Category Archives: Workshops

Why does reading feel invisible?

Three exciting new Typography intensive workshops have been created for designers and communications teams. These combine theory with hands-on explorations, activities and plenty of thought-provoking discussions.

In session 1 you’ll explore the psychology of typography. This will take you back to the most important question of all: why does reading feel invisible? Understanding this is the key to unlocking how your brain responds as a type consumer. You’ll discover for yourself how much your subconscious is influenced by typography, backed up by innovative research by myself and others.

Get in touch here if you’d like to book a Typography intensive workshop for your clients or organisation.

“Sublime & crazy tales”: a new immersive typography workshop

An immersive, interactive journey through how typography changed the world. There will be activities, tasters, smells, sounds, stories and surprises. These are unique experiences that change what you think, feel and do.

I really enjoyed opening the doors and chatting to so many people at our recent open studios. After two years spent online feeling like I was living a cross between The Truman Show and Max Headroom, it’s been so good to create and host in-person events again. One of my favourite reasons is that I get to create props, smells and tasters designed to surprise unsuspecting audiences.

I’ve spent today making props for an event I’m running at the HQ of the Future Strategy Club for their members next week. This is an immersive, interactive journey through how typography changed the world. There will be activities, tasters, smells, sounds, stories and surprises. We’ll time travel through a few hundred years of type history getting a first hand taste of protest movements, pampleteers, social shifts and revolutions.

This is based on an event I created for the London Design Festival, which attendees described as “An immersive experience of storytelling and discovery”, “Brilliant”, “Sublime & crazy tales from the past”, “Wonderful”, “A roaring success”.

Get in touch here or by replying to this email if you’d like to book this event for your clients or organisation.

Drawing the typography of London with the Google Fonts team

The team from Google Fonts joined me to draw along with a Virtual London Type Safari. We explored the culture and history of a vibrant area in East London, discovering the secrets hidden in the signs over shops, pubs and buildings.

Some of the signs have been hidden for decades and tell stories about the area’s rich history. Many reflect the fashions of different eras—the 1800s, the 1920s, the 1970s and today. Some are practical and utilitarian, others are painted by hand. Look a little closer and many have revealing telltale characteristics for you to spot.

We paused at each sign to do a quick four-minute sketch of its letters. Each sign was paired with a song to bring its atmosphere to life. There were also sniffables and a surprise London-themed snack for one of the participants to try on-camera.

Would you like to book a draw-along Virtual London Type Safari with your team?
Start your journey here

I’m thinking of creating a new online Experimental Typography course, would you be interested?

I created and taught an Experimental Typography course at LCC (University of the Arts London) from 2001 to 2008. It feels so timely to bring back a new version of it online.

Would you be interested?

If there’s enough interest I’ll go ahead and do it!

Images shown from Experimental Typography at LCC between 2001–2008. They’re by Jordi Biosca, Claire Pringle, Joe Gardiner, Becky Chilcott, Claire Mason, Angela Lamb and Zoë Chan.

What typography problem would you like solved?

🔊Listen to the audio version

This is a question I’ve been asking recently. Thank you for all your great answers, keep them coming.

Maybe it’s “I want to use more trending fonts” or “I want to know what font rules I can break, so I can have fun with fonts” or even “My teacher wants a simple design that is typeset in Arial. Is there any way I could secretly drop in another font without them noticing?”.

I recognise many as problems I had earlier in my career, when I also shared your feelings of anxiety and frustration.

By sharing your problems you’re joining me in my mission to change the way we think and talk about typography by making it exciting for everybody. Let’s all go from “overwhelmed” to “empowered”.

I’ll pick one a week to answer. You’ll also be helping me to make sure my books and workshops are really useful for you.

Take part

 👉 I’m an individual, take me to 3 quick questions  👈

 👉 I manage a team, take me to 3 quick questions  👈

These are some of the problems you’ve written to me about, how many of them resonate with you?

“Finding the right fonts for client’s websites” • “I want to use more trending fonts” • “My teacher wants a simple design that is typeset in Arial. Is there any way I could secretly drop in another better font without them noticing?” • “How to choose the best font” • “I love fonts, but never know when to use serif or non-serif ones—what should guide this decision?” • “I’m struggling to find a consistent font theme for my sector” • “I can’t decide” • “I want to know what font rules I can break, so I can have fun with fonts”.

