Typographics 2026 Questions Legibility and Design Standards
The Typographics 2026 conference took place at Cooper Union's Great Hall in New York City from June 26-27, centering on typography, language, and visual culture. Speakers critiqued conventional design practices, focusing on themes of identity and communal memory. Bijan Berahimi, the founder of FISK, shared insights on type identity and his work with Toro y Moi on the 2022 album MAHAL. Cristian Vargas from Typozon emphasized emotional expression through his graffiti-inspired typeface, Chosmos. Kelli Anderson presented her interactive book, Alphabet in Motion. Nekisha Durrett drew from her grandmother's photo albums for public art celebrating Black histories. Abraham Lule addressed the preservation of rotulismo in Mexico City, while Corinne Ang explored legibility in her talk, The Mythology of Legibility, introducing her typeface Panday. The event underscored the need for greater inclusion of Black designers.
Key facts
- Typographics 2026 was held at Cooper Union's Great Hall in New York City on June 26-27, 2026.
- Bijan Berahimi, founder of FISK, presented on type identity and his collaboration with Toro y Moi on the album MAHAL (2022).
- Cristian Vargas, founder of Typozon, presented the typeface Chosmos, inspired by graffiti and ecological systems.
- Kelli Anderson presented her interactive book Alphabet in Motion, using paper mechanisms to teach typography.
- Nekisha Durrett discussed using her grandmother's photo albums and handwritten labels as inspiration for public works.
- Abraham Lule spoke on preserving rotulismo, a hand-painted sign tradition in Mexico City.
- Corinne Ang presented her typeface Panday, incorporating Baybayin script and Philippine architectural ironwork.
- The conference noted a lack of Black designers on stage despite themes of inclusion.
Entities
Artists
- Bijan Berahimi
- Toro y Moi
- Cristian Vargas
- Kelli Anderson
- Nekisha Durrett
- Abraham Lule
- Corinne Ang
- Nick Sherman
- Gen Ramírez
Institutions
- Cooper Union
- FISK
- Typozon
- PRINT Magazine
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- San Francisco
- Washington, D.C.
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Philippines
- Manila