
Lettering & Typography at the London Design Festival
- Mike Meyer brings his hand lettering workshop back to Borough Market for a second year, with two intensive days of signwriting
- Ghostsigns will come to life at night through the Light Capsules project
- Blackboard Art & Lettering Workshop with Cheryl McLean, organised by Better Letters and hosted by Hilton Bankside
- The Ghostsigns Tours App launches
- Camille Walala will be delivering a second floor painting on a zebra crossing
- An engaging graphic display and immersive, in-door interactive structure of bold colour entitled ‘The Sign Machine’, hosted by Bulgari and produced by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan
- Error, a celebration of the humble eraser with a graphic parade of shape, colour & type featuring 200 specimens and packaging paraphernalia
- ‘Do You Judge a Wine by its Label?’ Find out what type tells you about a wine & how it can transform your experiences.
In addition to the workshops, walking tours and light projections organised by Better Letters and Ghostsigns, there are a host of other events, exhibitions and installations featuring lettering and typography at this year’s London Design Festival. Much of this is focused in the Bankside Design District in Southwark, and a suggested itinerary for the busiest day of Wednesday 21 September is detailed below. Here are some of the date-specific things to look out for, and we’ve also created a map of all the locations where lettering and typography stuff is going on.
Date Specific Events
- 17 & 18 September: Intensive hand lettering workshops with Mike Meyer
- 17-18 September: Graphics Weekend at the V&A
- 17-24 September: Light Capsules x Ghostsigns
- 21 September: Full Day of Lettering & Typography (itinerary below)
- 22 September: Type and wine tasting evening with Type Tasting
- 24-25 September: Blackboard art and lettering workshop
- 24 September: Experimental Typography & Creative Brief
Lettering & Typography at LDF16 Map
Lettering & Typography Day: Wednesday 21st September
09:30-10:00 – The Sign Machine
Make your way to the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge to take a ride on ‘The Sign Machine’. Created by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan this kinetic swing installation opens a dialogue between the user and the components of the structure and its surroundings, combining product with motion. Users turn and control a series of rods brandishing bold, simple messaging, objects and signs to interact with one another and create wider statements. Find out more…
10:00-12:00 – The Victoria & Albert Museum
Walk along the Brompton Road to grab a coffee and explore the myriad events and installations at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and of course the London Design Festival Shop. Find out more…
12:00-13:45 – Typographic Travel & Lunch
Jump on the London Underground in the Centenary year of the Johnston Typeface and make your way to Borough Market for a dazzling choice of fresh and cooked foods for lunch. While there, also check out some of the historic and contemporary signage that the market has to offer. (Get directions from the V&A to Borough Market.)
14:00-15:00 – Type Tasting Workshop
Head to Bedales and join the Type Tasting ‘What’s Your Type?’ workshop (pre-booking required), a roller coaster ride of experiments, games and demonstrations exploring the personalities of fonts. Use the Font Selfie machine to generate your own type personality analysis. Become part of the discovery process and take away your own ‘tasting notes’ that you can use in the future to help you choose fonts. Find out more…
15:30-16:30 – Beer on Bermondsey Street
Wander over to Bermondsey and grab a quick half in the Woolpack. Peruse the old enamel signs on display and use the WiFi to download the Bankside Ghostsigns Walk.
16:30-18:30 – Bankside Ghostsigns Walk
Explore the streets of Bermondsey and Southwark through the lens of ‘ghostsigns‘ using the new Ghostsigns Tours App. With more than 15 examples of fading painted signs along the way, the tour will introduce you to the stories they tell through a mixture of audio and visual content. Find out more…
18:30-19:00 – Creative Spaces & Places
From the end of the tour, walk a short way back onto Southwark Street to take a look at the Camille Walala installation for the Better Bankside Creative Spaces & Places project. Find out more…
19:00-20:00 – Dinner at OXBO
Take another short walk to OXBO and enjoy some time off your feet in this restaurant, with its own ‘faux’ ghostsign, a replica of one you’ll have seen on the walking tour.
20:00-22:00 – Light Capsules x Ghostsigns
Step next door and finish the day with a custom cocktail at The Distillery, and a light projection show inspired by ghostsigns visible from the terrace. Find out more…
(You can also visit the second Better Bankside Creative Space & Places piece on Price’s Street from All for Love.)
Now time for bed and dreams of lettering and type. If you’re still hungry for more then on other days at the festival there is a Signwriting Workshop with Mike Meyer, a Blackboard Art & Lettering workshop, more ‘Light Capsules‘, a Type & Wine Tasting evening, a Graphics Weekend, and an exhibition of erasers and associated type and packaging. Enjoy!