Full Title: TYPO Berlin 09 Reminiscent of TYPO Berlin 08

There is already quite a number of posts and comments surrounding 2009’s TYPO Berlin, so I will keep this one short. You can catch up on most of the posts/images/videos highlights directly from the TYPO Berlin Blog.

Being the second TYPO Berlin I have visited, I can say it is indeed a special event with a different vibe from most other design-related conferences. This year, again, had a great atmosphere and decent selection of speakers. However, being there this time felt a lot like déjà vu (except for not working at the Linotype booth). These feelings have been echoed by several peers who have attended many more TYPOs than I… that every year is about the same. Maybe this is a natural side effect of being held in the same building each year, but maybe there is a deeper issue.

Jan Middendorp has some very constructive thoughts in his post and comments over at the Eye Blog. Quoted here is his overall conclusion of the event:

All in all, I found this edition of TypoBerlin satisfactory, and instructive at times. But to me – and, I think, to many colleagues in Berlin and elsewhere – the event has out­grown its role as a meeting place for people involved in typographic communication. People find it expensive (yes, Jürgen, it’s reasonable to seminar standards, but a lot of money for strugg­ling Berlin designers) or simply too big or not inter­esting enough. There have been vague proposals to set up a more intimate counter-event (Cheapo Berlin?) but there might be better options. This years’ meeting of the German graphic design world showed that TypoBerlin would like to play a role here; and yet it doesn’t. As such, it’s a victim of its own success. If the event wants to avoid getting stuck in its own formula, some serious rethinking will have to be done.

Well said Jan. Be sure to read his full review and check out the heated comments.

One other note: if going to the TYPO Night party next year, don’t bother showing up before 1am, but plan to stay really really late.