Typefolk is a new platform that is the first to exclusively recognise and award the lettering arts on a weekly, monthly and end of year basis. The platform launched on June 15th 2020.
The Inspiration
Skilled as a Designer and Developer, a while ago I started judging websites for the CSS Design Awards (CSSDA). This was a really fun and enjoyable experience. It involved rating aspects of websites based on specific criteria such as usability. Through this experience I was constantly getting regular inspiration and was able to discover new techniques which I could apply to my own work. It has also always provided a great way for web designers, developers and agencies to get much deserved recognition.
During my time involved with the CSSDA I realised that there didn’t seem to be a similar kind of platform for the lettering arts. There are some great lettering/type awards hosted by a couple of different platforms at various times in the year. The annual Type Directors Club competitions are a good example of this. However, from my investigation I couldn’t find anywhere recognising and awarding the lettering arts continually throughout the whole year — so I decided to create one. I shared my idea of creating an awards platform specifically centred around lettering, type and calligraphy with one of the CSSDA Founders and this was kindly supported.
An Exclusive Place for the Lettering Arts
It also became apparent that due to technological growth a digital presence was more essential for businesses and organisations than ever before. As a result, platforms which enable the showcasing of work such as Dribbble have received increasing amounts of website and app user interface design pieces. This can make it challenging to find lettering inspiration and on some platforms lettering pieces have been a bit overshadowed. So I wanted to create a platform which exclusively put lettering, type and calligraphy into the limelight too, eliminating the need to hunt for lettering inspiration.
Originally, I planned to launch Typefolk at the beginning of 2021 for a full awards season, but in light of Covid-19 thought the design community could do with something positive to focus on and something to look forward to for the months ahead. Therefore, I brought the launch forward for a shorter first season.
Ways to Get Involved
There are a variety of ways for the community to get involved with the platform. This includes public votes, joining the Typefolk judges panel and entering artwork. So no matter what your skill level is or what your interests are there should be one or more ways for you to participate.
Each piece entered will undergo a weekly public community vote for the first stage. Then if it scores the highest, it will undergo a monthly vote by the judges panel and again if scoring the highest it will undergo a more in-depth end of year vote by the judges panel too. The judges panel consists of some very talented lettering artists who have created work for Netflix, Coke Cola and more. They have an incredible amount of experience between them and are all very passionate about the lettering arts.
What Is Awarded
A variety of awards can be earned. The Lettering Live Wire award is earned by scoring highest in a weekly community vote and winners receive a digital badge. The Lettering Leader award is earned by scoring highest in a monthly Typefolk judges vote and winners receive a digital badge and digital certificate. Finally, the Lettering Legend award is earned by scoring highest in an end of year Typefolk judges vote. The winner along with a runner up receives a printed certificate and trophy.
Will You Be the Next Lettering Legend?
If you’re familiar with Lettering Tutorial you may recall I coined the term back in 2015 and previously recognised artists as Lettering Legends via interviews. I wanted to continue recognising artists as Lettering Legends and it’s now achieved by winning the yearly awards season. Past Lettering Legends include Jon Contino, Jessica Hische, Jake Weidmann and Martina Flor along with a small group of other very talented artists some of which are on the Typefolk judges panel.
Visit Typefolk.com for more info, to enter your artwork, participate in public community votes and apply to join the judges panel.
