Typography

Throughout history, typography has been used to communicate more than just the words it spells out. Discover how typography existed long before Johannes Gutenberg and how, over the centuries, typefaces have been used to represent everything from nationalism to religious identity to branding.

High art, or tiresome chore? Calligraphy continues to flourish in a world where we no longer need to write by hand. But why was calligraphy considered a higher art than painting in China, whilst medieval European scribes bemoaned the practice?

Royal College of Art (RCA) - London, UK

An internationally renowned designer and typographer, Neville Brody has been a significant figure at the RCA. He became Dean of the School of Communication and head of the Visual Communication Programme in January 2011 and was appointed Professor of Communication in 2018.

See16 2024 -

Penny Lecture

Parsons School of Design at The New School - New York City, USA

Lucille Tenazas is the Henry Wolf Professor and former Associate Dean in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons. Her work focuses on communication design, with a strong emphasis on typography.

Lucille Tenazas, Founder, Tenazas Design NYC and Associate Dean, School of Art, Media, and Technology, Parsons School of Design gives a lesson on being perceptive, asking questions, and building a relationship with clients as part of the creative process.

Presented as part of our SUMMER SALON 2020: Designer Lecture Series on Jun 11, 2020 by ArtCenter College Graphic Design and Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT). Co-hosted by Sean Adams, Chair, ArtCenter Graphic Design; and Gloria Kondrup, Executive Director, HMCT.

University of the Arts London (UAL)

A renowned typographer and graphic designer, Margaret Calvert has taught at the Royal College of Art for almost 40 years and was head of graphics from 1987 to 1991. Her contributions to typography and design are significant, including the design of many road signs used throughout the United Kingdom.

With the decision to create motorways, the existing road signs became inadequate for the new speed people would be travelling at. "When you design road signs you have to start from scratch," she says. "We looked at what they already had and then started drawing letterforms in terms of making it readable for the driver." It's all about asking the right questions and knowing whom you are designing for, she says.

Margeret Calvert, who was born in South Africa, came back to present at Design Indaba Conference 2016. One of a handful of speakers to trend during her talk on Twitter (and one of even fewer to not have a Twitter handle of her own), Calvert captivated the audience with her dry sense of humour, her humility and a colourful journey through her immense body of work.