How was TypeParis for you?
Who is better to talk about it than our alumni? So we asked them some questions. We published the results of our discussion with two TypeParis23 attendees, Soniya Stella and Svenja Tong to share their stories with you!
You want to apply but are not sure yet? You are wondering what conditions must be met, beyond the official description proposed on the Summer page? You can conclude that the attendees final typefaces designed at the end of the six weeks, are of such a high level that it seems impossible to achieve in such a short period of time? In fact not. The reality is quite different: the participants come from a variety of backgrounds, with or without experience in typeface design. So, whatever your level, you will learn a lot.
TypeParis Summer course!
124 students from 39 different countries have already attended to TypeParis, and it could be your turn. This year TypeParis25 marks the 10-year anniversary of the type design programme launched in 2015. Feel free to contact our alumni directly via their People page, to ask about some specific details about their 6 weeks in Paris.
Why you decided to apply to TypeParis?
Soniya Stella I’ve been drawn to typography ever since I had a 2-week type design course in my sophomore year in design school. I’ve actively pursued opportunities to dive deep into this subject ever since. I learnt about TypeParis from my graphic design senior Shreya Arora who participated in the 2019 edition and it was always in the back of my mind.
Svenja Tong In my design practice, I have always been interested in type design but didn’t have the chance to study it thoroughly. Although I did a degree in graphics, there wasn’t anyone who guided me through an actual type design journey and I did a few projects only by experimenting on my own. Near the end of 2021, I discovered TypeParis while researching for a project that’s related to Chinese and Latin type design. It was through coming across Poe Cheung’s typeface Hoko she did during TypeParis in 2018. Since then, also partly because Paris is very near to London where I live in, I’ve been telling myself I have to try give it a go when I have the opportunity to apply to TypeParis.
“I decided to apply since TypeParis was a smaller commitment of time and finances than a full-fledged master’s programme, the perfect preview to just experiment and see if type design was something I wanted to do more of.”
– Soniya Stella
Building the right portfolio?
Svenja Tong The main focuses of my practice at the time are book, editorial design and illustration. I only had one type design project that’s very conceptual, and a few logotype design, so I wasn’t entirely sure if I could even get in!
Soniya Stella I had just completed my graduation thesis in early 2023, and had some months to spare before joining my full-time job. It was the perfect gap to apply for TypeParis23 – since I had finished my final year, I had a set of relevant projects from 4 years of undergrad to showcase in my application. Reflecting back, I believe 2 things may have helped in making my portfolio’s case stronger for the selection: 1. I had a display typeface from my 2-week type design course at NID. 2. Since that type design course, I was so intrigued by type that I went onto explore it vivaciously – I had consciously kept type at the forefront in my subsequent academic design projects, actively combining it with branding, motion design, publication etc, which eventually worked out well for my TypeParis application. Getting selected for TypeParis is an emotional big win for me on many grounds. Before Summer23, my relentless effort to dive into type since 2020 had met with tiny wins, rejections, failed attempts, iterations, challenges, uncertainties and variables. The tenacity to pursue it no matter what caused tiny cracks on the thick glass ceiling, one attempt at a time. With TypeParis, it came shattering down, finally paving the way for type and travel.
“I wasn’t too confident about the type design project that I had too… but I did try my best to showcase my interests in type by including my type observation notes at the end of my portfolio, and even in non-type design projects, I selected images that show more typography/ show logotype in detail.”
– Svenja Tong
What do you have learned?
Soniya Stella Looking back, Summer23 feels unreal. TypeParis creates a unique environment that acts as the catalyst for this:
1. Of course, the place played a role. The beautiful city of Paris – dreamy, inspiring, and artistic with the finest typography present in its every nook and corner, along with the course structure and the library visits planned by TypeParis that lets you fully experience France’s latin type heritage.
2. But more importantly, I credit the people who surrounded me, both the instructors and my cohort. To describe them in one phrase: you sense the good human energy before the great designer prowess comes out. The instructors are a class apart, whose accomplishments in the world of type design will make your jaw drop, yet they teach with such compassion and humility and push you to achieve results you never thought possible. The 16 attendees are people I hold close to my heart, I miss them a lot and we still actively keep in touch – within the 4 walls of that classroom, is a special bond everyone shares because of our shared love for type.
3. I would strongly recommend this programme to anyone with a love for type – please do yourself a favour, and, go apply for the next edition!
4. You will not be disappointed. ;)
Svenja Tong Hard to summarise in a short paragraph really! I think by the end of the first week, continuous drawing and hands-on learning type had wired our eyes to look at letterforms in a different way, I couldn’t stop observing the shapes when reading – when in the city. It wasn’t particularly hard to learn type design with little experience in it as we pretty much started from the very basic, but I would say I could totally see how past experiences affected the way everyone saw type – like myself who does quite a bit my illustration, I saw letterforms in a more illustrative – drawing way comparing to other classmates who might be more digital, tech or branding focused. I do felt like the course provides a safe and open space for everyone with different backgrounds to just focus on type in their own way.
“I still cannot process how hyper-productive I was and pulled off the impossible feat of delivering an entire type family in a matter of just 6 weeks!”
