Building Young Characters in Type
I was given the fantastic opportunity to create a typeface workshop with multiple groups of fifth- and sixth-graders during a local elementary “School Arts-Day” event. With providing them simple IAMPETH technique guidelines and modest tool kits they created (with appropriate reckless abandon!) letter-form shapes that allowed them to communicate a personal narrative within the patchwork forms.
The theme and goal being to raise awareness of the potential of visual letter communication, all the fun that display-typefaces can become (and working as partners to create a unified idea)! It was also a project designed to raise money for a local no-kill animal shelter by students selling their artwork both as-is and a typeface for sale that year. Though this may have to become an annual event activity I am thinking as helping local community members is a good thing and the kids definitely agreed!
