Category → News & Notes

Alphabettes Variety Show: June 13, 2024

We’re back for the Alphabettes Variety Show at the TypeLab at Typographics on Thursday, June 13, 2024, 12:45-1:20p EDT! This year some of us will be at 41 Cooper Square, but you’re also welcome to join from the comfort of wherever you are via the livestream or sign up for the TypeLab Zoom link to participate, ask questions, share soup recipes, etc.

Now in its 7th edition, but first back in Cooper Union since 2018, the Variety Show includes live interviews, interactive activities, and fun things. While we can’t guarantee more dance lessons or birthday cakes, we might have a few more surprise up our sleeves. Stay tuned to find out! ⭐️

2024 Variety Show graphic features Tiny Grotesk by Robin Mientjes.

Ceasefire Now! From across the globe

This is a transnational call for solidarity with the Palestinian people and a call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. A ceasefire – not a pause, nor a truce – is not the only demand, but is the first demand. Starting (and expanding) from the 153 countries that have signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; we say Ceasefire Now! If you wish to contribute from a place/in a language that is not yet covered, with your typeface, lettering or calligraphy, head here. To print and post/make placards with the poster head here. This post is updated every other week.

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Second-half of 2023 font releases

Now that 2023 has come and gone, here is the follow-up to our July post, Mid-year Font Releases 2023. Since then, we’ve catalogued 42 additional releases during the year. In alphabettes-ical order:

graphic of various type specimens

ABOVE: Akuto Sans Serif by Bríguida Guerreiro / ALT Riviera by Giulia Boggio / Amboni by Anita Jürgeleit / Baleze Display by Daytona Mess / Bardamu by Anna Remm & Eugene Tantsurin / Brillante by Solenn Bordeau, Jolana Sýkorová & Jérémie Hornus

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Very Cool Thing: Words on Type

The last time Lisa Huang shared a Very Cool Thing on Alphabettes, she published her research on Noto Sans Nüshu script, and the community of women behind it. Two and a half years later, Lisa is back to answer some questions on her newest Very Cool Thing, Words of Type.

Tell us about your new project and Kickstarter campaign!
Words of Type is an encyclopedia of typography, with each term illustrated, described and explained into multiple languages. Each term is explained in concise and straight forward terms to be easily understood, and illustrated by multiple artists to bring visual variety and fun. To bring the various typographic cultures closer together, there will be not only terms from Latin typography, but also those of other writing systems. To give a (literally) better access to typographic knowledge, it’s going to be a website that gives free access to everyone, everywhere. And it will grow and evolve over time, with more languages and words.

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Some of us

Below is a collection of photos of Alphabettes—and a few other colleagues—over the years at various type conferences and other special events. Have other photos to share? Let us know and we can add them here.

Typographics conference, New York, June 2024. Top row: Grendl Löfkvist, Amy Papaelias, Liz DeLuna, Karolina Lach, Elizabeth Carey Smith, June Shin. Bottom row: Marie Otsuka, Joanna Correia, Dyana Weissman.
From left to right, Hendrika Makilya, Karolina Lach, Irina Koryagina, and Amy Papaelias host the Alphabettes Variety Show at Typographics, 2024.
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Mid-year font releases 2023

We have reached a good number of font releases in 2023. Halfway between 2022 and 2024 seems like a good moment for a recap. What happened in the font market in these first six months of 2023? Get ready for a font treatment. Experimental, neutral, bold, colourful, classy, expressive, playful…, there are options for all kinds of type tastes. Explore the list and consider adding some of these new typefaces to your font library.

Samples of Readex Pro, CoFo Sona, CoFo Gothic, SFT Schrifted Sans, and SFT Sushka

Readex Pro by Nadine Chahine, Bonnie Shaver-Troup, Thomas Jockin, Santiago Orozco & Héctor Gómez / CoFo Sona by Liza Rasskazova / CoFo Gothic by Maria Doreuli / SFT Scrhifted Sans and SFT Sushka by Yulia Gonina

Samples of Adelle Sans Korean, Arvana, Dragon, Neutronic Hangeul, and 29LT Zarid Sans HZL

Adelle Sans Korean by Chorong Kim & Changseop Im/ Arvana by Noheul Lee & Loris Olivier / Dragon and Neutronic Hangeul by Minjoo Ham / 29LT Zarid Sans HZL by Lisa Huang & Chuyang Zheng

Samples of Nova Caps, Isard, Foldit, Rosalie, and Min Sans Stencil

Nova Caps by Tania Chacana / Isard by Pilar Cano & Ferran Milan / Foldit by Sophia Tai/ Rosalie by My-Lan Thuong / Min Sans Stencil by TienMin Liao

Samples of Waverse, Ciudadela_LC, Carole Serif, Melindrosa, and Hanae

Waverse by TienMin Liao / Ciudadela_LC by Muk Monsalve / Carole Serif by Lisa Schultz & Matz Gasser / Melindrosa by Flavia Zimbardi / Hanae by Flavia Zimbardi & Ayaka Ito

