I love a beautiful book about typography (who doesn’t?!) and this one, that we’re about to get into, is a BEAUT! Our guest today is Elliot Jay Stocks and I am obsessed with his other book (Universal Principles of Typography) and use it as the textbook in my intro to typography class (it’s really, really good) and I couldn’t wait to chat with him about his new book, available around the world now! Elliot is a designer and author, known in typographic circles for his work as th

Welcome back, type lovers! This episode is especially for you. ;) In this eye opening look into the history of typography, signage, protest, and personal stories, Tré Seals thoughtfully explains the ways in which type has caused a lot of harm to various communities, but the ways in which it’s also a hopeful gateway to make meaningful change. Tré Seals has been on a lifelong path when it comes to design: he's been practicing writing in cursive since he was in kindergarten; so

The First Things First manifesto was originally published in 1964 by designer Ken Garland and signed by 21 other designers, photographers, and students who believed in the ethos of his message. While I won’t read the entire manifesto (as it’s protected by copyright) I will read a passage that will help you gain an understanding of what it’s all about: “We do not advocate the abolition of high pressure consumer advertising: this is not feasible. Nor do we want to take any of t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. Today I’m serving up a brand new 4-part guest lecture series, featuring an incredible line up of type and design folks from across North America! This first episode features highly sought-after type designer, James Edmondson. James is a type designer based in San Jose, California. He studied graphic design at California College of the Arts, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Art's TypeMedia program in The Hague, Netherlands. With

Please close your eyes. Now think back to a typical day in high school. That might have been in the distant past or perhaps more recently. What was it like? What did you spend your days doing and learning about? What did your classrooms look like and what did the system look like? Feel like? For most of us in traditional high school environments, the structure of school—whether a mostly positive or negative experience—probably looked pretty similar. A teacher at the front of

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: Clarendon Release Date: 1845 Designer: Robert Besley Classification: Slab Serif (Egyptian) Owned By: Today its multiple versions are owned by multiple foundries. Claim to Fame: This is the first first-ever registered and patented typeface. About Our Guest: Jordan Grey is a th

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: San Francisco Release Date: 2014 Designer: Apple’s Team (based on Helvetica and FF DIN) Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans Serif Owned By: Apple Claim to Fame: This is the first new typeface designed by Apple in nearly 20 years, it’s the UI font for Apple’s software. In this e

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: Calibri Release Date: 2007 Designer: Lucas de Groot Classification: Sans Serif Owned By: Microsoft Corporation Claim to Fame: Calibri made history by dethroning Times New Roman as the default font of the MS Office Suite. Microsoft’s favourite typographic child is taking the

This episode has been three conversations in the making. It started in episode #273, when I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine, who mentioned being inspired by George Wylesol’s grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, 2120 . In episode #276, George joined me to talk about the book and how Internet culture and GeoCities websites shape his work. Then, in episode #280, I spoke with Jill Blackmore Evans, creator of GeoCities Memory , a personal and scholarly project arc

Happy Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina 2026! I’m here with Paul Twa, four years after he and I originally spoke about the games in Beijing in Episode 095: Olympic Design Systems with Paul Twa . He’s back, he’s full of insights, and just a wonderful, passionate resource about Olympic design joy! Paul Twa is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Toronto. Born and raised in Edmonton, Paul graduated from the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Design program. After t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the third episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America! This episode features the owner of foundry Type Du Nord , Libbie Bischoff. Libbie Bischoff is a Minneapolis-based type designer and educator. She completed the Letterform Archive’s postgraduate program, Type West, in 2020. After graduating, she opened her own type foundry, Type Du Nord. Whi

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the second episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America! This episode features a Creative Director dedicated to social change and inclusive city building, Jay Wall. With over 15 years of experience at the intersection of graphic design and social change, Jay was the founder of design studio RallyRally. Now at O2 Planning and Design , Jay leads t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the first episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America! This episode features type designer and educator, Leo Vicenti . Leo is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver whose research approaches indigenous language preservation, revitalization, and the return of these languages to everyda

It’s a big book day! Today I sit down with two authors with two new books on two interrelated topics. David Berry (H ow Artists Make Money & How Money Makes Artists ) and Raymond Biesinger ( 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off: An Informal Self-Defence Guide for Independent Creatives ) are here with me today. David Berry profiled and critiqued the book, film, music and theatre scenes for a local alt-weekly, and then nationally for the National Post, and has contributed essay

Allow me to draw your attention over there please. (I know you can’t see me but I’m pointing in that direction, towards the letterpress print of a manicule I made recently, which is hanging out in my closet of a recording studio.) — I’m so thrilled to be part of the Canadian Letterpress Alliance ; a newly formed, 3x a year fun mail club for letterpress printers across Canada. And while I don’t consider myself a letterpress printer in the same way that so many in this gro

Weeeeeeeee! In today’s episode we’re heading further down the rabbit hole—where one episode leads to the next, and new ideas lie around every corner. In the two previous episodes in this series, I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine ( #273 ) where she mentioned George Wylesol’s incredible grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, taking inspiration for her own magazine’s navigational features. So I reached out to George to learn more about his publishing and illust

Welcome Font Friends! Today we have the one and only Alanna Munro here! Alanna is a Certified Letter Nerd and the main human behind Arcane Type Foundry —a foundry offering both an enchanting library of typefaces and charming custom type design. Alanna’s letterforms have been described as having ‘happy curves,’ which means that no matter the style, a friendly disposition is always infused into the vector drawings. But don’t mistake friendliness for frivolity; she is also a hug

It has become a Talk Paper Scissors tradition to feature the incredible work of up-and-coming typeface designers in this space (check out Episode 026 with Veronika & Mary-Anne, Episode 113 with Nate & Sarah and Episode 146 with Nicole & Cameron, Episode 191 With Max & Cecilia, and Episode 258 with Paulina & Darrab). This work was born in the Advanced Typography course I teach at Toronto Metropolitan University. After reviewing many submissions, with work scaffolded thro

If you’re a frequent listener of this podcast, you may recall an episode released earlier this fall: Episode #273 - On a Trip with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine . Without knowing it at the time, episode 273 marks the start of a little experiment—a journey down the rabbit hole. Each conversation in this series connects in unexpected ways; each new episode spurring a new line of inquiry, like a tunnel turning off in a different direction, each with an origin that’s traced b

Today’s guest and her team’s most recent book project is truly emotional and inspiring. As always, this episode is not sponsored, however I do want to disclose that I received an advance copy of the book and after experiencing it, I absolutely had to chat with our guest about the incredible technology, typography, and hope behind this project. In this conversation, you’ll hear from Rachel Arthur, Founder and Editor of boom saloon , “an independent publisher dedicated to democ