Four LCC alumni, Eugenie Dodd, Maggie Gordon, Robin Dodd and Bob Gordon (designers/ typographers) are hosting a platform for an illustrated discussion of current and future typographic topics, posing questions for deliberation. After a break for drinks there will be an audience debate – issues raised and opinions aired. Afterwards the bar will be open to continue discussions more informally.

Typographic communication draws on a wealth of social, geographic and historical contexts, underpinning our highly versatile and robust 26-letter alphabet. It’s ability to convey meaning is infinite. In the public eye, the contribution of typography is well established, but with the ever-increasing role of new media, we want to explore how to take typography forward, opening a discussion with those who recognise its value and importance.

Over five hundred years of rich, European printing history still continue to inform typographic practice but are they relevant to current and future typography – and, if so, how?

Could type be re-shaped to enrich the way in which texts are written, read or performed through the inclusion of random and contextual elements, variable sequencing, sound, motion, and other added dimensions?

Should we re-engage with the tactile nature of materials and process to regenerate the typographic experience or continue to slowly become de-sensitised through the virtual nature of digital media?

Do we, as typographers and designers, have a responsibility to provide better and earlier typographic awareness to a computer literate public equipped with the tools for media manipulation?