Outline
The Splendids were on a working sabbatical in the United States in June and July, and were fortunate enough to take a week off to travel to TypeCon in Buffalo. TypeCon is one of the world’s best Typography and Graphic Design conferences and we had a blast. It’s different to most other design events for two reasons. Firstly, it’s small – about 600 people; and secondly, all the attendees are friendly, enthusiastic and in love with type. We met so many amazing people in one short week; speakers and attendees alike. Here’s a little taste.
- Year
- 2008
- Client
- Self initiated

Stefan Sagmeister
We were very excited to see the headlining rockstar speaker of the conference. So excited that we decided to sneakily take a photo of him… and got caught in the act!

Ken Barber – House Industries
Ken showed off the amazing inspirations and technologies that went into their House Lettering Collection.

James Puckett
A great lad we ran into during the conference; he had the cahonez to show his new face to Spiekermann and have it critiqued at the infamous TypeCrit. His new work is available on TypeTrust

Carl Crossgrove
An accomplished type veteran working for Monotype, Carl invited us to their office near San Francisco after the conference where we saw their massive type book collection.

Erik Spiekermann
The outspoken typomaniac delivers another effortlessly entertaining talk. Here he is pointing out some irony in signwriting. We had the good fortune the following day to have a very friendly 15 minute conversation about our hacked iPhones.

Silas Dilworth
This extremely affable Typecon attendee runs Typetrust and is a very talented Type Designer to boot.

Experimental type workshop
We signed up for a great workshop to create and photograph a piece of type. Our results are up here.

NLXL
These enigmatic Dutch designers had a very unique way of showcasing their work.

David Sudweeks
David is a very talented type designer we met at the conference, who has some of the best glasses in the industry!

Nancy Sharon Collins
A proponent of hand engraved stationery, Nancy delivered a fascinating talk about the role of Social Stationery and calling cards during the golden age of etiquette.

John Downer
The typecon veteran led the infamous TypeCon Type Crit and provided a live demonstration of brush lettering that puts all us tech heads to shame.