The Typographische Gesellschaft München looks back on 135 years of history and has been promoting typography and type culture for just as long. But is that still enough today? Under the leadership of Xuyen Dam, the tgm has repositioned itself and is planning an event program for 2025 that promises a lot: design knowledge, exchange and new perspectives.
Anyone interested in typography and type design has always been in the right place at tgm. There were numerous workshops where you could learn more, lectures where you could see how type designers develop their projects, young type designers presented exciting type designs, there were excursions and every now and then the tgm invited people to a type walk through Munich. All great offers, but young people in particular felt less and less addressed. This is now set to change, which is why the tgm has realigned its program for 2025.
Xuyen Dam in particular brings a breath of fresh air. He is a professor of typography and communication design at Munich University of Applied Sciences and now chairs the tgm. As a lecturer, he has a feel for what interests younger people, and he also knows the flood of offers and information that organizers have to contend with today. "The question is," says Xyuen, "how can you pick people up? What do presentations have to look like today so that people find them attractive and want to come along?" So much is now available online that you have to offer something special to lure people away from their sofa at home.
Sounds obvious, but what is the solution? First of all, the new tgm wants to be young, colorful and loud. Classic typographic topics will of course still be on the program, but there will be much more thinking outside the box than before. Above all, however, the type of presentations will change. In short, the new concept is "tgm x X x X". As before, creatives will present their projects and working methods, but in lectures they will be paired with curators who either work in a similar field or do something completely different. The often awkward moment when the question is "does anyone else in the audience have any questions?" is no longer necessary. The tandem of speaker and curator ensures there is plenty to talk about, tgm gets involved as a third party and, of course, the guests are also part of the show.
Above all, the program should be lively and fun. The selection of speakers will certainly ensure this. Johannes Breyer from dinamo Type will kick things off on February 4. He will talk about what you can do as a creative to be visible. He will be joined by type designer Mona Franz as curator. The event will continue with future topics in graphic design and typography. The third event is dedicated to the question of which tools designers should use. What makes a good font? How do you deal with criticism and how do you manage to navigate between aesthetic demands and economic necessities? The topics for this year are diverse, as are the guests, such as star chef Felix Schneider, who interprets creativity in a different way with his work. Changing locations will also ensure more dynamism. So in 2025, it will definitely be worthwhile for Munich design fans to get up from the sofa.
Lecture series: TGM × X × X
February 04 Johannes Breyer is a type designer and co-founder of DINAMO TYPEFACES Berlin
March 11 Marcel Saidov has been working in the field of typography and type design since 2016 and teaches in Weimar
April 01 Nicolas Bernklau studied at ÉCAL and is a graphic and type designer in St. Gallen
May 20 Jiri Oplatik creates corporate designs, posters and books in Basel and is an AGI member
July 01 Jonas Beuchert and Tilman Schlevogt have been running the PARAT.cc studio in Munich since 2015
October 07 Felix Schneider is a chef in his restaurant Etz in Nuremberg and has two Michelin stars
November 11 intercom is a collective of scientists, designers and developers
December 02 Sam Kim runs the Berlin reading room Common Imprint for Asian art books, among other things
Some of the lectures are free for students and affordable for everyone else. Further information can be found at: www.tgm-online.de
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