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Stories are powerful. Full stop. Stories help us connect our ideas to the world in succinct and memorable ways. Stories help us convey emotion and get people to care about our ideas, building bridges where there may have been a wall before. Stories enable complexity and multiple truths to exist where human nature wants to simplify and categorize for understanding. Echo is a storytelling company based out of Vancouver, BC and I stumbled upon their work several years ago. Here is a list they compiled about their approach: “10 THINGS WE BELIEVE ABOUT STORYTELLING Storytelling and history are not the same. Facts and dates are important. But without emotion it’s not a story; it’s just a very long CV. A beginning has only one job: to hook your audience and make them want to read or watch more. “Paradise on a Sunday afternoon sounds great, but it sure is boring on film.” — director Nils Malmros It’s not easier to be brief, but for your busy audience it’s almost always the right thing to do. If you insist you’ve never stumbled, nobody will believe you anyway. The right details are what distinguish a memorable story from a forgettable one. People who believe and tell the same stories are bonded by common values. Storytelling rules work because they stimulate, not stifle, creativity. People are interested in what you did, but they are riveted by why you did it.” Over the last number of semesters, I’ve brought this list into a graduate-level classroom, asking for their agreement or disagreement with each of these statements. We travel down the list as a class, voting one way or the other and then debating each side. I’m always surprised at how polarized even ‘hard truths’ or statements developed by specialists in a given field can be. This is not a bad thing; it’s quite the opposite. It leaves me hungry for more thoughts and opinions, about topics that I believe I understand quite well, conversations like this giving rise to podcast series where I travel down rabbit holes, not unlike this one. It also reinforces my understanding that right and wrong don’t exist in creative work in the same way that they may show up in other parts of daily living. There are always unique and valid opinions on both sides of their debate, with stories used to share their opinions about storytelling. In the spirit of healthy debate, here is one item from the aforementioned list that I disagree with and one that I agree with, as it relates to this storytelling podcast series. The statement that I disagree with is this: “It’s not easier to be brief, but for your busy audience it’s almost always the right thing to do.” I believe that this statement is highly contextual. Yes, I agree that if you want to communicate a message quickly on the side of a billboard or in a social media post, where you have a fraction of a second to capture the attention of your audience, brevity makes complete sense. However, if you want to dive deep into a topic or share your creative 500-page work of fiction with the world, for example, long form content may be exactly what’s right in context. The statement that I agree with (and that resonates most accurately with the content of this episode) is this: “The right details are what distinguish a memorable story from a forgettable one.” I wanted to better understand some ways in which artists and designers in the series use stories in their unique creative disciplines. So I asked each person this next question: How do you integrate storytelling into your creative practice, and what role does it play in shaping your vision? The right details seem to come up again and again as a theme that weaves all of these individuals into a cohesive narrative. So let’s hear how a 3D Environment Artist, Drag Artist & Professor of Creativity, Visual Note Taker, Brand Identity Designer, Singer-Songwriter-Producer, Visual Artist & Writer, Tattoo Artist, Author & Teacher, as well as Breathwork Facilitator & Writer integrate storytelling in their creative practices. In the next episode, I pose the question: Are there specific themes or motifs that consistently appear in your work, and if so, how do they contribute to the overall narrative you're trying to convey? To be continued… --- Meet the 9 Creatives Featured in This Series --- Sound & Music Credits Marker by LinaManjarrez -- https://freesound.org/s/560140/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 Mouse click doubleclick by dersuperanton -- https://freesound.org/s/434467/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 tattooMachine.wav by johndevilman -- https://freesound.org/s/221589/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 paint brush.wav by 14FPanskaPavlik_Filip -- https://freesound.org/s/420060/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 Deep Breath by rrehl -- https://freesound.org/s/717167/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 Old Video Game 5 by sonically_sound -- https://freesound.org/s/624882/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 School bell.wav by deleted_user_7020630 -- https://freesound.org/s/378394/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 The Ghost of Me - Barbra Lica (Imposter Syndrome ℗ Barbra Lica Music) is used with permission from Barbra Lica Lofi Jam by John Bartmann is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.

