TypeCon Milwaukee 2012

I was a bit nervous about this TypeCon after last year’s killer event in New Orleans. But I have to say that overall it was also quite fantastic, although utterly different. Unlike New Orleans, we saw almost none of Milwaukee; most of the time was spent in the conference hotel. We only briefly ventured out in the heat briefly to a few restaurants nearby… But the time in the hotel was perfectly enjoyable… they made it easy to not leave.

I registered for the conference so stupidly late that I missed out on the workshops Hamilton Wood Type Museum. I guess they were awesome – even if you were in the group with stuck on the broken down bus.

Let’s name drop a few of my favorite talks. Dan Rhatigan is always awesome. Even though he works for Monotype. If Monotype ever stops sucking it will be single-handedly because of him. Cyrus Highsmith was also great (he’s certainly one of the most unique and innovative type designers since Dwiggins). Dan Reynolds is the other awesome Dan… He can always manage to take some boring old historical topic and present it in a fascinating and entertaining way. If only more professors were like him! Patrick Giasson and Kamal Mansour presented their amazing Arabic typeface Bustani. I’m impressed with Patrick’s composure to calmly deliver an eloquent talk after an incredibly rude introduction by his former colleague Allan Haley. I probably would have punched him in the face as I walked on stage… Jo De Baerdemaeker also gave another excellent talk about Mongolian type. He is so passionate and informed about his topics, he is always a pleasure to hear. It was great to finally meet Craig Eliason of the Daily Pangram fame. His presentation on his obsession with pangrams was wonderful. The Moran brothers, Bill and Jim, spoke about their Hamilton Wood Type Museum and alerted us to their financial troubles and the uncertain future for the museum… Antonio Cavedoni shared his funny custom Stop fixation. Steve Ross made Mayan Writing Reform interesting and educational (he was also a great guy to finally meet).

Looking forward to next year’s event! Where will it be?