Type design begins with learning to see. This keynote traces how calligraphy, vernacular lettering, local visual cultures, and multilingual collaboration shape a personal design practice — from shop signs and archives to typefaces built across scripts and cultures. Through this selection of projects, the talk examines how observation becomes research, how collaborating with people and across writing systems expands design thinking, and how place continues to shape contemporary typography — offering a view of typography as an evolving practice of seeing, making, and connecting across languages and cultures.
Seeing Through Type
Speaker
Laura Meseguer
Laura Meseguer (Barcelona, 1968) is a type designer and typographer whose practice bridges commissioned work and self-initiated projects. She runs Laura Meseguer Studio, focused on custom typeface design for clients, and specializes in typography-driven design — from lettering for monograms and logotypes to custom typefaces and editorial design. In 1992, she co-founded the independent foundry Type-Ø-Tones, where she continues to publish and promote her typefaces. She later completed the prestigious Type and Media program at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague (2003–2004), consolidating her focus on type design. Her work has received wide international recognition. Her typefaces Rumba, Lalola, Qandus, and Ella have been honored by the Type Directors Club (TDC). Additional distinctions include Laus Awards, ISTD Certificates of Excellence, Hiiibrand Awards, and the ED-Awards. In 2018, she received the Premio Gràffica for her professional career, and in 2025 the project “Recipes for Connecting” received a special mention at the Premis Ciutat de Barcelona.
Alongside her design practice, Laura is deeply involved in education and the professional community. She teaches Typography in the Master’s Degree in Editorial Design at Elisava and co-directs Tipo-g, a type design school in Barcelona. She lectures and leads workshops internationally.