TYPE

Type sample (workshop assignment)

I went to Chapel HIll this past week for an AAUP (Association of American University Presses) type workshop. While two days of staring at type may sound boring and exhausting (it is a bit of both), it was a completely refreshing 2 days as well. The basic assignment was for 26 people to submit their own designs of the same manuscript. These samples were bound and given to each person, and a panel of 4 designers "critiqued" each one. So, 16 hours of looking at, and discussing the intricacies of subhead hierarchy, B- and C-heads, linear vs. old-style figures, proper margin proportion, etc...etc...you get the picture. Anyway, it was fascinating to see 26 people put their own imprint on the same words...sort of like listening to a mix-tape of 26 artists covering the very same song...