It's 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 and Cameron), work born from the Advanced Typography I teach at Toronto Metropolitan University. After reviewing dozens of submissions, with work scaffolded throughout the semester, I chose today’s guests because their work was consistently thoughtful, innovative, developed and well-executed. There were so many incredible submissions and it was genuinely hard to choose. As a testament to their contributions to the type community, I am awarding today’s guests (Max and Cecilia) the totally fictitious, highly coveted, not an actual award award: The Apostrophe! Max Berardi is a third-year Graphic Communications Management student with a passion for design, branding, and sports. He’s a dedicated individual who’s never afraid to learn more. Max was the creative director for GCM’s Phoenix Challenge Competition team and he loves being an active member in our community and helping others. Cecilia Ly (she/her) is a third-year Graphic Communications Management student at Toronto Metropolitan University. Currently pursuing a minor in Communication Design and a concentration in Packaging, she has a passion for all things branding and design. She loves reading, baking, and exploring new design trends in her free time and she is constantly looking for fun and innovative projects to get involved with! Max designed a typeface called League Gothic and Cecilia designed a typeface called Verre Fondu and in the following conversation, you'll get to hear about each typeface. You'll also hear their perfect type pairings, sensory descriptions of each (sight, smell, touch, sound and even taste), what was easy and difficult about the process, including what they’d do differently next time. Let the type geekery begin! Take it away Max… Max Berardi - League Gothic Cecilia Ly - Verre Fondu About Our Guests: Max Berardi is a third-year Graphic Communications Management student with a passion for design, branding, and sports. He’s a dedicated individual who’s never afraid to learn more. Max was the creative director for GCM’s Phoenix Challenge Competition team and he loves being an active member in our community and helping others. Cecilia Ly (she/her) is a third-year Graphic Communications Management student at Toronto Metropolitan University. Currently pursuing a minor in Communication Design and a concentration in Packaging, she has a passion for all things branding and design. She loves reading, baking, and exploring new design trends in her free time and she is constantly looking for fun and innovative projects to get involved with! Music: Beatboxin' Whistlin' and Clickin' - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License. Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

One of my favourite things is connecting with someone around a shared passion, whether in-person or virtually, whether locally or somewhere far, far away. I've been using a piece of software called Fontself for a little while, experimenting in a font creation. I recommended the software to my Advanced Typography students this semester and in doing so, I reached out to the Fontself team to ask a question. This began a dialogue with one of the co-founders that evolved into this recorded interview that you’re about to hear. It’s these moments of connection — of shared mutual understanding and curiosity — that remind me why I love this podcasting space so much. Our guest today is Franz Hoffman, designer-turned-entrepreneur and cofounder of Fontself, which brings easy type-making capabilities into the hands of all creatives. Fontself was born from his belief that typography is a powerful medium that should be democratized, like photo & video editing. As a creative who was frustrated by the complexity of typographic tools, Franz started an independent research project in 2005 to explore how modern software and new graphic technologies could better serve the needs of other designers. As fierce believers in innovative type technologies, Franz & his cofounder Mohamed Ghenania are passionately supporting tens of thousands of customers who want a simple, yet enjoyable experience to craft their own custom fonts. Fontself brings powerful type-making capabilities right into Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop, and is now also available as an iPad app geared for handmade typefaces. I’m joined by a co-host today, Michael Young, who is a Toronto-based graphic designer, developer, and accessibility specialist. Since 2010, he's been with the Ontario Public Service, developing and overseeing branding and marketing campaigns for the province of Ontario in a small but mighty team of creatives. He's currently pursuing his Master of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. Michael and I are currently working on together on an exploratory project surrounding the visual language of type within the Master of Digital Media program at Toronto Metropolitan University. As someone who is new to font creation, I looped him in on this conversation, because I think that the duality of his vast professional design experience paired with his beginner level type design work, makes him the ideal person to engage in this dialogue. In this conversation you’ll learn why Fontself was created and more about Fontself as a tool and its evolution, hearing about some interesting projects from around the globe with the Fontself toolset at their centre. You’ll hear about one particularly powerful project, Gilbert Color, an iconic font made with Fontself that is anchored in meaning and community, available through Adobe Fonts. You'll also hear very helpful advice from Franz for completely beginner users of Fontself and how to get started. Experimentation, iteration and democratization are all themes explored throughout the following 40 minutes. This episode is not sponsored by Fontself; I believe that it’s just a really great tool that I was excited to learn more about from Franz directly. Let’s listen in… --- Gilbert Color: https://www.fontself.com/blog/type-with-pride-a-color-font-chronicle https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/gilbert