Type Conferences Around The World
Living in Australia is awesome but one of the toughest moments during the year is when the “type conference season” starts. If you —like me— suffer of major FOMO and don’t even want to open social media for weeks, maybe now is a good time to schedule a trip overseas and make it coincide with your favourite type conference! Some of them are listed below.
Photo credit above: The Design Conference, Brisbane, Australia 2018.
Type Conferences
01. ISType Mono | Istanbul, Türkiye
Istanbul Type Seminars (ISType) is an international conference that offers a platform for both seasoned and emerging designers to exchange and enhance their expertise on typography. Held every two years in the vibrant city of Istanbul, ISType brings together academics, industry professionals, and students—local, regional, and international—to discuss current issues and innovations in typography and to reflect upon developments and opportunities for its future growth.
02. Typo Day | Mumbai, India
Typography Day is being held for the seventeenth time on 6th to 8th March 2025, at IDC School of Design (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, with support from India Design Association (InDeAs), Design in India and Aksharaya.
03. Type Drives Culture | New York City, US
Global conference that explores ways in which people use typography to form and transform creative communities, and conversations around contemporary type and design.
04. Kerning Conference | Faenza, Italy
Kerning is the first international conference in Italy dedicated solely to typography and web typography.
05. Fontstand Conference | The Hague, Netherlands
Fontstand’s fifth annual typography conference returns to The Hague! Join world-class type designers and typographers from around the world for a packed two-day program of presentations and discussions.
06. Typotage | Leipzig, Germany
Ein kleiner * kann einen großen Unterschied machen. Selten zuvor stand ein typografisches Zeichen häufiger im Mittelpunkt von kulturkritischen Debatten. Derzeit nimmt das öffentliche Bewusstsein zu, dass Typografie gesellschaftliche Denkweisen und Handlungsmuster erzeugen, verstärken oder reproduzieren kann. Insofern kann sie gleichermaßen ausgrenzen und integrieren.
07. The Design Conference | Brisbane, Australia
Let the transformation begin. Finding and owning your creative flow is a life-long pursuit that requires guidance, discipline and an open mind. The Design Conference is a wonderfully confronting experience that introduces you to your dream future, how to grasp it and the connections that can make it a reality. Expand your mind and let the transformation begin.
08. DiaTipo | São Paulo, Brasil
Evento Internacional de Tipografia
09. Berlin Letters | Berlin, Germany
International lectures, professional workshops and fun things to do for designers and all letter enthusiasts. Three days of hearing, seeing and trying out new things in the company of your future best friends and colleagues.
10. Typographics | New York City, US
Typographics is a design festival for people who use type. The annual event series, now in its 10th year, is focused on contemporary typography and where its future may lie. Various events are planned round June every year, in New York City and online.
11. TypeNow | Type Paris, France
Now Conference (in English) brings together graphic design and typography enthusiasts. We seek to explain how typography has a visible impact on the world around us. Come to Paris to listen a mix of inspiring speakers evoking topics as broad as graphic design, web design, motion design, publishing, visual identity, communication and type design. This year the panel discussion is about typography education.
12. Centre for Printing History & Culture | Birmingham, UK
To celebrate ten years of the research in the Centre for Printing History & Culture, we are holding a one-day conference to showcase the work of its doctoral community, past and present, and those postdoctoral researchers who have found their home in the Centre. Further details to follow.
13. Ampersand, The Web Typography Conference | Brighton, UK
A day of inspiration and cutting edge techniques from worldwide experts.
14. Granshan Conference | US
Conferences and workshops, lectures and panel discussions, study trips and exhibition openings – GRANSHAN has been organising events to promote knowledge about scripts and the quality of typefaces beyond Latin ever since it was founded. Discover the upcoming events here – and a slowly growing archive of past ones.
15. TypeCon | Portland, Oregon USA
TypeCon is an open, equitable, and diverse conference. We have welcomed speakers and workshop leaders from every continent except Antarctica. (Any letter lovers down there at McMurdo Station want to break the streak?) 50.5% of our 2018 presenters were female. Whether you’re a seasoned industry professional or thinking about trying out this “speaking gig” for the first time, we encourage you to submit a proposal!
16. Rencontres Internationales de Lure | Lurs, France
Les Rencontres de Lure will be held at Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
17. Typism Summit | Australia
Online event twice a year on lettering education and the business of lettering.
18. Typetersburg | St. Petersburg, Russia
The appearance of annual international festival in Petersburg has been the matter of time and here it comes. The festival will join the professional Russian and international society in Petersburg and will become the breeding ground for expansion of the type culture worldwide.
19. AtypI Conference | All Over
Non-profit organisation organising an in-person and online conference in a different country every year.
20. Tipografia Mexico | Mexico
Evento enteramente gratuitio para todos los públicos
21. BITS | Bangkok, Thailand
BITS was originally known as the Bangkok International Typographic Symposium when it began in 2010 at the auditorium of Alliance Française Bangkok. This event aimed to bring together design professionals and enthusiasts to explore the art of typography and its significance in design.
In 2023, the name was changed to the Brand Identity and Typography Symposium to better reflect the evolving nature of the design industry. This rebranding was intended to foster a stronger connection between branding, typography, and type design, welcoming a broader segment of the design community.
Today, BITS serves as an influential platform that not only highlights the critical role of typography in brand identity but also encourages collaboration and innovation among designers across the region.
22. Encontro de Tipografia | Lisbon, Portugal
The Typography Meeting [Encontro de Tipografia] is an annual international scientific event based in Portugal that gathers researchers, practitioners, pedagogues, students, and industry partners. It includes conferences by keynote speakers, peer-reviewed communications, workshops, and exhibitions. Our goal is to bring together leading individuals and projects in the Typographic panorama to: disseminate research and technical knowledge; foster learning, inspiration, and critical thinking; and contribute to the discussion and the development of ideas in Typography and Typeface Design.
23. Letrastica | Guadalajara, Xalapa, Puebla, Mexico
We are a group of people that love typography and wish to share it. Our non-profit activities are oriented towards professional exchange and creating a network of professionals, students and enthusiasts in areas of design, calligraphy, sign painting and type.
Photo credit: The Design Conference Brisbane, Australia 2018
This list of type conferences has been put together thanks to Indra Kupferschmid and the Alphabettes calendar. Please, get in touch if you know of any other type conference and dates coming up this year. Happy type touring!
