Jean François Porchezwill conduct a type design workshop called Letterform Design open to anyone interested in typography, typefaces, lettering, and calligraphy.
Why?
The goal of this one-day workshop is not to design a complete font but to provide participants with the tools to better understand typographic letterforms, and the knowledge of a working method to draw your own alphabets and letters.
How?
Our approach is organized around the humanist alphabet and is based on handwriting as a means of understanding typographic forms. This method is a proven technique used during the five intensive weeks of the TypeParis program.
We will begin by practicing the basics of calligraphy on tracing paper to better visualize the skeleton of the minuscule letters, and to explore letter shapes and contrast. You will learn how to stabilize the forms from your calligraphic practice to understand the relationships between shapes and counterforms.
Starting from these drawings, you will work on various systems, including serifs, terminals, weight and contrast to define a coherent typographic style that can be applied to all the glyphs of an alphabet.
We will then explore additional typographic variables from your drawings, creating bold, light, high-contrast, condensed or sans serif variants.
In the late afternoon, we will address digitization issues such as point placement or spacing concepts. To maximize the time for design, learning and discussion we will not be using computers. The ambition is to address the issues of letterform design in general, not the techniques related to specific software.
Supplied material
– Letterforms and calligraphy models
– 3 mm broad nib, pen holder, ink, goblets
– Pencils in HB, 3H
– Pigma Micron Graphic 1 mm and Sharpie markers
– Adhesive
– Uncoated tabloid paper 90gr
– Tracing paper 90gr
Who?
Limited to 16 attendees:
– This workshop is intended for all graphic designers, designers, students or teachers who wish to discover letterforms drawing techniques
– If you are not a designer but you have a strong desire to try and draw letters, and you can already draw a little, you are welcome to join us.
– This is a good overview of the working methods implemented at TypeParis. Therefore, this one-day workshop is an ideal way to test your motivation before engaging in further training in letterform design.
The workshop will take place in the Room 230 of the Art Building on the University of Washington Seattle campus (directions).
A box lunch will be provided of all participants: You will receive an email with a link to order the box lunch of your choice after registration.