Samples of Jobim, Octavia, Amberwood, Relais, and Lo-Res Monospaced

Jobim by Flavia Zimbardi & Inga Plönnigs / Octavia by Flavia Zimbardi & Tida Tep / Amberwood by Alanna Munro / Relais by Olivia Wood & Alezander Rütten / Lo-Res Monospaced by Zuzana Licko

Samples of Avril, Borel, Caliste, Ginka, and Scorpione

Avril by Laurene Girbal / Borel by Rosalie Wagner / Caliste by Émilie Rigaud / Ginka by Julie Soudanne / Scorpione by Pauline Fourest

Samples of Aeroplan, Filip, Mikrobe, Baustraße, and Anona

Aeroplan by Nina Faulhaber / Filip and Mikrobe by Elena Schneider / Baustraße by Franziska Weitgruber & Michele Galluzzo / Anona by Joana Correia

Samples of Baga, Loretta Display, Solfa, Joc Display, and Silverknife

Baga by Joana Correia / Loretta Display by Joana Correia & Abel Martins / Solfa by Catarina Vaz & Rui Abreu / Joc Display by Sabina Kipară / Silverknife by Diana Ovezea

Samples of Ceraph, Fuzar, Sixten, V1olet, and Konrad

Ceraph by Emma Piercy / Fuzar by Noheul Lee & Loris Olivier / Sixten by María Ramos & Noel Pretorius / V1olet by Carmen Nácher / Konrad by Martina Meier

Samples of Felicette, Kensington, Neue Swiss, Salad Days, and Socko

Felicette by Lynne Yun & Cris R. Hernández / Kensington by Jen Hood / Neue Swiss by Jen Wagner / Salad Days by Meg Lewis / Socko by Libbie Bischoff

There is a handy spreadsheet that compiles some extra information. It’s a living document, so if you want to see something added to this list, please send a comment.

👏👏👏 Congrats to the designers and engineers behind all these releases. We are looking forward to discovering what’s next in the second half.

Alphabettes Variety Show: June 15, 2023

Variety Show text with a gradient background and animated text

Alphabettes Variety Show is back for its 🤯6th edition🤯 of live interviews, interactive activities, and other surprises as part of TypeLab at Typographics. We’ll be mostly online again but if you’re in NYC, go check out the in-person TypeLab at Cooper Union.

Grab your mug of tea or beer or anything in between and join the TypeLab Europe channel on Thursday, June 15 from 11-12:00 (EDT/UTC-4)! Register here or check out the full list of event on the TypeLab site.

2023 Variety Show graphic by Sandra García featuring the soon-to-be-released typeface Sandhouse!

24 Hour Hangout for International Women’s Day 2023

Last year, we took a hiatus from our ridiculously complicated and sleep-depriving idea of a 24 Hour Hangout on International Women’s Day. The concept was first crafted in 2019, before endless video calls with friends around the world was as normal as shoving a medieval torture stick up your nose and wiggling it around for 15 seconds. This year, we’ve decided to once again (dis)organize our 24 Hour Hangout on Wednesday, March 8. And, we hope you’ll join us.

>>>Link to the live Hangout<<<<
Note: This year we’re using Jitsi.

Here’s how it works:

From March 8, 2023 at 12:00am ET / 05:00 UTC to 11:59pm ET / 04:59 UTC 3/9, stop by for conversations on type, design, the universe, what’s in that dreaded ‘desktop’ folder on our desktop, whatever! Everyone is welcome. Some times may be more spontaneous and chatty, other hours might be filled with activities and presentations.

Look! A Handy Timezone Chart!
timezone converter table

Some fun plans throughout the day (times in ET):
00:00: Amy kicks it off with a bedtime story
02:00: Liron and her daughter, a budding 7 year old lettering artist, talk about learning to write
03:00: Typewriter chat with María and friends
09:00: Boom shares what she’s up to in Bangkok and Luang Prabang, Laos this month
10:00: Ro and friends discuss the recent anticonferences and events they just organized
11:00: La Hora Spanish with Caro and friends
12:00: La Segunda Hora Spanish with Laura, María, Elena and amigas
14:00: Alanna and Sophia on live streaming type design
15:00: Ro and friends will make posters in preparation for the Women’s Day march
16:00: Bianca and Tânia show books and chat
17:00: Luisa’s Advice hour! Unqualified advice about life, typography and everything else.
18:00: Teresa hosts type conference social hour. Yes, there is a TypeCon this year.
21:00: Lisa on AI generators + letters + typography + low-res impressions of language

and more! Surprises! Fun! Chats!

Who can attend:

You! All are welcome* to stop by when you can and leave when you need. Video is possible but just audio is fine, too. Or, just help the chat stay aflame. Keep an eye on this post and the socials for any updates and help us spread the word! INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY = FUN.

* Participants must follow our code of conduct.

WOMEN = FUN