How these make you feel

“Screaming” • “Disoriented” • “Old fashioned and stuck” • “Overwhelmed about how to start” • “Frustrated” • “Unsure” • “Frustrated, apprehensive (did I get it right?) & unconfident” • “Anxious that the font we select may not resonate” • “Frustrated” • “Curious”.

How you would like to feel about choosing typefaces?

“Happy” • “Relaxed” • “Free” • “Successful and able to more clearly communicate” • “Really happy” • “Empowered & confident (& thus relaxed!)” • “A lot more confident” • “Empowered” • “Joyous”.

Typography is changing, are you ready?

Typography is changing. Two decades dominated by sans serif typefaces are coming to an end, which type designer Charles Nix describes as “the waning end of a supertrend”. Are you (and your team) ready for this new and exciting typographic landscape?

Find out about workshops / Arrange a 10-minute call

It’s an exciting time to explore how type reflects culture right now. I was delighted to run online workshops recently with the inspiring type designers at international type foundry Monotype. This was such a brilliant opportunity for all of us to compare notes as we explored the themes and trends we’ve been seeing and chatted about what we think is coming next.

“I loved the event. I know we are trying to make do with the pandemic situation, but I truly feel like this event was even more impactful and inspirational with this format than being with a bunch of people in an auditorium. Sarah was amazing.”

I think that looking at what’s changing typographically reveals the wider cultural themes of what people care about today. After a year when so much has changed, what things really matter to you today? What do you really value and/or what no longer seems important?

Are you and your team ready for the new typographic landscape and the fast-paced changes that are happening?

How to spot and decode typography trends

You can spot the trends and themes for yourself by keeping a visual diary and by following the people who are talking about what’s happening. This is a great way to future proof your typographic skills in a time of fast-paced change that trends, foresight and strategy company The Future Laboratory call “the great acceleration”.

  1. Think about what’s important to you, how might this have changed over the last year?
  2. When you look at what’s happening in the world, how are cultural attitudes changing?
  3. Take a look at the typographic landscape of the products and services you interact with today—can you see any styles or themes becoming prominent that you might not have seen a few years ago?
  4. When you think about these in context of changing cultural attitudes, do you think there are any links?
  5. Are there any companies or products that you think are doing this really well (or really badly)?
  6. How can you incorporated what you’ve observed into your own design process?

Want to find out faster?

You can book a highly interactive online workshop wherever you are in the world. Your team will be prepared for this exciting new typographic landscape with the tools they need to make effective typography choices.

Decoding Type Trends (Semiotics) Masterclass

From £800 (education discounts are available).
This is a live online workshop, which can be delivered anywhere in the world.
Availability is limited.

Discover how to decode the typography of everyday products. What does it reveal about changing moods and attitudes? How does it motivate your decisions? How can you future-proof your typographic choices? With a formula for making typographic choices that you can use today and into the future.

Ideal for designers, communications and marketing teams, students.

Find out more

Arrange a 10-minute call

Students do you wish you could study abroad this summer?

Join talented international students from USA, Canada, India and Australia who’ve had the unique experience of a virtual tour with Sarah Hyndman discovering the secrets hidden in London’s typography

Just because you can’t travel in person this year doesn’t mean that you can’t experience the culture, history and design inspiration that London has to offer. On a virtual Type Safari you’ll hear the stories behind the signs, discover the secrets hidden in the letters and you’ll find out what they reveal about centuries of London’s history.

Download a pdf brochure of live online sessions for colleges and universities.

Join Sarah Hyndman, author of the bestselling Why Fonts Matter for an immersive and creative tour of Dalston, a vibrant area in East London steeped in history.

•    You’ll learn about design history in the real world.
•    You’ll discover that typography is vibrant, exciting and it’s all around you (not just in academic books).
•    You’ll see how signage reflects changing cultural attitudes and what trends are popular today.

Private events from £600 (education discounts available).
Book a call to discuss your session.

