Designer Blog

Earlier this week you got a glimpse into the history of Futura and now it’s time to delve into what makes typefaces, like Futura, really work.

“Design, culture, society — with a little bit of kerning”

- TYPO Conference Motto

After a successful 16 years based in Berlin, the International Design Conference TYPO has been expanding, holding events in London last year, and San Francisco – last week.

TYPO has conveniently created a blog summarizing some of their favorite talks from the conference. Here are a few picks for a quick and interesting read:

• “Swiss Miss” Tina Roth Eisenberg: On Eccentric Aunts and Side Projects
  The conference was opened with this gem of inspiration by the brain behind Swiss Miss — one of our favorite design resources. Tina Roth Eisenberg tells a tale of the 9 principles on how to get what we really want out of art.

• Michael Beirut: Learning the Slow Way
  Learn your…wait, no…his lessons. Michael Beirut shares his worst mistakes with us so that we don’t repeat them.

• Jim Parkinson: What do Hallmark Cards, the Circus, Rolling Stone, and the San Francisco Chronicle have in Common
  Logo master Jim Parkinson has street smarts. He learned his craft the old fashioned way – through world experience. Find out a little bit about his journey to the top.

• Thomas Phinney: Font Detective, Extra Bold
  Get the insider scoop into some of this font detective’s most mysterious cases – this one is all for fun.

Check out more lessons from speakers like Jessica Hische, Neville Brody and more. Don’t forget to check out TYPO Berlin, coming soon in May 2012, and while you’re at it, visit TYPO London.

TYPO is planning to continue their expansion around the world, so keep an eye out for a conference in your neighborhood! You can follow their twitter for more updates: @typotalks

Know of other cool conferences? Share in the comments!

Kaitlyn is part of the Community Team at 99designs.com. She grew up in Boulder, CO and went to school at Northwestern University in Chicago. When she's not blogging, she spends her time having adventures and being generally creative. She's all about having new experiences as often as possible!

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