Time to Spare: Type and Tectonics

Doug Clouse explores connections between typography and tectonic crafts, those that build by the accumulation of similar units. Typewriter art, food cart signs, letterpress printing, type design, needle work, weaving, bricklaying, and mosaics reveal similar creative impulses that are not well understood. We respect some of these crafts as useful, consider some to be mindless pastimes, and associate some with gender. For insight into tectonic crafts, Clouse examines ideas from architects and educators, including the writing of 19th-century architect Gottfried Semper and studies of play by primary school teachers. These insights offer context and affirmation for type designers and other craftspeople.

This event is part of the Letterform Lecture series, co-presented by Type@Cooper West and the San Francisco Public Library, and sponsored by Adobe Typekit.