A Class Exhibit
Over a period of ten weeks, a group of talented and highly motivated students from all over the world gathered in a virtual classroom to learn from one another and push their design skills further fueled by a shared passion for type.
What can display type teach us about the current moment?
Display type is designed to make an unapologetic statement. It can be elegant and bold, and speaks to us loud and clear without holding back. Simply put, display type wears its heart on its sleeve.
In a world where marginalized voices are silenced, undermined, and ignored, speaking up against injustice and building up the confidence to simply be oneself is a courageous act.
In this class, we embraced the messiness of history, the plurality of stories, and the power that type and typography have to make our own unique voices present and visible.
Drawing on their vast range of interests both related and unrelated to type, the students infused their work with their personality while learning the practical skills needed to navigate the constraints of designing a system of letters.
Each student, through their own diverse perspectives and backgrounds, shared with us a world of possibilities and multiple approaches for studying, designing, and thinking about what display type is, has been, but most importantly, what it could be.
The result is a beautiful group of typefaces each with their own personality, speaking in their own voice, moving at their own rhythm, and tuned to their own tone.
As the instructor of this class, I’m incredibly humbled and proud of the work you see here as it shows a lot of potential, growth, and a fresh take on the various forms that display type can have.
I hope you enjoy this class exhibit and I encourage you to check out more of the students’ work, follow them on social media, and hire them for your next type-based project.
If you’re interested in learning type design
I invite you to check our our classes, workshop, and lectures at Type Electives.
And if you want to continue learning, check out the Type Crit Crew, an initiative that I started to help you get in touch with experienced type designers.
About the Instructor
Juan Villanueva is a typeface designer, letterer, and educator in New York City.
He grew up in Lima, Peru and Clifton, New Jersey. His heart is in both places and his work reflects both languages and cultures. Juan is a Senior Type Designer at the Monotype Studio. He joined Monotype in 2016 where he contributes to library designs including Helvetica Now, Futura Now, and Walbaum and creates custom projects for global brands such as Google, Microsoft, Tencent, M&Ms, and Entertainment One.
Juan is the co-founder of Type Electives, a new online school shaping the future of type by offering courses that go beyond traditional type design education. Previously, Juan was the lead instructor of Type West Online. He’s the founder of Type Crit Crew, an initiative to make type design education more accessible and inclusive to students anywhere in the world. He previously taught at Type@Cooper, the City College of New York, and the Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive Program.
Juan shares his story and research at design conferences around the world including the American Printing History Association, LADFEST, BICeBé, BIPOC Design History, Where Are The Black Designers?, TypeCon, How Design Live, Letrástica, and DiaTipo São Paulo. In 2021, he created Typefaces as Cultural Objects, an archive that highlights typefaces made by Latin American designers that honor and preserve Latin American culture.
He holds a BFA in Graphic Design and Illustration & Animation from Montclair State University. He graduated from the Type@Cooper Extended program in typeface design and completed the Reading Type Design intensive program. He’s a member of AIGA NY and serves on the board of the Society of Scribes.
When he’s not drawing letters, he’s probably making more coffee. You can follow his lettering explorations on Instagram and the awesome work from his students here at displaytypedesign.com and typerevivals.com 🔥
Website, Instagram, Twitter, Email
Website Credits
Huge thanks to Lynne Yun and Kevin Yeh of Space Type Co. for generously sharing the base code used to build this website. Check out their amazing work!