What every letter should say

THE TYPOGRAPHIC Association Bangkok is hosting another inspiring conference next month, bringing in experts from around the globe who understand how the shapes of letters shape our lives. 

The Bangkok International Typographic Symposium MMXV – the only such gathering held in Southeast Asia – takes place at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre from October 30 to November 1.

This year the focus pursues an even more global context and examines type design’s potential for enhancing business opportunities.

An array of interesting speakers is lined up for the symposium, which is co-hosted with Cadson Demak, the Goethe Institut, British Council, Korean Cultural Centre, Commercial Type, Font Bureau and Google Fonts.

Dave Crossland of Google Fonts will show how to design typefaces using only libre (free) software, the most malleable tools available. Cadson Demak type director Smich Smanloh brings his diverse experience in leading typographic workshops. 

Seok Geum-ho is the founder of Sandoll Communications, the most influential font foundry in South Korea, which provides custom fonts for Samsung, among other firms. Panuwat Usakulwattana writes about type design at Anuthin.org and is a co-founder of the Totem project.

Parinya Rojarayanond is the owner of DB Font, David Jonathan Ross of the Font Bureau creates programs that produce fonts, and Verena Gerlach is the German who created the FontShop collection and heads design projects in India.

Suppakit Chalermlarp is the designer of many of the typefaces launched by Cadson Demak and is the co-founder of Katatrad, a firm that provides technical support for font production, including Saraban, which the Thai government uses on all official documents. Singaporean Mark De Winne sets the international standard in typeface design in that highly competitive market.

Pracha Suveeranont is the graphic designer who wrote “Lae Nue Tue Nang” and was named a Silpathorn artist in 2010. 

Anthony Burrill from England combines letters and various media platforms to enrich social experiences. 

And Christian Schwartz will be there too. Wallpaper magazine declared him in 2006 one of the 20 “most famous” typographers of the 21st century and one of the 40 “most influential” designers under the age of 40.

A workshop to be held at the Design Centre on October 30 includes the topics “Making Korean Names Using the Thai Alphabet” (led by Seok Geum-ho), “Display Type Cookery” (Mark De Winne), “Type Design for Beginners” (Dave Crossland), “From the Inspiration to the Font” (Verena Gerlach), “Creative Typeface Design” (Anthony Burrill), “Building Blocks” (David Jonathan Ross) and “Growing Alphabets from Seed” (Christian Schwartz).

The conference moves to the Culture Centre for the remaining two days. On October 31 the discussion topics will be “Libre Fonts: Secrets Revealed” (Dave Crossland), “Current Currency” (Smich Smanloh), “Structure and Features in Hangul and Font Development” (Seok), “Typing Thai and the Ghost of the Typewriter” (Panuwat Usakulwattana), “New Direction of Thai Font” (Parinya Rojarayanond) and “Draw a Little, Code a Lot” (Ross).

The November 1 topics will be “Search, Find, and Make: the City as Open Source for Type Design” (Gerlach), “Float or Sink” (Suppakit Chalermlarp), “Singapore on Display” (De Winne), “Klang: Thai Typefaces in the 1950s” (Pracha Suveeranont), |“I Like It. What Is It?” (Burrill) and “Credibility, Legibility and Style” (Christian Schwartz).

 

Book tickets now via www.BITSMMXV.eventbrite.com and you get a year’s membership in the Typographic Association Bangkok, a T-shirt designed by Anuthin Wongsunkakon, the official Stack font used for the symposium, a poster sponsored by Antalis and a goodie bag with type-foundry samples. 

 

Tickets for the October workshops cost Bt1,500 and Bt2,500 and for the November 1 conference Bt2,500. 

 

Find out more from the association at (02) 714 8518 or [email protected], BITSMM.org or Facebook.com/bitsmmxv.