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The New York Public Library



presents



Design and Style Series Event



*Revival Type *

*Digital Typefaces Inspired by the Past*



*Paul Shaw*

*in conversation with *

*Tracy Ma, Sara Soskolne*



Wednesday April 12, 2017

6:30 p.m.



The Corner Room
1st Floor



The New York Public Library

Mid-Manhattan Library

455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street

New York, NY 10016

917-275-6975

 www.nypl.org

(directions
<https:[log in to unmask],-73.9823732,19z/data=%213m1%214b1%214m5%213m4%211s0x0:0x0%218m2%213d40.751651%214d-73.981826?hl=en>
)



*REGISTER NOW* <https://revivaltype.eventbrite.com/?aff=Arezoo>


Registration does not guarantee admission. For free events, we generally
overbook

to ensure a full house. All registered seats are released 15 minutes before
start time,

so we recommend that you arrive early.
<https://revivaltype.eventbrite.com/?aff=Arezoo>



 The Corner Room doors open to public at 6:00 p.m.
All events are subject to last minute change or cancellation



There are over 200,000 typefaces (fonts) available today. This has led many
people to ask why we need new ones. Moreover, why do we need new versions
of older typefaces? The notion of reviving past typefaces began in the
Victorian era and took permanent root when William Morris looked to 15th
century Venice as a source for his Kelmscott Press types. Since then
revivals of classic types—an often-debated term—has become a routine
activity for type foundries, even in the face of modernists who have called
for new typefaces to express the spirit of the times. Today, there are not
only type revivals of classic designs but of obscure and odd types from the
past, and of letterforms (from inscriptions, manuscripts, graffiti and
other sources) that never previously existed as type.



*Join Paul Shaw, the author of the new book* *Revival Type: Digital
Typefaces, type designer Sara Soskolne, and  graphic designer Tracy Ma for
a discussion and debate about what type revivals are and whether or not we
need them.*



In *Revival Type*, Paul Shaw and his collaborator Abby Goldstein provide a
visually rich exploration of many of the new font designs based on revivals
of typefaces, letterforms, inscriptions, calligraphic manuals, posters, and
book jackets from the pre-digital past.



The book deftly introduces these fonts, many of which are widely used on
computers and mobile devices, and engagingly tells their stories.
Handsomely illustrated with annotated examples, archival material depicting
classic designs and character sets of modern typefaces, Revival Type is a
fascinating tour through typographic history.



Among the typefaces profiled are variations on classic designs by Claude
Garamont, William Caslon, John Baskerville, and Giambattista Bodoni, as
well as typefaces inspired by less familiar designers such as Richard
Austin, Isaac Moore, and Eudald Pradell. There are also updates and
revisions of twentieth-century classics such as Palatino, Gill Sans, and
Neue Haas Grotesk (Helvetica).



*Copies of **Revival Type: Digital Typefaces Inspired by the Past*
<http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300219296/revival-type>* (Yale University
Press, 2017) are available for purchase and signing at the end of the
event.*



*Paul Shaw* <http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/paul-shaw/> is a graphic
designer and design historian. He teaches typography at Parsons School of
Design and the history of type at the School of Visual Arts and at
California Rare Book School. His many publications include *Helvetica and
the New York City Subway System*  (2009),  *The Eternal Letter: Two
Millennia of the Classical Roman Capital* (2014), and *Blackletter: Type
and National Identity* (1998). The American Institute of Graphic Arts, the
Type Directors Club, and the Art Directors Club have honored his design
work. He is the designer or co-designer of eighteen typefaces.



*Tracy Ma* <http://tracyma.com/> is a Hong Kong-born, Canadian graphic
designer now living in New York where she runs her own studio. She
graduated from York University (Toronto) in 2010. Between 2011 and 2016 she
worked for Bloomberg Businessweek, first as a guest designer and eventually
as Deputy Creative Director. After that she worked for the experimental and
short-lived Matter Studios, a spin-off from Medium. She is considered to be
one of the best young graphic designers working today and has already
garnered awards from the Type Directors Club, *Print* magazine, the Society
of Print Designers and other professional organizations.



*Sara Soskolne* <https://twitter.com/szkolny?lang=en> is senior typeface
designer at Hoefler & Co <http://www.typography.com/>. Though originally a
graphic designer in Toronto, her increasing fascination with typeforms
eventually led her to study typeface design at the University of Reading.
Her master’s dissertation on the evolution of sans serif typefaces in the
19th century sparked a research project that is continuing today. Since
joining H&Co in 2005, Sara has contributed to the design of numerous
families including the historically-inspired Verlag, Chronicle, Gotham,
Sentinel, and Ringside; and Quarto, a revival of a 16th-century typeface by
Henrik van den Keere.



Conceived and organized by *Arezoo Moseni*
<https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2017/04/19/search/apachesolr_search/%22arezoo%20moseni%22>
and
in its sixth year, *Design and Style*
<https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2017/04/19/search/apachesolr_search/%22design%20and%20style%20series%22>
is
a series of events featuring discussions and presentations by leading
professionals in the various design fields.



*The event is free and advanced registration is recommended. *



Events at The New York Public Library may be photographed or recorded. By
attending these events, you consent to the use of your image and voice by
the Library for all purposes.


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