Stephen is a writer and typographer living in Oakland and Berlin. After six years at FontShop San Francisco as a creative director, he now publishes Fonts In Use, Typographica, and The Mid-Century Modernist, and consults with various organizations on type selection. Stephen is author of the book The Anatomy of Type and a regular contributor to Print magazine. He is also a Type Camp instructor, a member of the FontFont TypeBoard, and a judge for the 2012 TDC Typeface Design Competition.
TYPO Talks: What inspires you?
Stephen Coles: Things made with human hands — books, furniture, signs. This is mostly because I have no innate ability with my own hands. I took a neon bending course here in the Bay Area with Shawna Peterson and as I stumbled through the simplest of curves it gave me new respect and appreciation for sign making. I used to enjoy old liquor store signs on a purely surface level; now I can appreciate the effort that went into forming the corner of each letter and the glass fusing that binds them together.
Stephen Coles
Writer, Typographer (Oakland, California)
TT: The theme of this year’s TYPO is Contrast. Can you give us an example of projects in your portfolio that contrast with one another? Or a project that contrasts with itself?
SC: Two fields that are usually thought of as interchangeable rather than contrasting: lettering vs. type.
It seems that I am more and more often correcting people about the difference between those two terms. They are related crafts, of course, but entirely separate disciplines. Yes, most folks don’t care about the distinction, but the TYPO crowd does! Right? (If not, meet me in Yerba Buena park after the talks for fisticuffs.)
TT: What other speakers at TYPO San Francisco are you most looking forward to?
SC: Matthew Butterick for the butt-kicking, Marian Bantjes for the work, Peter Bil’ak for the type, Christoph Niemann for the chuckles, Faythe Levine (see sign love above), Ludovic Balland because he made (this weird thing http://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/stanley/) and I’d love to know why. And always Erik Spiekermann, man of a million rapidly delivered stories and insights, some I’ve heard more than once, but they never sound the same and I always learn something new.
TT: What is your favorite thing to do in San Francisco?
SC: Take visitors up the (free!) De Young tower for a stellar overview of the city, then around to the (free!) sculpture garden in the back to sit and meditate in the hidden James Turrell installation. It’s one of my favorite pieces of art, but most people miss it because it’s hidden in a hill behind the museum.
TT: What are currently your favorite interesting/beautiful publications, books, movies and/or links?
SC: They are peppered throughout my answers above, but here’s one I just posted today: my favorite spread from the 1923 ATF type specimen book.
TT: What does “contrast” mean to you?
SC: Contrast is thicker thicks and thinner thins.
Get your ticket to see Stephen and all of our other excellent facilitators and speakers here.
