José Scaglione 
Veronika Burian What do the shapes of letters in Denmark have in common with those in Indonesia, Colombia, or South Africa? Where do their differences stem from, what historical threads connect them, and how does instruction differ across regions?
Enter Primarium, a groundbreaking global educational initiative by TypeTogether, paired with Playwrite, a cutting-edge variable type engine. Together, these tools explore and answer profound questions about the Latin script’s evolution and its instructional practices for primary school children. Spanning five continents and analyzing methods across roughly one-quarter of the world, Primarium uncovers the regional nuances of handwriting education, revealing how cultural preferences and traditions shape the way we teach writing.
But this is more than just research. Playwrite empowers educators and designers with bespoke primary school fonts, tailored to the unique handwriting styles and pedagogical needs of over 40 countries. This resource — the first of its kind — is freely accessible and designed to serve the typographic and educational communities now and far into the future as it continues to be updated. Primarium, as a societal asset, serves as a catalyst for multicultural exchange and fosters collaboration across diverse cultural and linguistic landscapes, enriching global educational experiences. The Primarium and Playwrite project is on-going and this talk focuses mostly on new material from the Primarium book to be published in the first quarter of 2025.
The key takeaways of this session are:
- A behind-the-scenes look at the design and functionality of the Playwrite type engine.
- Insights into the Primarium project’s research findings, highlighting the historic and cultural connections between Latin script practices worldwide.
- Compelling arguments for why high-quality handwriting education is vital to primary education and cultural preservation.