It is lonely out there working on your own type, without any idea if it is any good or what to do and how to fix it. Please join the TDC & Type@Cooper for the first Type Crit Night, where two legendary designers, Ed Benguiat and John Downer will give you personal feedback and suggestions. First come, first serve (in order of ticket sold).

Ed Benguiat and John Downer have been friends and colleagues in the field of type design for more than 30 years. Their appearance at the TDC will mark their third time as co-panelists.

Ed’s formal education in letterforms started during the late 1940s, at the Republic School for Show Card Writing. He went on to design alphabets for Photo-Lettering, Inc., where he eventually worked as a studio lettering artist; and for International Typeface Corporation, where he became a Vice President. He has accepted private commissions from hundreds of high-profile clients. Ed also taught at the SVA. Today, he is one of the senior type designers in the world, having drawn more than 600 individual typefaces.

John Downer grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where he learned Speedball pen lettering in school. Following that, he also received training in brush lettering. As a senior in high school, he began his apprenticeship in sign painting. He completed his apprenticeship in 1973, after college. Ten years later, he branched into type design, and has worked as a freelancer ever since. His fonts have been published by Bitstream, Font Bureau, Emigre, and House Industries. John also teaches sign painting, show card writing, commercial pen lettering, and type design.

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