HMCT Archetype Press

Booth A16

Archetype Press was established at ArtCenter College of Design in 1989, with the generous support and patronage of five donors, former ArtCenter President David Brown, and the dedicated efforts of Vance Studley, the founding Director of the Press. The Press thrived for over 12 years at 40 Mills Place in Old Pasadena, California until 2004 when it was relocated to the 950 building at ArtCenter’s South Campus, and placed under the direction of Prof. Gloria Kondrup, now Executive Director of Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography [HMCT]. Since 2018, its operational and educational programs are shared jointly between the HMCT and ArtCenter Gx [Graphic Design Department].

The extensive collection of American and European metal foundry type, wood type and ornaments—originally belonging to Vernon Simpson’s legendary typesetting shop in Hollywood—resides in over 2,500 cases and is among the largest collection of any design school in the country. Included are fonts from American Type Foundry, Hamilton Wood Type, Nebiolo, Bauer, Klingspor, and Stempel. Archetype Press offers students, the public, and visiting artists, the opportunity to practice what has become a digital age rarity: setting type and printing by hand. Past visiting artists include Amos Kennedy, Jim Sherraden, Dafi Kühne, and Alan Kitching and Kelvyn Smith [The New Typography Workshop].

As an integral component of the typographic studies of graduate and undergraduate degree programs, students learn from an exceptional group of dedicated and talented faculty. Inherent in this experience is the intimate relationship to the physical structure of words, and knowledge gained from the historical nuances of the development of letterforms. Imparted is the value of this analogue technology to the understanding of, and continuing influence on the development of typography in digital spaces. Social and political issues, poetry, music, and subjects related to the history of design and typography, are the topics that fill over 200 limited edition collaborative books, broadsides, and chapbooks that address the relationship between text, image and the written word. Collaborations with writers and poets include Paul Vangelisti, Martha Ronk, Harmony Holiday, George Albon, and MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” recipient Fred Moten.

Archetype Press continues the tradition of an older—but not outdated—technology, as an experimental typographic workshop. The Press mantra, “Type First,” pays homage to the value of preserving the history of the printed word, and establishes the Press as a sustainable cultural artifact.

For more information, contact hmct@artcenter.edu. For workshop and class offerings, contact ArtCenter Extension: artcenter.edu/acx, acx@artcenter.edu.