What meaningful differences are there between ‘conventional’ and ‘unconventional’ type design? What did the boundaries of convention look like in the past, how and why have they changed, and what will they look like in the future? What does it mean to defend, criticize, or disregard them?
Marta Bernstein, Paul McNeil, Laura Meseguer, Hamish Muir, and Ellmer Stefan will discuss the most interesting work being done in speculative, experimental, subversive, and otherwise innovative or challenging type design, and its relationship to more traditional design genres and practices.
The panel will consider how different methods and technologies of production, distribution, and application inform our understanding of conventional boundaries—and vice versa—and whether qualities associated more closely with work on one side of them—like rigorous research, technological sophistication, cultural sensitivity, historical sensibility, playfulness, or critical awareness—are present in work on the other side too.
Finally, the panelists will reflect on convention and diversity: are unconventional type designs a sign of an inclusive field, or are they more open to some designers than to others? When does distinguishing between conventional and unconventional help us better understand different approaches to type design, and when does it privilege or marginalize them? (Moderator: Maurice Meilleur)