Reconsidering Revivals

What do we talk about when we call a typeface a ‘revival’? And what do we look at when we look back at type history?


ATypI 2020: All Over

For years I’ve been simmering an idea I’ve been having: isn’t ‘revival’ kind of a strange word for what we would otherwise label a copy or a hommage? And, if we take these old works as seriously as we do, are there things we’re forgetting? For the ATypI 2020 conference I decided to explore this further and articulate some of the thoughts and concerns I’ve had about our use of historic materials. Since the conference was entirely digital, I recorded my talk ahead of time, and released it after the conference was over. You can watch it on YouTube, or see the embedded version below.

Recently, ATypI also uploaded their recording of the session, including a Q&A where we tackle other questions. It cuts off early, but is worth a watch if you’re curious.