One of my favorite parts of the letterpress workshop today was getting to look at all of the different fonts that were laid out for us. I think font is something that we often take for granted because it is so easy to change on a computer, but looking at the individual sorts as physical objects makes it stand out more as a form of art. Each font is designed and created by someone and has its own connotations. We usually focus on the expressive quality of the words that a font makes up, but even the font itself can convey a certain feeling depending on how decorative, rounded, or severe the letters are.

I have had the opportunity to look at cases of fonts once before, when my lit class went on a field trip last semester to the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown where they have a 19th century printing press. The press itself was much bigger than the ones in our letterpress studio, but the fonts were very similar. When we printed posters there, we were allowed to choose our own fonts and use multiple fonts on one poster, which gave the experience a different feel. What role do you think font choice has in the artistic process of the letterpress workshop?