Letters can be drawn in so many different ways. Cyrus Highsmith’s approach is based heavily on the importance of white space and sensitivity to shapes. It’s a method he applies to type design as well as image making of all kinds. For Highsmith, it’s a way of seeing the world. This workshop will be a messy, hands-on, and computer-free exploration of drawing, making, and thinking about letters.
The objective of this workshop is to spend a memorable week of drawing letters and making art.
Each day will be a series of demos and conversations with lots of time in between to work independently. We will experiment and play with different ways of drawing and thinking about letters. Techniques may include stencils, low tech printing, collage, and painting. Participants should be ready for new experiences, experimentation, play, and failure.
Cyrus Highsmith is a letter drawer, teacher, author, and graphic artist. He teaches type design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
He wrote and illustrated the acclaimed primer Inside Paragraphs: Typographic Fundamentals.
In 2015, he received the Gerrit Noordzij Prize for extraordinary contributions to the fields of type design, typography, and type education.
In 2017, he became Creative Director for Latin Type Development at Morisawa USA.
He goes to bed very early.