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These are highly interactive sessions that take place live on Zoom. Participants are encouraged to engage with the virtual tour as they explore letterforms and the associations that have been baked into them. Type Safaris are suitable for all, no prior knowledge (or interest in) fonts is needed.

•    Compare East London with your local neighbourhood.
•    Spot the clues that tell you the history of the area.
•    Discover ornate signs previously hidden from view.
•    Find out whether you judge a shop by its sign.

Find out more.

 

Adobe MAX

Sarah took Adobe MAX delegates on a 20-minute virtual Type Safari through East London. 5,321 people watched the talk and gave Sarah a speaker score of 4.9/5).
Watch the talk on demand.

 

Sketchbook Type Safari

A Type Safari with a sketchbook challenge is available for colleges and universities, book a call to discuss your session.

Workshop clients

Sarah has created online workshops for students at Birmingham City University, Design Ventura, Design Museum London, Ecole Intuit Lab Mumbai & Kolkata, Elon University, North Carolina, Merrimack College, Massachusetts, Ravensbourne University London, Shillington UK & Australia.

She has created in person workshops for students at Arts University Bournemouth, Birmingham City University, California Polytechnic, CIS Abroad, Design Ventura, Design Museum London, EASD València, Ecole Intuit Lab Mumbai & Kolkata, Portland State University, RMIT Melbourne, Shillington UK, University of Bedfordshire, VIA University College Denmark, Wolverhampton University.

Sarah also taught Experimental Typography at the University of the Arts London for six years and has been a judge and jury president for the D&AD New Blood Awards.

Private events from £600 (education discounts available).
Book a call to discuss your session.

 

 

Come to a Typographic Swearing Workshop on Valentine’s Day

Would you like an alternative way to spend Valentine’s Day? Come along to an online Typographic Swearing Workshop and get creative.

THIS IS NOT A DATE—everybody’s welcome. This is an antidote to all the gooey cuteness of Valentine’s Day.

This is a typographically fun and rebelliously creative workshop where you can vent some frustration using fonts. Learn about rebellious typography through history. Explore the sounds that make swear words so satisfying. Subvert lettering to create your own typographic profanities. Suitable for all, no experience needed and you can join this virtual session from anywhere in the world.

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Professional development typography masterclasses

Professional development typography masterclasses—not just for designers!

Invest in the professional development of your company with effective Zoom workshops that are engaging and fun with plenty of “aha!” moments.

Typography is the voice of your brand and it’s important for everybody in a company to understand some basics, not just graphic designers.

This is a series of Zoom masterclasses hosted by author, researcher and Type Tasting founder Sarah Hyndman. Sarah’s an expert in making learning fun and is on a mission to make typography exciting for everybody. Each masterclass focuses on an experiential area of typography with enlightening activities, engaging demonstrations and useful how-to guides. These are currently available as live Zoom sessions, which means you can join a masterclass from anywhere in the world.

Ideal for departments across the whole company, not just designers
These are interesting, inspiring and fun workshops with clear and empowering takeaways for people from all roles in a company. They’re ideal as a team-building session or to reinforce the importance of coherent use of language and fonts for your brand.

You can arrange a private session for your group or organisation, or come along as an individual to a public event. Private sessions are modified to suit the participants.

“Such a fun, interesting and inspiring workshop with clear and empowering takeaways. It reinforced the importance of coherent presentation of our brand for colleagues from all parts of our company, in all types of roles.” Nicky Borowiec, Springer Nature

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Calling all freelancers, come to a Christmas creativity lunchtime party

Christmas letter making party

Join me for an online Christmas creativity lunchtime party

Lunchtime Christmas letter making
Painting with fonts (live interactive Zoom)

Join Sarah Hyndman author of the bestselling book Why Fonts Matter live to learn about decorative illuminated manuscript letters or Victorian ‘fishtail’ letters. Draw your own letters to send as Christmas cards or for future creative projects.

3 tickets for the price of 2, why not celebrate with freelance friends!

Secret Santa
You’ll get a gift of a mystery chapter from the book Why Fonts Matter (pdf) and your own lighthearted Christmas cracker fortune prediction!

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