Letters from France: Jean François Porchez on Culture and Identity in Type Design

The week-long symposium brings distinguished scholar-practitioner-teacher François Porchez to UW for a series of events.

About Jean François Porchez

Jean François Porchez is widely recognized as a national typographic icon in his native France, where his typefaces grace the signage of the Paris Métro and the national newspaper Le Monde. His work responds to both pragmatic aspects of type design as well as the intellectual, cultural and historic contexts that envelop letterforms and their vehicles.

He has won every major international award in the field, and is honorary President of Association Typographique Internationale, the premier global organization for type. Porchez has taught type design workshops all over the world, and is a former faculty member of ECV and EMAT in Paris, France. He has proposed typefaces for Arjowiggins, Baltimore Sun, Beyoncé Knowles, Costa Crocieres, France Télécom, Louis Vuitton, RATP (Public Transport in Paris), Yves Saint Laurent Beauty.

Symposium Events

• A free public lecture on type and logo design of interest to design students, faculty and practitioners, including the calligraphy/book arts community. (Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 7pm  Kane 110).
• A free public lecture for scholars of French/European/International Studies, including members of Alliance Française Seattle and the French-American Chamber of Commerce Pacific Northwest. This 40 minute lecture will be in English, followed by a 20-minute bilingual (French and English) question and answer session. (Thursday, Feburary 16, 2012, 7pm, Good Shepard Center Chapel in Wallingford).
• A type design workshop for UW design students in the School of Art
• Visits to selected UW courses in French Studies, European Studies and Art History
• Visits to selected professional design firms and corporations

Events

Letters from France: Type Designer Jean François Porchez
Wednesday, Feb 15 2012 7:00 PM,
Kane 110
 

Letters from France II: Type Designer Jean Francois Porchez on the Making of French Icons
Thursday Feb 16 2012 7:00 PM,
Good Shepherd Center Chapel, 4th Floor - 4649 Sunnyside Ave North, Seattle, WA 98103