(Font) In Progress:

In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition
In Progress: Exhibition

21st January, 2013 by Mota Italic

(Font) In Progress:

Creating a New Typeface


On display January 21st – February 23rd, 2013

Thanks to personal computers and the trendiness of letters and lettering, the general public seems to know about, and slightly understand the concept of, fonts. Most at least realize that they can change the default typeface options in word processor or when they need to type something. But once you move a bit deeper into the universe of typefaces, the quality and quantity of knowledge dramatically drops off. There are still many who believe fonts are something that simply come with your computer. Some know that real designers sit and create them. Fewer still can appreciate the facts that serious type families demand considerable work and can easily take years to complete. Even for the most avid fans of type and typography, the process of creating a font is still often a mystery.

The (Font)In Progress installation is here, now, for two reasons. The primary motivation was completely selfish: it’s an excuse (and pressure) to work on new fonts. Since opening the gallery and shop space, the amount of time and resources I’ve had to work on type design has greatly diminished. What was once 80-90% of my work efforts is now only 5-10%. So, the hope is to dedicate a few weeks to the task of beginning a new type project (even if it’s not brought to completion).

The other intent for this show is to help demystify the process of creating a typeface. My workflow will be documented almost daily in this installation, so visitors can view my various steps, methodologies, and tricks that I employ when creating a new design.

The work will be primarily documented in the form of test prints on display in the gallery. However, for those not fortunate enough to be in or around Berlin in January or February, there will also be an online archive of the work presented here.

At the end of the exhibition we will celebrate with a Finissage on Saturday, February 23rd from 6pm to get one last look at the display and evaluate how the work went.