After the first installment of “Pencil to Pixel” in November 2012 in London, Monotype turned to us to help design and curate a unique experience for the New York show. The exhibit created two distinct yet connected experiences of historical and modern typeface design. The goal was to create an experience that was unique to New York but could be translated into an ongoing series from city to city. Eliminating graphic devices and color allowed for the typeface to take center stage and build suspense and intrigue as visitors traveled through the space. As an homage to New York, black and white letters read “Welcome to Monotype One of a Kind,” and were displayed in an uninhibited, jazz-like style.
The exhibit occupied two rooms, “Pencil” and “Pixel, ” each with an immersive experience telling Monotype’s story and displaying its extensive portfolio of typefaces and fonts. “Pencil” featured original hand drawings for hot-metal faces such as Centaur, drawings by Eric Gill, the creator of Gill Sans, hand-cut films for Neue Helvetica, production drawings for Times New Roman commissioned for The Times of London, concept art, photos, publications, and metal and film master art. “Pixel” included cutting-edge digital applications, the first bitmap designs and an interactive digital Tagboard that aggregated the social conversation around the event in real-time.
By building and designing an exhibit that was rooted in a core message – the celebration of type – we were able to infuse macro and micro typography that were both static and dynamic to tell a cohesive story of how type plays a critical role in shaping the art of communication today and tomorrow. The show drew thousands of visitors over the course of the week, offering designers and non-designers alike a new appreciation for the craft of typography.

Project Credits:
Creative Director: Rodney Abbot, Fabian Diaz, Heather Stern
Designer: Jung Kwon, Chet Purtilar, Andrew Chiu, Leonor Montes de Oca
Photographer: Albert Vecerka/Esto Photographics, Jung Kwon/Lippincott, Andrew Chiu/Lippincott
Video Production: MagicWig Productions, Inc.
Animator: Chet Purtilar