Immediately silencing the audience with her humor, Bantjes began by reducing typography to two things: balls and sticks. Providing several examples of how, no matter what form systematic typography takes, it all centers on these very minimal components. But by using those basic forms, beautiful and intricate patterns can be constructed.

That type of pattering is Bantjes’ bread and butter, and she does it well. One particularly crowd-pleasing example was the “read before you eat” wooden table, which she designed for a company with a well-off clientele list. Choosing to surprise those buyers with a hidden message while they dine, Bantjes patterned this secret message:

Well, the wealthy missed out on a great addition to their summer homes, as the table ended up being immortalized in a museum.

Alternatively, Bantjes introduced her work using non-systems or “anytime you have to create all the letters by themselves.” One particularly memorable example included a magazine cover she designed using 2,000 hand-drawn grape letterforms placed together in Photoshop, to illustrate various vineyards in Australia.

With a glittering finish (I mean that literally as Bantjes closed with a piece she painstakingly arranged in glitter and photographed), the talk concluded. Much to the dismay of the audience members who “awed” as she walked off-stage, only wishing to hear more. And probably wishing her the best with her cough.