Revival Type Workshop at Southland Institute
Designer Jaimey Shapey will be holding a workshop about reviving type in Los Angeles. Participants receive an extended trial license and can purchase their own full license at a discount.
Revival type has named itself in the cultural zeitgeist of today. Clifton, Founders Grotesk, Maelstrom, GT Eesti, are just a few examples of popular faces, all a form of revival, remix,or anthology. Just because a typeface was designed in the 18th century doesn't mean it doesn't have a workable place in the 21st century. It can, but it is up to the designer to justify its place as no longer a historical artifact, and as a living piece of design. A work that has a rich historical ancestry, but with the ability to stand up to new formats and technology, is a whole and developed idea.
‘Then, This’: Revival Type in the Contemporary Era
Saturday, January 25, and Sunday, January 26,
1-4 pm
The objective of the workshop is to explore the concept of typographic revivals as they exist in a digital and contemporary context. Using old specimens/books (provided), attendees will be walked through the decision making process when doing a revival. Picking a typeface sample from an old text, they will be required to draw/revive an 8+ letter word containing an n or an o, as these are the control characters type designers start with.
Questions to be examined include:
- How does a designer translate printed material to a digital format?
- What defines a revival, who has proposed definitions for revivals?
- Why is a revival different from a facsimile?
- Who owns a revival?
Additionally, the workshop will cover beginning technical aspects of the Glyphs software, including:
- Setting up documents and file organization.
- Drawing paths (with basic interpolation in mind).
- Compositing (diacritics or ligatures).
- Global spacing.
- OpenType features.
By the end of the workshop, attendees will have a basic understanding of:
- Typographic drawing principles.
- What it means to ‘revive’ a typeface.
- The differing features between type made in the digital era vs. a pre-digital era.
- Glyphs user knowledge.
- Where to start when beginning a type design based project, whether that be a wordmark, logotype, or full typeface.
Where?
t.b.a.
Who?
Jaimey Shapey
How Much?
sliding scale $40-$100
Language
English
Prerequisites
Workshop attendees will need to bring their own Apple computer with a Glyphs license, as most type design softwares don't support a PC interface. Specimens/various texts will be provided and attendees will be able to choose one, or are allowed to bring their own if they already have one in mind.