– Soniya Stella
Tell us about the Now conference and Guest critics?
Svenja Tong While the tutors were all amazing and they really taught us so much, they were with us from the start, hence they have been looking at our projects for weeks as well. So guest critics usually bring in a fresh perspective, it might or might not be relevant, but it’s always good for the creative process! It was also really useful to listen to their talks and advices, to get to know more about how different type design practitioners approach their work.
Soniya Stella We got a complimentary pass for the conference as Summer23 attendees which took place before the type design programme itself. Now23 was an enriching primer before those 6 weeks, where I got the opportunity to listen to a stellar panel of speakers who are accomplished in the type industry, share their creative journeys, and relationship with the craft. For guest critics, we had Bas Jacobs, Sandrine Nugue, Franziska Weitgruber and Dino dos Santos during 4 respective weeks of the main project. They come in with a fresh perspective and I took their feedback to shape my project uniquely. For instance, once my regular weight for Chapelle was done, it was Sandrine who suggested expanding the type family using the stress axis – to have a regular master, a reverse stress master with a low contrast interpolation in the middle, which can be used for text. It was experimental, and helped my project evolve in surprising ways. It was also great to see each guest critic’s work that they presented during the evening talks – I loved how each one of them approached the craft, and shared their honest experiences of doing type design for a living, the challenging as well as the rewarding aspects of the profession, which helped me gain a holistic and well-informed perspective about typography.
“I think having a conference before the start of the course and guest critics almost every week did help me gain different perspectives on our designs.”
– Svenja Tong
What are you doing now?
Soniya Stella It’s been more than a year since Summer23 and my relationship with type has evolved drastically ever since. I attended the programme just to learn more about the subject, but ended up falling head over heels for it. I came back from Paris and joined my full-time job at Samsung. By day, I work in UX and by night, I indulge in type. Another pivotal point from TypeParis is crossing paths with Marie Boulanger during one of the Now23 workshops. I was fortunate to be mentored by her later on, which helped me uncover my creative purpose. While I labeled myself as a digital designer on a typography tryst, she helped me see beyond that and guided me on how I can utilize my work experience in UX and passion for type to build a niche in the intersection of typography and technology. Based on the roadmap we worked out together, I’ve recently switched my job to frog as a Visual Designer to better align with these goals. I was recently awarded Special Recognition by Sharp Type’s Malee Scholarship alongside other incredibly talented women in type for my contributions to the type design industry. I’m also a strong believer that God has blessed me with beautiful experiences so that I can be a bigger blessing to others as my way of giving back to the community, I also recently conducted the pilot edition of my workshop “type design 101 for visual designers” with the intent of nurturing a thriving type culture in Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley which is home to so many UX Designers and other creatives. I hope to do more editions next year.
Svenja Tong After TypeParis, I went back to London to continue working freelance, continue setting up my small publishing, bookmaking and risograph studio, The Sandwich Club, and attending different art book fairs in different cities. I actually made use of what I’ve learnt in TypeParis when designing a variable logotype for the studio, and overall I would say that in my work, I’ve became more confident in designing with type, anything that relates to type after the 6 weeks intensively learning and practising. It was also amazing how our class as people from literally around the world and from different age groups all bonded through this collective experience - we still keep in touch now and occasionally have video calls, or even in-person meet-ups! It was really the best summer ever, and I am so grateful to be able to be part of this.
“I’m deeply in love with letterforms and continue to practice what I’ve learnt from TypeParis almost everyday.”
– Soniya Stella
Your advice?
Soniya Stella When I was applying for TypeParis, although I had a set of relevant projects, I will be honest and admit that I felt those classroom projects from my sophomore year were a little outdated with respect to my evolved taste and current art direction style. I didn’t feel ready, and felt this desperate need to quickly whip up some type work reflecting my final year self but I simply didn’t have the time due to graduation thesis timelines running parallely. I decided to apply anyway, compiled whatever I had at the moment and got selected. Imagine if I had self-rejected my work thinking it’s not good enough and never applied? I would have missed out on one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. For anyone looking forward to applying for the next edition of TypeParis, my advice would be – just go for it, even if you don’t fully feel ready. What’s the worst that could happen? You apply again next year. But what’s the best that could happen? A surreal summer where the sun never sets in Paris and you’ll immerse yourself in joyful letterforms and life-altering experiences ;) If you have doubts regarding your portfolio fit, you can always prepare in advance and send it to the TypeParis team, they are open to wholeheartedly guide you in refining it for your best shot. Attempting is a win-win! Either way, you get constructive feedback on your type portfolio, or the best summer of your life – both outcomes will really help you in the years to come :)
Svenja Tong It seems like a small detail but the biggest advice I could give anyone attending is to live nearer to the school/ venue if you can! I lived 5 minutes walk away and that was so helpful, especially during the final week where we are all sleep deprived and really tired from completing our typefaces - that extra time of sleep did help me feel less stressed! It would also be nice if you had some ideas on what your design brief for yourself would be before you start, as it happened so quickly and the course goes straight into it soon!
