The ATypI () or Association Typographique Internationale (the International Typography Association) is an international

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organisation dedicated to

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

and type design. The primary activity of the association is an annual conference, held in a different global city each year.

History

ATypI was founded in 1957 by Charles Peignot (from the French

type foundry A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Before digital typography, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces for hand typesetting, and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and ...

Deberny & Peignot). The members of the organisation come from the typographic community from all over the world and consist primarily of

type designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

s, representatives of type foundries,

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

ers and typographers. The organisation is run by a board elected by ATypI members. Each board member is elected by the ATypI membership for a period of three years and may serve up to two consecutive terms. The current president, elected by the board in 2023, is Thomas Phinney. Executive director since 2015 has been Tamye Riggs. Previous presidents have been Charles Peignot, John Dreyfus, Tage Bolander, Martin Fehle, Ernst-Erich Marhencke, Mark Batty, Jean François Porchez, Gerry Leonidas, Jose Scaglione, John D. Berry, Carolina Laudon, and Crystian Cruz.

Purposes

The objective and purpose of ATypI is to provide an integrated forum and conferences for all those involved in the field of fonts and typography through their profession and/or their interests, including without limitation: * type designers and typographers; * educators in graphic design, educational institutions; * developers of typographic software and typesetting equipment of all sorts; * printers and advertising agencies; * professional organizations, associations; and * all people, companies, associations, groups, or clubs interested in typography ATypI also: * preserves the culture, tradition and history of type and typography * promotes contemporary digital fonts * encourages outstanding typography and typographic design * promotes a critical understanding of typographic issues

Conference

The ATypI conference is held internationally, each year at a different city, usually in September or October. It is organised with the help of local members and institutions, often universities or colleges. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, ATypI conferences were held virtually.

Working Seminars

As well as the main conference, ATypI Working Seminars have taken place in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(1974),

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

(1976),

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

(1978),

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

(1981),

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

(1983),

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(1985),

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

(1988),

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

(1992),

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

(2019),

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

(2019) and

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

(2020).ATypI Working Seminars
Gerry Leonidas, Medium, 2018

Prix Charles Peignot

Every three to six years the ATypI awards the Prix Charles Peignot for Excellence in Type Design to a designer under the age of 35, who has made an outstanding contribution to type design. The recipient is chosen by a committee of ATypI members appointed by the Board. Past winners are: Claude Mediavilla (1982),

Jovica Veljović Jovica Veljović (; born 1954) is a Serbian type designer and calligrapher. He is professor for type design at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. In 1985, Veljović was awarded the Prix Charles Peignot, an infrequently awarded prize fo ...

(1985), Petr van Blokland (1988), Robert Slimbach (1991), Carol Twombly (1994), Jean François Porchez (1998),

Jonathan Hoefler Jonathan Hoefler (; born 1970) is an American type designer. Hoefler founded the Hoefler Type Foundry in 1989, a type foundry in New York. Early life Jonathan Hoefler was born on August 22, 1970, in New York City to Doreen Benjamin and Char ...

(2002), Christian Schwartz (2007), Alexandra Korolkova (2013), David Jonathan Ross (2018).

References

External links

Website of the ATypI

Historical Website of the ATypI

Prix Charles Peignot
on the ATypI website {{Authority control Typography International organizations based in the United States International conferences Non-profit organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New Jersey 1957 establishments in New Jersey