It’s hard to overstate the subtle impact type has on our everyday lives. Consistently-applied typefaces allow us to instantly recognize spaces and brands, and navigate systems and regulations. They can transport us to a unique time or place. Even if we don’t realize it, we are constantly impacted by the visual design of a typeface.
As designers solving how we experience and navigate space, we understand the need to provide information in a clear and brand-aligned manner, and recognize that a typeface can play a significant role in realizing this goal. To further engage with this aspect of our work, our Design Director Jesse Kidwell and Designer Haiyi Huang participated in the Typographics 2021 conference hosted by Type@Cooper and The Herb Lubalin Study Center at Cooper Union. This ‘design festival for people who use type’ featured ten days of talks from experts and practitioners from around the world, in addition to workshops and the TypeLab hackathon.
Jesse was particularly interested in how Choi Sulki and Choi Sung Min’s discussion of Korean-Latin type combinations illuminated the complexities of setting type in multilingual settings. Their review of formal considerations like weight, stroke, and period of types across languages and cultures moved beyond the usual surface considerations of legibility and readability, and into the nuance of appropriateness, quality, and style. These are increasingly crucial considerations as we design graphic systems for multilingual users and travelers.
Session recordings from Typographics 2021 may be accessed here. The Korean-Latin Type Combination: A Conceptual Approach discussion is found in Session 6.