Font Engineering Unleashed: Mastering the Art of Digital Type
Description:
Dive deep into the world of font engineering and post-production in this intensive workshop! Perfect for type designers, graphic artists, and tech-savvy creatives looking to elevate their skills in the digital type realm.
Workshop Overview:
Uncover the hidden complexities of modern fonts and gain the power to manipulate them at will. This hands-on workshop will transform you from a casual font user to a confident font engineer.
Day 1: The Foundations of Font Engineering
- Digital Type Anatomy: Dissect the structure of digital fonts and understand their inner workings.
- Font Formats Demystified: Explore OpenType, TrueType, WOFF, and more. Learn their strengths and use cases.
- Introduction to Font Engineering Tools: Get familiar with essential software and command-line utilities.
- Hands-on Hacking: Begin manipulating existing fonts, uncovering their secrets, and bending them to your will.
Day 2: Advanced Techniques and Post-Production Magic
- OpenType Features Deep Dive: Master ligatures, alternates, and other advanced typographic features.
- Font Optimization Strategies: Learn techniques to improve font performance and reduce file sizes.
- Troubleshooting and Fixing: Identify common font issues and develop strategies to resolve them.
- The Future of Fonts: Explore variable fonts and other cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of typography.
What You'll Gain:
- Improved understanding of font engineering principles and philosophies.
- Practical skills in font modification, optimization, and troubleshooting.
- Hands-on experience with open-source, professional-grade font engineering tools.
- Ability to create and modify OpenType features.
- Insights into the future of digital typography and how to prepare for it.
Prerequisites:
- Basic familiarity with digital fonts and typography
- Comfort with using typeface design software and learning new digital tools
Materials:
- Participants should bring their own laptops
- Software requirements and installation instructions will be provided upon registration
Kalapi Gajjar
With an art curator mother and a graphic designer father, Kalapi Gajjar was immersed in visual culture from an early age.
After studying graphic design at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, in his home town of Vadodara in Gujarat, Gajjar spent a year as an art director at Wieden + Kennedy's Delhi office.
Frustrated with the lack of contemporary typefaces available for Indic scripts, he left India to complete a masters in type design at Reading University – where he met Universal Thirst co-founder Gunnar Vilhjálmsson.
After leaving Reading, Gajjar relocated to London to work on projects for international foundry Monotype, before joining London type specialist Dalton Maag, where he oversaw the production and engineering of typefaces for brands including Nokia, Intel and HP. In 2016 he launched Universal Thirst with Gunnar Vilhjálmsson.