites: Bring your laptop (Mac) with the latest version of Glyphs installed.
Learn Lettering, German Style
Presented by: Chris Campe
Cost: $125
Location: To be announced
The Bauhaus turns 100 this year and in its spirit this workshop gives participants a no-nonsense foundation for designing letterforms.
We start out with calligraphy exercises for a deeper understanding of Latin letters and how they derive from writing. With drawing prompts participants then systematically explore the characteristic parameters of letterforms. Finally, we link content and form and develop letters that not only look good, but communicate purposefully and solve design problems.
Participants will walk away with an overview of the major letter styles and their connotations. They will be able to decide with greater ease which style is most suitable for their specific purpose and how to customize letters without making any of the cardinal mistakes that betray the ignorant.
This workshop is geared towards participants who are well-versed in typography on the computer, but have little practice sketching on paper. It is also directed at people with lettering experience, who struggle with their lack of knowledge in type design. Seasoned lettering artists comfortable in their own style could also benefit from the systematic approach that this class offers.
A Drop of Ink, a Drop of Persian Culture
Presented by: Maryam Khaleghiyazdi
Cost: $125
Location: To be announced
During this full-day workshop, I will introduce you to Farsi typography which has a rich background in the global history of calligraphy and typography. Participants will start by creating basic Farsi letters in a calligraphic style by applying interesting Persian nibs and then them into words. After some practice, you’ll create a large calligraphy piece using letters and words in your own style. After this, you’ll cut out some compositions from the main calligraphy piece and rearrange them into the a coherent large composition.
This workshop has two learning objectives: to allow participants to think beyond the boundaries of Latin typography; and encouraging them to broaden their attitudes toward unfamiliar elements of design. Working with letters that are alien to you will allow you to consider those letters as graphical forms, rather than words with predetermined meaning.
Day Trip to the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Presented by: Gor Jihanian
Cost: $125
Location: Saint John’s University
This day trip to Saint John’s University will allow participants the rare opportunity to access the renowned collections of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.
The HMML holds the world’s largest collection of resources for the study of manuscript cultures across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Participants will have access to physical manuscripts, digital archives, and microfilm. The HMML’s Rare Books Collection contains printing history from the 15th to 20th centuries, including over 70 incunabula. We will also visit the permanent gallery for the Saint John’s Bible, which showcases original folios of the hand-written, hand-illuminated Bible — regarded as a monumental achievement in contemporary book arts.
Sections of the tour will be guided by each collection’s respective curators. Participants can also enjoy the opportunity to do more in-depth research within a particular collection.
The HMML is located in Collegeville, 1.5 hours from Minneapolis. Transportation will be provided.
Hot Glass Type Experiments
Presented by: Helen Lee & Ben Orozco
Cost: $125
Maximum Participants: 10
Location: Minnesota Center for Glass Arts (MCGA)
This hot glass workshop for type geeks will take place at Foci glass studio at the Minnesota Center for Glass Arts in Minneapolis. Experience the material specificity of molten glass first-hand. Participants will have the opportunity to sandcast glass type, hot-pour freestyle letterforms, and bend a letter in neon. This will be a memorable, experimental, and exploratory type workshop in which it’s entirely possible you may get burned.
Foci is 10 minutes via car or 20 minutes via public transit from the conference hotel.
Thursday, August 29th
Half-Day Sessions
Type Builds Character:
Mastering the Art of Fine Typesetting
Presented by: Carolina de Bartolo
Cost: $75
Location: To be announced
This workshop will challenge you to build your skills on both the macro- and micro-typographic level. You’ll learn how to wrangle your favorite typefaces into the most beautiful, interesting, and readable layouts. You’ll also get some insider tips on how to choose typefaces and how to combine two (or more!) of them, learn some techniques for creating clarity within typographic systems, and find out how to fine-tune long passages of text with multi-level hierarchies. (Oh, my!)
Come learn how fun it is to be seriously finicky and fastidious with type. Guaranteed to make you a better designer…and a better person.
This workshop is based on Carolina’s award-winning typography book Explorations in Typography (2016). A signed copy of the book (plus some other typographic goodies) is included in the price of the workshop!
Prerequisites: Bring your laptop with a recent version of Adobe InDesign installed.
Business For Your Type
Presented by: Iliana Moreno Guzman
Cost: $75
Location: To be announced
Have you recently started or are you thinking on starting a foundry, but are hesitant about the “business side” of it?
This workshop aims to provide a safe space to learn and share about business fundamentals, without the risk to turn into a salesperson. It is about discovering what are you offering — or plan to offer — and how to better communicate it, in a way that resonates with the public, and that gives you a better opportunity in the business industry.
This half-day session will begin introducing key business concepts including: what a startup is, why is it different from a small business, and how type foundries can begin their journey as a startup. It will address the need to asses the market which will give your foundry an opportunity to better prepare and differentiate itself.
If you are eager to spark the conversation about the business side of type, and to walk out with a better understanding of your business offering, please join the workshop, we will be waiting for you!