About
A word from the Education Director
You are viewing on your screen the material, digital product of over a year’s study. The Type West Class of 2020 showed incredible resilience, solidarity, and camaraderie as they persevered with their work over what has been on of the most challenging years in recent memory.
Undoubtedly, designing a typeface when the world is in flames may have seemed at times absurd. However, the students prevailed, and this small website is a celebration of that effort.
We hope you appreciate these new typefaces which have entered the world, and the skill, artistry, craftsmanship, and dedication that brought them into being, a challenge even in the best of times. We at Letterform Archive could not be more proud.
Congratulations to the Type West Class of 2020, and may their typefaces bring joy whenever they are used!
— Grendl Löfkvist, Education Director, and the Type West Education Staff
About the program
The Type West Class of 2020 dedicated a year to learning type design and history through hands-on workshops and in-depth instruction. Students learned from the best in the industry including Grendl Löfkvist, James Edmondson, Graham Bradley, Kel Troughton, Maria Doreuli, and many guest instructors. The finale: creating an original typeface, from sketch to font.
At Letterform Archive, Type West students have access to an unparalleled typographic library as they research and create their own original typefaces. Librarians, curators, and other members of the Archive’s knowledgeable staff guide students through thousands of type specimens, reference books, and original examples of lettering and graphic design.
That was until the pandemic hit, forcing the program to shift to a virtual-only environment. Through the hardship, students, instructors, and staff worked tirelessly to preserve the program’s intended goals of instruction and stewardship of type design and history. Despite undeniable mental and physical barriers, the Class of 2020 has emerged triumphant — bleary-eyed and now scattered across the country, yet hopeful that their work speaks for itself.