Basic Python Programming for Typeface Design
with Ben Kiel
Sat., Mar. 28 – Sun., Mar. 29, 2015
10:00AM – 5:00PM
Typeface design has a long tradition of its practitioners creating their own custom tools to aid the design process. The Python programming language is the modern-day equivalent of a punch cutter’s counterpunch. Using Python allows the designer to focus more on the design of a typeface by automating repetitive tasks. In this workshop, students will gain a basic understanding of how to program in Python and how to use those skills in Robofont. In the first part of the workshop, Python and basic programming concepts will be introduced with the use of Drawbot, a Python environment created to teach designers programming. After the core concepts are introduced, the workshop will move to exploring how to apply them as part of the typeface design process in Robofont. At the end, students will have the skills to create their own digital counterpunches.
- Students will need a laptop with a copy of DrawBot and Robofont installed. No prior programming experience is assumed.
Ben Kiel is a typeface designer and educator. He runs Typefounding—his typeface design and production studio—and teaches at his alma matter, Washington University. Before moving to Saint Louis he earned his MA in Typeface Design from the University of Reading in 2005, and was subsequently a typeface designer, director, and developer at House Industries from 2006–2012. He has taught at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Delaware, and is the Education Chair of the St. Louis chapter of the AIGA.