Welcome to Typocracy - Fontself Look Book https://fontself-website-files.s3.amazonaws.com/Welcome+to+Typocracy+-+by+Fontself.pdf Friends With Failure: https://www.talkpaperscissors.info/typography About Our Guest: Franz Hoffman is a designer-turned-entrepreneur and cofounder of Fontself, which brings easy type-making capabilities into the hands of all creatives. Fontself was born from his belief that typography is a powerful medium that should be democratized, like photo & video editing. As a creative who was frustrated by the complexity of typographic tools, Franz started an independent research project in 2005 to explore how modern software and new graphic technologies could better serve the needs of other designers. As fierce believers in innovative type technologies, Franz & his cofounder Mohamed Ghenania are passionately supporting tens of thousands of customers who want a simple, yet enjoyable experience to craft their own custom fonts. Fontself brings powerful type-making capabilities right into Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop, and is now also available as an iPad app geared for handmade typefaces. About Our Co-Host: Michael Young (https://youngcreative.ca) is a Toronto-based graphic designer, developer, and accessibility specialist. Since 2010, he's been with the Ontario Public Service, developing and overseeing branding and marketing campaigns for the province of Ontario in a small but mighty team of creatives. He's currently pursuing his Master of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. Beyond his professional pursuits, Michael enjoys repairing old Macs, honing his culinary skills, and urban exploration via public transit. Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

Today’s guest is the best designer in the world! [Source: his website, TheBestDesignerInTheWorld.com] His name is Harbor Bickmore and he cut his teeth in design as many a designer before him: by doodling logos for imaginary skate brands. Harbor has a bachelor's degree in design from a small little school in southern Utah (Utah Tech) and a Masters degree from a fancy dancy school in New York City, (The School of Visual Arts). In 2020 in a desperate panic induced by running out of money, getting married, and Going Back to school Harbor Started Selling some of the Fonts He had made over the past year hoping that he wouldn't end up homeless. It worked and The rest is history. Harbor Has been Designing and selling typefaces under name That That Type for the past 4 years. He is focused on making unique high quality fonts as accessible as possible. In this conversation you’ll hear why Harbor got into typeface design and his process for creating typefaces. You’ll hear about Harbor’s favourite font he’s released to date, as well as what hasn’t worked in his type design experimentation (the juicy failures!). Harbor and I dip our toes in the water of discussing digital products as a way to free up creative time and space; being able to create from a place of abundance versus scarcity, including the way type design has provided for he and his family. Finally, you’ll hear about Harbor’s new offering: That That Font Box, a font-of-the-month club for type enthusiasts. It’s a creative solution to the problem of selling type in a time that’s proving difficult for designers of type. Also, I beg you: go look at Harbor’s website (TheBestDesignerInTheWorld.com) and do not hesitate to click on the disco ball in the bottom right corner. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Harbor is the best designer in the world [Source: TheBestDesignerInTheWorld.com] He cut his teeth in design as many a designer before him: by doodling logos for imaginary skate brands. Harbor has a bachelor's degree in design from a small little school in southern Utah (Utah Tech) and a Masters degree from a fancy dancy school in New York City, (The School of Visual Arts). In 2020 in a desperate panic induced by running out of money, getting married, and Going Back to school Harbor Started Selling some of the Fonts He had made over the past year hoping that he wouldn't end up homeless. It worked and The rest is history. Harbor Has been Designing and selling typefaces under name That That Typefor the past 4 years. He is focused on making unique high quality fonts as accessible as possible. https://www.behance.net/harborb ThatThatType.com ThatThatFontBox.com Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

Something interesting and exciting happened during my last conversation in episode 187 with writer, Phong Nguyen... This is our first-ever back-to-back, creative duo of husband and wife series of episodes where we’re speaking with artist, Sarah Nguyen. Sarah Nguyen is a mixed media artist, working primarily with paper. Storytelling is central to her hand cut-fiber panels and paintings. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions and publications. Her work has been part of exhibitions in museums and festivals including (but not limited to) Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific Experience, the Daum Museum, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Grounds and Museum, the Truman Museum, Cheekwood Estates & Gardens, and Kansas City’s 2018 Open Spaces. She has taken part in a number of artist residencies from around the world as a visiting artist and teacher including Serbia, Bulgaria, Japan, and France, as well as the United States. Sarah is currently the Art Installations Curator for the True/False Film Fest. Sarah received her BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. In this convention you’ll hear about Sarah’s multi-hyphenated career and her role as a life-long learner. Sarah shares the deepest and most delicious answer to ‘why paper?’ ever articulated in 188 episodes of this podcast. You’ll hear about the stories woven within Sarah’s paper cut artworks, which can be up to 20 feet long, as well as the details of working with Tyvek as a medium and the ways in which ‘drawing with a knife’ means that there’s no eraser. We dig into the concept of failure and the way Sarah views ‘failed’ cuts into her artwork. Sarah and I embark on a little inspired improv, revealing the magic of storytelling, following your intuition and what can happen when art is treated a community act. Equally as delightful as her partner, Phong, I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation between Sarah and I as much as I enjoyed having it. Let's listen in... About Our Guest: Sarah Nguyen is a mixed media artist, working primarily with paper. Storytelling is central to her hand cut-fiber panels and paintings. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions and publications. Her work has been part of exhibitions in museums and festivals including (but not limited to) Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific Experience, the Daum Museum, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Grounds and Museum, the Truman Museum, Cheekwood Estates & Gardens, and Kansas City’s 2018 Open Spaces. She has taken part in a number of artist residencies from around the world as a visiting artist and teacher including Serbia, Bulgaria, Japan, and France, as well as the United States. Sarah is currently the Art Installations Curator for the True/False Film Fest. Sarah received her BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

What if you removed a letter from your keyboard? How might that impact your work? Maybe you could remove a tilda key (the squiggle beside the number 1) or a function key or even an obscure, rarely used letter like x or z. But what if you removed the letter e? How might that impact your work? For starters, I wouldn’t have been able to write the opening 5 sentences with any degree of success. I used a whopping 30 e’s in 236 characters over 57 words… a massive 13% of all letters, which, if equally distributed, each letter in the Latin alphabet would account for just under 4% of text. According to Reader’s Digest, e is the most used letter in the English language. Now imagine using no e’s in a 60,000 word written work. Impossible? Not for Phong Nguyen. Phong Nguyen is the author of five books, including three novels: Bronze Drum, Roundabout, and The Adventures of Joe Harper. He is the Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing at the University of Missouri, where he teaches fiction writing. In this episode you’ll hear Phong’s playful approach to his work that harnesses ‘beginner mind’. You’ll learn more about Phong’s 4th book, ROUNDABOUT: An Improvisational Fiction that has a clever narrative, fascinating process and incredible constraints… there are no letter e’s found within the 60,000 word book! (More accurately, there’s a single e, which you’ll hear about in the episode.) This book project is all about constraints, as well as yes-anding; applying the foundations of improvisational theatre to writing. We talk subconscious, we talk speed and we talk space in the act of creative making. You’ll also learn about his next book project that’s almost complete. Phong is delightful and I trust you’ll enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Let's listen in... About Our Guest: Phong Nguyen is the author of five books, including three novels: Bronze Drum, Roundabout, and The Adventures of Joe Harper. He is the Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing at the University of Missouri, where he teaches fiction writing. Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

There are few things more typographically satisfying than recognizing type in the wild. Gotham over here, Futura over there, Helvetica everywhere! Perhaps the only thing more satisfying is sitting down for a hearty conversation about letterforms with a fellow type geek. Enter: Jeremy Gladstone. Jeremy Gladstone's profound passion for the arts has significantly shaped his illustrious career trajectory. At the onset, he engaged with eminent global entities such as MTV, Much Music, BMW, and Valentino. His love for cinema and music catalyzed a distinguished period in the Music Television and Video sector, culminating in his role as art director for live performances and music videos for illustrious musicians including the Rolling Stones, Beck, Foo Fighters, Rihanna, Metallica, Justin Timberlake, Pink, and Alanis Morissette. His notable achievements include the set designs for Much Music's Intimate & Interactive series and the Much Music Video Awards in the early 2000s. In 2005, Jeremy, in collaboration with his associate Robyn, inaugurated Gladstone Media. This venture amalgamated the functionalities of a marketing and advertising firm, a design studio, and a multimedia film production company into a cohesive entity. This innovative approach empowers Gladstone Media to offer an extensive portfolio of services, utilizing the collective proficiency in marketing strategy, inventive content, design, and production across diverse sectors. Approaching its two-decade milestone, Jeremy leads an award winning team, dedicated to crafting methodical campaigns that distinguish themselves and deliver impactful outcomes. In this conversation, Jeremy shares more about Gladstone Media and how they do what they do, digging into the step-by-step process behind their creative work. He shares a helpful strategy for starting simple, constructing and then deconstructing creative work until it works. We then dive into Gladstone Media’s Typefaces of Toronto project (currently in episode 9), including where it started and where it’s going. And we meet Oscar the dog! Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Jeremy Gladstone's profound passion for the arts has significantly shaped his illustrious career trajectory. At the onset, he engaged with eminent global entities such as MTV, Much Music, BMW, and Valentino. His love for cinema and music catalyzed a distinguished period in the Music Television and Video sector, culminating in his role as art director for live performances and music videos for illustrious musicians including the Rolling Stones, Beck, Foo Fighters, Rihanna, Metallica, Justin Timberlake, Pink, and Alanis Morissette. His notable achievements include the set designs for Much Music's Intimate & Interactive series and the Much Music Video Awards in the early 2000s. In 2005, Jeremy, in collaboration with his associate Robyn, inaugurated Gladstone Media. This venture amalgamated the functionalities of a marketing and advertising firm, a design studio, and a multimedia film production company into a cohesive entity. This innovative approach empowers Gladstone Media to offer an extensive portfolio of services, utilizing the collective proficiency in marketing strategy, inventive content, design, and production across diverse sectors. Approaching its two-decade milestone, Jeremy leads an award winning team, dedicated to crafting methodical campaigns that distinguish themselves and deliver impactful outcomes. Gladstone has carved a niche in various sectors, with a pronounced focus on real estate and architectural marketing, which encompasses pre-construction condominiums and rental ventures, alongside the food & beverage, hospitality, finance, and lifestyle & fashion industries. The firm is particularly lauded for its transformative marketing initiatives in real estate, underscored by partnerships with global icons such as Yabu Pushelberg, Pharrell Williams, and Takashi Murakami, significantly influencing the architectural landscape of Toronto and its arts and culture. Looking forward, Jeremy is poised to extend Gladstone Media's influence globally, with imminent projects in pivotal cities like New York, Miami and Los Angeles, signalling a promising expansion of its international footprint. Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

I love a new and innovative typography project when I see one! I recently came across the work of Illustrator and Designer, Ben O’Neil, and I knew I had to reach out to him. Ben worked for 70 days to create a typeface based on visual prompts from images online to create an alphabet of whimsical and wonderful letterforms. He called this project ‘Type Alike’. In this episode you’ll hear from Ben about his journey in graphic design and illustration. You’ll hear about his love for zine culture, as well as what inspires him including the way he integrates historical references into his work. You’ll also hear Ben discuss his Type Alike project, including his thoughts on creative constraint, as well as creative consistency. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Ben O’Neil is a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and (sometimes) writer. His first graphic novel Apologetica was published by Popnoir Editions in 2019 and nominated for a Doug Wright Award. In 2022, he launched his most recent passion project, a fully illustrated, 78-card tarot deck. He also co-runs Pen Cap, a reading series in Toronto that provides a platform for emerging writers and creatives. Previous clients include Jacobin, Phish, Exclaim! Magazine, Toronto Metropolitan University and Left Field Brewery. Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

In the world of commercial offset printing that I know and love, we most often print with 4-colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). These four colours have the incredible ability to recreate more than a million colours on press through the magic of transparent, overlaid inks and varying dot sizes, so small that they are imperceivable to our naked eyes. In fact, if you look closely at books or magazines (ideally with a magnifier or loupe), you'll likely see that a photograph is actually just... a whole bunch of dots. This is the magic of the illusion of offset printing. But not all printing processes work this way. Screen printing is a great example of this, whereby ink is passed through a screen containing an image onto a substrate below (paper or fabric, for example). The ink film thickness is much greater than offset and ink is laid down as a solid area, versus as dots. Screen printing is also often accomplished using pre-mixed colours to achieve the desired final look, sometimes existing as single colour, 2 colours or a few more (and not necessarily c, m, y or k) depending on the desired final result. The Little Friends of Printmaking (who I chatted with in episode 112!) post incredible screen printing process videos often showing how the colours build to create their unique prints. So while screen printing is certainly a little different than my everyday world of offset printing, never ever had I heard of a printed piece requiring more than 6 or 7 or 8 layers of colour... never mind 96 layers of ink! Enter today's guest: Heather J.A. Thomson is a printmaker who has created an incredible 96-layer screen printed work that took 2 years with a grand total of 8 (!) copies existing in the world. During this discussion, you’ll learn about Heather, her love of history and printmaking, as well as the specific process for her epic 96-layer screen printing project of banknotes from the Weimar Republic. You’ll hear about the technical set up required for this project, as well as the unexpected hiccups that presented themselves and how Heather handled them (including the harrowing thing that happened when printing layer 96!). You’ll also hear more about Open Studio in Toronto, as well as Heather’s work as a photo lithography instructor in the space. Let's listen in... — Open Studio needs our help! On March 11, 2024 Open Studio released an urgent update about the state of the community printmaking space given mounting economic pressures. The statement reads as follows: Dear Open Studio Supporters, We are writing this letter to share difficult news about the future of Open Studio. For over 50 years, Open Studio has opened the door to printmaking. Since 1970, Open Studio has offered subsidized studio rent, educational access, and free dynamic print-based exhibitions. We have established ourselves as one of the oldest and largest print studios in Canada and we are extremely proud of how far we’ve come. However, due to mounting economic pressures, Open Studio is months away from closing permanently if we continue in our current form. We have been severely impacted by funding cuts, the pandemic, and the rising cost of maintaining our 7,200 sq/ft space in downtown Toronto. We recognize the loss of our space and