In this Letterform Lecture, we will taste the visual power of a lost calligraphic tradition through one artist’s immersion in the early Arabic scripts broadly labelled as “Kufic." Joumana Medlej uses examples from her work to illustrate the respective qualities of the two great strands of this family, and how she harnesses its visual language […]
with Aditya Bayu Perdana Take a trip to Java, where four centuries of script, calligraphy, and typography leave a treasure trove of inspiration for designers. The archipelago now known as Indonesia is well known for its cultural diversity, which extends to writing systems. Unfortunately, everyday use of traditional Indonesian scripts, including the Javanese script, has […]
with Dorothy Yuki Create handmade letters without nibs by cutting, bending, and folding paper to transform the alphabet from 2D to 3D! During this one-day workshop, spend time at Letterform Archive cutting out letters with calligrapher and artist Dorothy Yuki. Dorothy will guide you to create recognizable letterforms without pen and ink to explore […]
Learn to bring a splash of 17th century style flourishing to your letters in this dynamic 4-week workshop. Calligraphic flourishing is the art of embellishing writing—the accessories to calligraphy's outfit. This class covers pointed pen flourishing from the 17th century to present. Students will learn modern flourishing design rules, use them to analyze historical examples, […]
with Izzy Pludwinski Join us for a peek into a personal journey through the ancient scribal traditions and the world of modern calligraphy. The Hebrew aleph-bet (technically an abjad) is one of the oldest alphabets in existence. Paleographically perhaps 3000 years old; mystically the Hebrew letters existed before the creation of the world. As the […]
Explore the relationship between Arabic and Latin letterforms through a branding exercise guided by an experienced type designer. In this workshop, participants will create the Arabic equivalent of a Latin brand’s logo. The first session will start with a one-hour lecture about the contexts of the different Arabic calligraphic styles. Then, participants will draw an […]