TYPO has finally graced us with its presence here in the States!! A typography and design event usually held in London and Berlin made its U.S. debut in San Francisco, CA. on April 5 and 6th this year. And yes, ladies and gents, I had the immense pleasure of attending!! I went to the event as a volunteer this year (gotta give back somehow), and I am glad I did. Attending the event wearing a bright teal shirt with the word TEAM on the back allowed me to get a behind-the-scenes angle. As a volunteer I had duties that included interviewing a slew of attendees and even blogging about one of the speakers Joshua Davis (check it out here). Read on to see why my three favorite parts of the event were: being inspired by all the design surrounding me, meeting one of my design idols, and proudly discovering that the evil monster called ‘ego’ was completely absent from TYPO SF.
Ever in a funk as a designer? Maybe you’ve lost your spark? Maybe you worked too hard and feel burnt out? Fear not!! Just go to an event like TYPO SF and you will be back and better than ever!! Being surrounded for two days by fellow designers, art directors, programers, the wonderful speakers of the event, and overall creative people was more than enough to get my creative juices flowing. The inspiring lectures of many speakers touched on points like: making time for personal projects, having fun in everything you do, and focus on what you love doing and the work will follow. There were also some very inspiring lecture about the business end of graphic design and how to best communicate with your clients. I took away something from every single lecture I soaked up at the Yerba Buena Center, and after the event I was ready to be a better designer.
Favorite Part number two was getting to meet one of my design idols, Jessica Hische. I have followed her work since I learned about her in a typography class years ago. Of course, I am a fan of many of her projects such as the ‘Daily Drop Cap‘ and more guiltily ‘The Internet Sends Me Cake‘ (that sprinkle background gets me every time!), but more than the work, I admire her approach to being a designer and the way she shares her skills, projects, and fun personality with the world.
Meeting people that you look up to (In my case, the Rockstars of the design world) can be pretty intimidating. But one of my favorite things about this event was the fact that no matter who I talked to, whether it was a fellow volunteer or a speaker at the event, everyone was very humble and nice. In an industry that has plenty of ego, It was refreshing to see that it was nowhere to be found at TYPO SF. A distinct memory remains in my mind… everyone that participated in is event (attendees, volunteers, coordinators, and speakers) boogying the night away on the dance floor at the much anticipated after party!
For all those who missed out on this event or want to learn more, check out the TYPO SF website. Here you can find a full list of speakers, blogs, and other info on the event.
TYPO, please come back next year!!
