Based at ArtCenter College of Design South Campus in Pasadena, California, and now housed under the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography, Archetype Press offers ArtCenter students the opportunity to learn and practice what has become a rarity: setting type and printing by hand. Established in 1989, Archetype Press is a living archive of more than 2,500 cases of rare American and European foundry type, wood type, and ornaments from the collection of Los Angeles typographer and printer Vernon Simpson. According to Gloria, Director of the Press since 2004, the greatest challenge is preserving the foundry while enhancing the understanding and relevancy of analog technology in the digital landscape of design education. She will take you on a journey of the work produced at the Press over the past 20 years and share insights into its successes, struggles, and the future of letterpress in higher education.
Gloria Kondrup
Presenter
Keeping Letterpress out of the Hellbox of Design Education
Gloria Kondrup
HMCT/Archetype Press
Gloria’s career spans the fields of art, design, and education. As a design consultant, she has developed extensive identity and packaging systems. As a professor at ArtCenter College of Design, Gloria has been a dedicated design educator for over three decades, shaping and inspiring future generations of designers. As Director of Archetype Press, ArtCenter’s vibrant letterpress studio, she reinforces the value of analog typography. In 2015, Gloria was instrumental in creating the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography and currently serves as its Executive Director. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and a master’s degree in design.