Carolina Laudon
Typographer, typedesigner and teacher
There was always this 'letter' thing. A late reader as I was, I followed the little rascals across the page, fixed them with my eye, wrestled, fought and finally made friends. Yet, I never expected them to be more than a means to me. I had a talent for maths, and grew up in a family of computer programmers. And I could draw great stuff with a pencil.
After three years of canvas, oil and postgraduate studies in Fine Art (Stockholm 1992-1995), I suddenly found myself really tired of expressing my inner thoughts. Instead I turned to Graphic Design, hoping somehow to become useful with the one thing I thought I mastered, drawing. I moved to Goteborg, went to school for another five years (1995-2000) and found my thing.
That is, I found my calling, but not really the tutoring. I had to learn type design more or less on my own. Good thing there are books. After a number of funfonts, I made an attempt to apply my findings in a quite neutral sanserif for my Master's Degree. During the project I wrote the 'Typographic Diary', later published (2000). I took my MFA in Design at the University of Goteborg (2000) and I still haven't decided on how to finish this first sanserif, Laudon Stockholm Sans.
Alongside my studies I started the company Laudon Design that I still run. I keep a small office in downtown Goteborg. My work is mainly as an independent typedesigner. The first assignment was the DN Bodoni family for the Swedish daily morning paper Dagens Nyheter, together with Örjan Nordling (2000). We have just completed a set of sanserifs for that same newspaper (2002). I've made a scriptfont for the scandinavian insurance company Försäkringsbolaget IF (2001){shown below} and have recently finished a shadowed typeface for White Architects (2002). In between, I teach typography at the Forsberg School in Stockholm and Goteborg, at Konstfack in Stockholm and at the University of Goteborg.
Come to think of it, I never really left school. And that's what the fellowship of ATypI is to me. An everyday tutor in typography and friendship.
There are still times when I expect to be exposed, revealed. There's just so much to learn, so much to read, so much to explore. I've stared at the Trajan Column in Rome, I've tried letter-cutting in slate, brush-painting large scale Roman Capitals, still take calligraphy classes once a week and I read everything on letters that comes my way. And I've finally found some use for my computer skills. One day, I will really know how type works. Honestly.