programming would be deeply felt and would immensely affect our current and former members, countless artists, and the broader arts community we have worked with for 54 years. For this reason, we are determined not to give up on Open Studio. After careful consideration of our finances, we believe we can adapt, but we must do so quickly and make serious changes now. We plan to downsize, restructure, and optimize our existing space for Open Studio’s survival as an inclusive cultural hub. To achieve this, we will temporarily pause access to the studio, classes, and workshops as of June 28th, 2024. We hope to relaunch in January 2025 for Open Studio’s 55th anniversary. This can only happen with your help. If you care about accessible and innovative arts organizations, or have acquired art from Open Studio, visited our galleries, participated in workshops and events, received residencies, scholarships, exhibitions, or employment opportunities through Open Studio – we need your help. We are appealing for your support to get us through this difficult transition. Our goal is to raise $75,000 by June 28th, 2024. One-time or recurring donations can be made at https://openstudio.ca/urgent-update/. (As of March 23, they have reached 89% of their goal! Keep it going!) Other ways you can help: Support their upcoming online fundraiser, FUTURE PROOF 2024, May 2-9. Purchase artwork through their online shop. Payment plans are available. Purchase artwork & merchandise in person at 401 Richmond St.W, Suite 104. Visit Open Studio’s gallery while the studio space is transitioning. The galleries will be dedicated to fundraising efforts including displaying art for sale, with permission, from Open Studio’s extensive archive. Circulate this appeal to fellow supporters of printmaking and the arts in Toronto and beyond. Let's keep this important epicentre of Toronto printmaking alive and well for future generations! About Our Guest: Heather J. A. Thomson’s practice amalgamates her passion for history and her desire to use a visual language. Her pieces are a culmination of research and visual study that adhere to a central question or concept. Thomson feels conversations about the past can inspire us to reflect on the present and question our values. Thomson received her BA from the University of Guelph in 2017 and was awarded the 2017-2018 Don Phillips Scholarship at Open Studio, Toronto. She was a Printmaking & Publications Class Assistant at OCAD University from 2019 - 2023 and currently teaches at Open Studio. Thomson is based in the GTA and spends her time between Oakville and Toronto. Music: First Bicycle by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

It comes as no surprise that interviews can be intimidating. Full stop. Yes, AND I believe that there are ways to use interviewing to our advantage, make genuine connections and boost creative confidence in the process. Here’s how: Let's start with the two big categories of interviews: job interviews and informational interviews. The goal of the former is to fill a position that’s a good fit for all parties, while the goal of the latter is to make a connection, learning about someone’s stories in the process. Today's focus is on informational interviews. These types of interactions live between formal and informal; purpose-filled and open-ended. And they hold so much  possibility. Reaching out to someone who is working in the job you hope to have one day or to someone who is doing interesting creative projects that align with your interests is the perfect reason to make a connection.  Informational interviewing provides incredible opportunities for learning from others’ lived experiences, which strengthens our understanding of the world AND it allows us to make a new contact who may turn out to be a collaborator on future projects (this has been true for me on multiple occasions). All of this helps to boost our creative confidence in the process. I don't love networking. It can feel forced, awkward and like the person with loudest voice often garners the greatest attention. But the process of informational interviewing flips traditional networking on its head: it's not one-to-many, spontaneous, out-of-control process; it’s a a one-on-one, planned, in-control process, which is wonderful for both those who love talking and those who are more shy in traditional networking situations. Even if you don’t know the person you’re reaching out to (yet!), people love to talk about themselves and their creative journeys. Often you just need to ask. But I’m right there with you that cold calling can feel scary, impersonal and downright icky. However, the opposite of a ‘cold call’ is a ‘warm email’; a polite, positive and to-the-point written communication to act as an introduction. (More on warm emails in a minute.) But what happens if that person you reach you to doesn't respond? I recommend giving them the benefit of the doubt that they’re busy or away or the timing just isn’t right, and not that you did anything wrong (it’s not you, it’s them and that’s totally fine). It's your job to then reach out to the next person and the next and the next, knowing that (just like sales), asking for the coffee chat or the Zoom call is a numbers game. Cast a wide net and reach out to lots of people, knowing you may get a couple of responses over dozens of emails. This is a realistic way to approach the process. Before you know it, you’ll have a whole new network of creative confidants to learn from and explore with. This is exactly what’s happened to me over the 4 years since starting this podcast. While I started in 2019 with a shaky voice with my head stuck in a box, there’s a whole community of people now with me on the journey. In the past 4 years I’ve had the chance to work with over 100 individuals with whom I never would have never met with if it weren’t for the podcast (an informational interviewing hive in disguise). ;) I love being able to show the process of seeking out and reaching out to potential interviewees in my Advanced Typography course. As a class, we collectively make a list of people in the type world we’d love to