Typeface design education from Cooper Union
Shapeshifting Typefaces

Shapeshifting Typefaces: Designing and Producing Variable Fonts
with Nick Sherman

Learn how to make variable fonts and explore new design possibilities for typefaces that can fluidly change shape.

Recent developments in font technology allow typefaces to break free from the static restrictions designers have grown used to since typography was invented. In a world where responsive design systems are a normal part of any design project, variable fonts offer typographic adaptability that was previously impractical or impossible. They also offer extra flexibility for non-standard dimensions in typeface design beyond the typical parameters of weight, width, and optical size.

This workshop will cover the process of adapting traditional type families into a variable font format, but will also explore experiments with non-standard design spaces and developing new variable typefaces from scratch. It is intended for people who have made fonts before and are interested in exploring the new possibilities of variable fonts.

Registration is now closed

When:
Sat, April 27 – Sun, April 28, 2019

Where: On campus


About Nick Sherman

Nick Sherman 1

Nick Sherman is a typographer, web designer, typeface designer, and typographic consultant. He runs HEX Projects, a company that makes fonts and websites, and is a founder and designer of Fonts In Use and v-fonts.com.

A graduate of the Type@Cooper Extended Program in typeface design at The Cooper Union, Nick is also creative director and web designer/developer for their Typographics design festival. He is a member of the Future Fonts platform and has served on the board of directors for the Type Directors Club, the Adobe Typography Customer Advisory Board, and the artistic board for the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. A List Apart has published his writing on responsive design and web typography, and he occasionally talks and teaches classes on those topics.

Previously, Nick has worked at Font Bureau, Webtype, and MyFonts, directing web design and promo­tional material for digital type­faces. He graduated with honors from the Graphic Design pro­gram at MassArt in Boston, where he has also taught under­graduate typography, typeface design, and letterpress printing. Originally from Cape Cod and Boston, he is also a skate­boarder, pizza enthusiast, printer, musician, and classic horror film buff.