Christophe Plantin

My pre-Twitter life was from ca.1520–1589. Garamont and Granjon were my contemporaries at the time. Today, Dr. Frank E. Blokland voices my thoughts via Twitter.

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

And the research into the standardization of Renaissance type-design and font-production practices continues… https://t.co/nd9szo2HDz

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

📅 Intro Zoom sessions for the 2026–27 OTFC:
May 19 & June 16, 2026 🕒 15:00–17:00 (Amsterdam time)

Advanced foundation for further study + professional development in type design.

✉️ Register: otf [at] lettermodel [dot] org

https://t.co/FQDl6KVlTx

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

The OTF Course (https://t.co/FQDl6KVlTx) has now been running for just over two months. The students have already produced an impressive body of work exploring pattern formation and frameworks in historical and contemporary type. A few selected examples: https://t.co/SQ2l9oJ8rS

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Snapshot from yesterday’s OTF Course session. The calligraphic (LeMo) /B on the left was formalized and adjusted to the grid in real-time (center). The fully-booked course is entering its third month; already we have received the first three registrations for next year’s edition.

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Enrollment for the 2025–2026 edition will close in five days. There are currently 15 confirmed registrations, with only one spot remaining. https://t.co/FQDl6KVTJ5

[Dutch Type Library @ExquisiteFonts]

A detailed description of the OTF Course technical sessions by Dr. Jürgen Willrodt is now available as PDF: https://t.co/NfyshPsb3O Jürgen has shaped four decades of font tech and now shares his firsthand insights. The photo of him programming was taken in 1991 at Fujitsu, Japan.

[Dutch Type Library @ExquisiteFonts]

Join us for an online info session about the Origin of Type Frameworks (OTF) course on
📅 Friday, Aug 15, 2025
🕒 15:00 CEST (Amsterdam time)
📍 Zoom | Hosted by Jürgen & Frank
🔗 Register via email: otf [at] lettermodel [dot] org
🔍 Details: https://t.co/WADrbCt0sD

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

In a *very* warm Antwerp, the EcTd panels were mounted yesterday for the In ‘Plantin’s Footsteps 2025’ exhibition at Museum Plantin-Moretus. They showcase impressive research into Renaissance patterning and its practical translation into digital revivals by this year’s laureates.

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Preparations for the upcoming ‘In Plantin’s Footsteps’ exhibition at Museum Plantin-Moretus are in full swing. More than twenty EcTd graduates will present group and individual projects. This event marks the grand finale of 15 years of innovative type-design education in Antwerp.

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

With five months still to go before enrollment closes, we are excited to share that the minimum number of students has already been exceeded. This means that the new Origin of Type Frameworks (OTF) course will officially start this fall. Thanks to everyone who made this possible!

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

it is entirely logical to approach archetypal patterning not just as a historical exercise, but as a viable method for developing contemporary typefaces. This idea forms the core of the new Origin of Type Frameworks (OTF) course. The related press release: https://t.co/ybvs2WmvHe

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Registrations for the OTF Course are starting to come in. Word is spreading, including via the March newsletter from Leiden University’s Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA): https://t.co/B1BewVZoBR

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

After teaching for 30 years at the Plantin Institute of Typography, Frank will retire from Antwerp this summer. Jeremy Tankard will now take over the EcTd course. However, the original opinionated focus on pattern formation will continue in a new program: https://t.co/FQDl6KVlTx

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Last week the offline introduction of the Expert class Type design 2024–25 course took place in the auditorium of Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp. The 24 students flew in from all over the world. Apparently there is quite some interest in a pattern-forming view on type (design).

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Recently, Blackletra Type Foundry released Drummond, a typeface by the talented Brazilian type designer Dr. Emerson Eller. It is the result of an intensive revival process that originated in the Expert class Type design 2018–2019 course. More information: https://t.co/jvDBfzm1M1

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

On unitization and associated gauges in the early days of typography: some speculative considerations about possible archetypal measurement systems and the reproduction of punchcutters’ frameworks, based on distillations from artefacts and reconstructions. https://t.co/7hGujPTmOM

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Perhaps also triggered by the current EcTd exhibition in Museum Plantin-Moretus, there is a lot of interest in the upcoming course. That is why we have decided to increase the number of students to a total of 24. There are only a few seats still available. https://t.co/9WKpqUgLVa

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

The exhibition ‘In Plantin’s Footsteps 2024’ will run for another month in Museum Plantin-Moretus. It displays the type-design and typography projects of the recent laureates of the Plantin Institute of Typography: https://t.co/eTGpbJYdSv

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Yesterday, four rooms were decorated for the upcoming 2024 expo in Museum Plantin-Moretus by laureates and staff of the Plantin Institute with the help of museum employees. More than 50 printed panels (sponsored by Agfa) on type and typography were mounted on the colored walls.

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Registration for the Plantin Institute’s ‘mixed formula’ Expert course Type design 2024–2025 edition is about to close. There are a maximum of 16 seats and 13 are already occupied by participants from all over the world. More information can be found here: https://t.co/0m2qBKgg3D

[Dutch Type Library @ExquisiteFonts]

Melting Metal; Developing Typecraft describes the research into punchcutter frameworks from the Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassicism by the graduates of the EcTd 2022–23 course. The first digitally printed edition is now available in DTL’s book boutique. https://t.co/f5Z8K0CiBw

[Christophe Plantin @GoldenCompasses]

Recently the February 2024 newsletter from the Plantin Institute of Typography in Antwerp was sent out to announce two courses for those interested in the practical and theoretical aspects of type design, font production, and the history of type: https://t.co/p2Ay9iLzNF