Typeface design has a long tradition of its practitioners creating their own custom tools to aid the design process. The Python programming language is the modern-day equivalent of a punch cutter’s counterpunch. Using Python allows the designer to focus more on the design of a typeface by automating repetitive tasks. In this workshop, students will gain a basic understanding of how to program in Python and how to use the Robofab toolkit to automate FontLab. In the first part of the workshop, Python and basic programming concepts will be introduced with the use of Drawbot, a Python environment created to teach designers programming. After the core concepts are introduced, the workshop will move to exploring how to apply them as part of the typeface design process in FontLab. At the end, students will have the skills to create their own digital counterpunches.

Students will need a laptop with a copy of DrawBot, FontLab, and Robofab installed. No prior programming experience is assumed.

Public registration will be announced Winter 2012. To receive updates, join our mailing list.

About Ben Kiel

Ben Kiel received his BFA from Washington University in Saint Louis and his MA in Typeface Design from the University of Reading in the UK. He works at House Industries where his duties include typeface design and development. As such, his interests include a love of printing history, using technology to speed up the typeface production process, and pushing design tools to accommodate designers' needs. Before House Industries, he worked in Saint Louis as a both a freelance designer and for emdash, the limited editions imprint of Ken Botnick. In his evenings he teaches at both the Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Delaware and occasionally returns to letterpress printing under the name Studio 485.