Monotype’s second TYPO Labs conference is ready to roll

04 May / 2017 / Inspiration /

After a successful premiere in May 2016, TYPO Labs is ready to welcome every single “New Dimensions in Type Engineering”. The 2017 conference will be devoted to the newest developments in font technology in Berlin from April 6 – 8. For three days at the Silent Green culture venue in Berlin’s Wedding district, typography houses and font engineers will talk about new technology, tools and strategies for further improving the processing and display of onscreen text. With “New Dimensions in Type Engineering” as its slogan, the international conference will bring together leading engineers and practitioners from the font industry, OS developers and programmers. In addition to lectures and presentations, two panel discussions, and several workshops and hands-on technique sessions await the ca. 250 expected visitors to TYPO Labs.

“We’re happy to be welcoming the vanguard of the font scene to Berlin again this year” says conference director Jürgen Siebert. “It’s a small industry; almost everyone uses their products several times a day, whether reading websites, e-mails or news or, of course, writing their own texts. That makes it even more important that words, language, icons and emojis can be used as comfortably and flexibly as possible. That’s exactly what we're going to talk about” he adds.

Following the introduction of a new font format, OpenType Variations this past autumn, insiders have been discussing the marketing of the format and the debate will continue on the opening day of the conference. On Saturday a round of luminaries will examine the issue of whether the legacy metrics from the era of hot-metal typesetting still have a right to exist, in a discussion titled “Liberating Digital Type from the Metal Rectangle”. Dutch type designer Just van Rossum will handle moderating duties with international lateral thinkers such as font developer Bianca Berning (Dalton Maag), Victor Gaultney (senior type designer at SIL International), John Hudson (Tiro Typeworks), Rob McKaughan (Microsoft), Toshi Omagari (Monotype) and Iranian designer Sahar Afshar joining him on the TYPO Labs stage. Other highlights of the action on the TYPO Labs stage will be appearances by Dan Rhatigan(Adobe), and Peter Constable and Rob McKaughan (both of Microsoft) and Tom Rickner and Bob Taylor of Monotype will talk about the quality of future variable fonts. Last but not least, since emojis joined the range of type characters, TYPO Labs speaker Roel Nieskens who specialises in the development of variable emojis and colour fonts shall bring some different hues into the Labs programme.