talk to and I send them all a warm email or direct message using an approachable templated process. I make all of these messages available so that students can see how I make the initial approach through to landing the interview. They can also see that I contact more people than I think I’ll need to in order to secure a few interviews, helping to provide some realistic expectations around the process. Using this same process of seeking out and reaching out, I encourage all senior students (in the final year or two of their undergrad or at a graduate level) to aim for one informational interview a month. Being a current student provides an incredible reason to talk to those in industry, however I encourage you to find reasons to connect beyond the classroom after graduation. Imagine moving through your professional life, maintaining the momentum of 1 informational interview each month. This represents 12 connections each year, 120 connections in a decade, hundreds and hundreds more over a life time. I can think of few better ways to spend time to progress professionally. It's not to say that informational interviews get you the job (that should NOT be the core motive for reaching out), but I've had individuals who have asked me for an informational interview, I then saw were passionate, capable, proactive, kind humans... just the kind of people I would love to work with. These students and recent grads have gone on to work with me in teaching assistant capacities in courses, as well as co-publishing articles, co-creating episodes for this podcast, guest lecturing in my classes and being recommended for roles that I hear about through my networks. It's a mutually-beneficial relationship that may blossom sooner or later into something much bigger than a single 20 or 30 minute conversation. You just never know until you make that initial connection. "It's who you know that gets you your next job." is only half correct. "It's who knows you, that gets you your next job." is much more accurate. Get in front of others, showing that you’re curious and caring, remaining open to a conversation that may or may not lead somewhere incredible (for the both of you!). Have I convinced you that informational interviewing can be a beautiful way of life to connect with creative people? To help get started, I've shared my 'Warm Email Template' in the show notes at www.talkpaperscissors.info. This template makes reaching out to someone you admire, but don’t know personally, an easier task. It’s one I use all the time for connecting with new podcast guests, which results in extremely high reply rates. This template is based on my corporate sales training, my years helping students find internships through cold-calling and my own trial and error, 15 years in the making. In this resource, I also share what to do next after you make the initial connection; what to do once someone says 'yes!'. Happy connecting! Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash Remixed by Diana Music: It Was Another Time by John Bartmann, Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

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: Arial Release Date: 1982 Designers: Robin Nicholas Classification: Neo Grotesque Sans Serif Owned by: Monotype Corportation Claim to Fame: The Helvetica copycat In this episode of Talk Paper Scissors' An Incomplete History of Type, I cover Arial, the Helvetica copycat. The story of Arial begins in the late 20th century, amidst a digital font battleground. Positioned as Monotype's rival to Helvetica, Arial emerged as a response to the need for a new typeface design for IBM’s new in-office laser printer. Nearly 10 years later, Microsoft adopts Arial and so the journey begins. Criticized for its resemblance to Helvetica and its perceived role as the cheaper alternative, Arial stirs debates on originality and ethics in typography by renowned designers. Despite criticism, it became widely adopted as it became intertwined with everyday communications. Today, Arial's legacy embodies the complexities of design evolution and corporate influence in creative spaces. References: Coale, B. (2013, September 13). Arial, the controversial Sans Serif. Casey Printing - Commercial Printing, Labels & Folded Cartons. https://www.caseyprinting.com/blog/2013/typography/arial-the-controversial-sans-serif Davis, E. (2013, December 8). Arial vs Helvetica: Unveiling the history behind the design. Arial vs Helvetica: Unveiling the History Behind the Design | 4OVER4.COM. https://www.4over4.com/content-hub/stories/the-history-behind-arial-helvetica-ripoff-or-inspired-design Dozome, N. (2022, September 19). A for Arial. Medium. https://dozome.medium.com/a-for-arial-d0b0551889df Oliver, S. (2021, July 12). Arial or helvetica – do you spot the difference?. Pimp my Type. https://pimpmytype.com/arial-vs-helvetica/#:~:text=Helvetica%20has%20a%20more%20rectangular,the%20a%20has%20no%20tail. Ryan, L. (2020, June 19). The complicated history between Arial and helvetica. Issuu. https://issuu.com/ctrlee/docs/grds353_assignment3_proofreaded_jan2019 Simonson, M. (2024, February 1). The scourge of Arial. Mark Simonson. https://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/the-scourge-of-arial Vaughan-Nichols, S. (2020, June 19). Was Microsoft in the 1990s really better than Apple in the 2020s?. ZDNET. https://www.zdnet.com/article/was-microsoft-in-the-1990s-really-better-than-apple-in-the-2020s/ About Our Guest: I’m Kennedy Thornton, a creative, and passionate Graphic Communications Management student at The Creative School TMU. I have an extensive skill set in all things graphic design, and art, with technical skills in pre-media and print using industry-standard software and processes. I am business savvy with an interest in marketing, communications, and brand development. I love to learn new things, meet new people, and innovate new ideas. Music (public domain): TRG Banks - Above the Earth Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash

