Kerning, A Promising New Typography Conference In Italy

I was a little disappointed I couldn't attend the second edition of TYPO San Francisco after speaking there last year, but that doesn't mean I won't have my share of conferences before summer. And it starts in just two weeks when I will be talking at Kerning, the first international conference in Italy (and by extension Southern Europe) dedicated solely to typography and web typography. To be honest I am pretty impressed by the line-up for this first edition, especially for such an affordable event. I will be sharing the stage with speakers like type designers Luc(as) de Groot, Underware's Bas Jacobs and FF Ernestine's Nina Stössinger. Italy is always worth a trip, but if you're into type and web typography this is another great reason to visit the "belpaese". Meet us on May 2 & 3 in beautiful Faenza, a nice medieval city in the north-east of Italy, home of an ancient tradition in design and craftsmanship.

The speakers at the Kerning conference.

Kerning is organised by a small group of type-addicted web developers. They want to nurture a community of knowledgeable developers, offering a affordable conference and a unique opportunity to meet developers, gurus, managers and innovators from all over the world. The first day (May 2nd) will be all workshops, given by The Standardistas Christopher Murphy and Nicklas Persson, designer and web standards developer Marko Dugonjić, and contemporary letterpress studio, print studio and design studio Anonima Impressori. Whatever the attendees' taste, they are sure to find something to their liking – from the craft of web typography to the use of new technologies, from responsive typography to cliches, woodcuts and old hand-operated presses. Because the organisers want to deliver an intimate and one-on-one experience, seats for the full-day sessions are limited to 20 or 15 seats depending on the workshop.

Cinema Teatro Sarti, the venue of the Kerning conference

The second day (May 3rd) is the conference day, and like I mentioned before the line-up is top-notch. The opening keynote by Luc(as) De Groot is followed by presentations by Nina Stössinger, FontDeck founder and Ampersand conference organiser Richard Rutter, and Marko Dugonjić of Typetester.org. I will speak immediately after the lunch break, and then NakLab, iOS and IxD Designer Aral Balkan, Bas Jacobs, and the event is closed off by The Standardistas. It promises to be an exciting two days in the completely renovated Cinema Teatro Sarti in Faenza. This nice medieval town full of cozy B&Bs and typical restaurants is merely a 20 minutes train ride away from Bologna, one of the most lively and cosmopolitan Italian cities, with a spectacular history, art, cuisine, music, and culture.

The FontFeed has a special offer for its readers. The first four people that e-mail me the year the very first movie poster using Trajan was released, will receive a promo code for a 20% discount on the (frankly very reasonable) €175 ticket price. Hint: my presentation premiered at TYPO Berlin "Shift".