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: Myriad Release Date: 1992 Designers: Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly Classification: Humanist, Sans Serif Owned by: Adobe Systems Claim to Fame: This was Apple’s primary marketing typeface for over a decade, from 2002 to 2017 for its modern and simple appearance. Today we’ll take a look into the story behind Myriad. Released in 1992 for Adobe Systems’ type foundry, Adobe Originals, this humanist sans serif typeface has become a cornerstone in both text and display applications for its simplicity and versatility (Adobe, n.d.-a). Myriad’s journey begins with the rise of desktop publishing and advancements in digital typography. At the time, Adobe was only digitizing older, existing typefaces from other type foundries. Quickly, Adobe realized that desktop publishing would need a newer, more thoughtful approach to type, so they created an in-house type foundry, Adobe Originals, in 1989, which produced its own typefaces (Slye, 2022). It was around this time that Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly, two prominent figures in type design, began to work together on creating a typeface that was functional and visually appealing that could be used for almost anything. The goal was to create something easy to read, inclusive, and in Slimbach’s own words, “a totally invisible type of letter” (Challand, 2011). Wanting to make the most generic kind of font, Myriad, during its creation, was often jokingly referred to as “Generica” (Challand, 2011). Myriad has clean, open shapes, precise kerning, and displays warmth through its humanistic type treatment in design and letter proportions, making it highly legible (Adobe, n.d.-a). The letterforms aligned with the rules and standards Slimbach and Twombly assigned for it: “perfectly straight stems, flat endings, [...] flat character shapes” (Challand, 2011). While not exactly ground-breaking in design, Myriad’s strength lies in its versatility. Before OpenType became the new standard, Myriad was the flagship design for Adobe’s Multiple Master format, which allowed a dynamic array of weight to width variations, from light to black, condensed to semi-extended – essentially a myriad of Myriads (Myriad, n.d.). Later on, as the Multiple Master format was phased out, a new version of Myriad was adapted by Fred Brady and Christopher Slye in 2000 to suit the OpenType format called Myriad Pro, featuring an extended character set that included Greek and Cyrillic glyphs as well as old-style figures (Myriad, n.d.). This expanded the styles from 15 to 40. For a long time, Myriad was Adobe’s own corporate typeface. It further rose to prominence when it was adopted by Apple in 2002, replacing Apple Garamond; it appeared even on some of their products & branding, like the iPod, and much of their keynotes and marketing all the way until 2017 (Challand, 2011). Companies and institutions big and small have used Myriad in its branding and communications, from Wells Fargo, to Walmart, to University of Ottawa (Myriad, n.d.). Even now, Myriad remains the default font when you open Adobe Illustrator, which is perhaps why it remains popular even now. If you look around, you probably will still find it on digital and print signs, magazines, brochures, and more, whether it’s for body text, subheadings, or display text, which speaks to its versatility, clarity, and timeless appeal. But the versatility doesn’t end with Myriad Pro. As designers’ needs and the availability of technology continues to evolve, variants like Myriad Web were also introduced, optimized for on-screen legibility, making it an easily embeddable web-font through Adobe Fonts, formerly Typekit (Challand, 2011). Slimbach and Twombly also collaborated to create the font family variant called Myriad Wild, which includes two variants: Myriad Std Sketch and Myriad Std Tilt, which as the name may suggest, introduced a more playful and irregular style into the Myriad family (Adobe, n.d.-b). As we draw our exploration of Myriad to a close, it’s clear that Myriad has carved a space for itself in the typography history books. Conceived in the era of digital typography and desktop publishing, Myriad has stood the test of time. It exemplifies the power of type design in facilitating effective communication across all sorts of platforms. At its core, it represents the possibilities in digital type design, as it has continually evolved over the years to be more inclusive and expansive. From corporate branding, marketing, to everyday digital or print experiences, its presence can be felt in our current visual language. Ultimately, Myriad serves as a reminder of how simplicity and functionality intersect to create something timeless and universal. As we close this chapter, you can’t help but wonder – where will the typographic journey take it next? The next page of Myriad’s story is waiting to be written, and with a narrative as versatile as the typeface itself, it truly can unfold in a myriad of ways. References: Adobe. (n.d.-a). Myriad. Adobe Fonts. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/myriad Adobe. (n.d.-b). Myriad Wild. Adobe Fonts. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/myriad-wild Challand, S. (2011, February 25). Know your type: Myriad. Idsgn. http://idsgn.org/posts/know-your-type-myriad/ Myriad. (n.d.). Fonts.Com. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://www.fonts.com/font/adobe/myriad/story Slye, C. (2022, August 4). The influence of Adobe Originals. TypeNetwork. https://typenetwork.com/articles/the-influence-of-adobe-originals About Our Guest: Mandy is a fourth-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she is majoring in Graphic Communications Management, and minoring in Psychology and Marketing to round out her studies. She has always been fascinated by the power of visual storytelling and its ability to connect and resonate with people. As she's preparing to make the transition from academic studies to professional life, she's especially excited to dive into projects that push the envelope in graphic design and communication. Music (public domain): TRG Banks - Above the Earth Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo: Boat Origami Photo by Alex on Unsplash