Ampersand is Back!
It’s been a while — nearly three years, in fact — since we last brought our typography-fuelled Ampersand conference to the web designers and type enthusiasts of the world. I’m thrilled to announce that we’re bringing it back in 2018!
For those that don’t know, Ampersand is an inspiring and affordable one-day web typography conference, bringing together leading thinkers and designers from the worlds of type and web design.
My love of typography led me to create the first Ampersand conference in 2011, held near Clearleft’s studio in Brighton. With webfonts having just been unleashed on the world, I wanted to put type designers and web designers on the same stage — something that had never been done before. It was clear other people shared my passion, because that first conference sold out, after which we ran the event every few years, including a stand-out year on the road, where we bought Ampersand to the Times Center in New York City!
The conference always features a unique mix of voices and experts representing all aspects of typography on the web. In the past we’ve had type designers, browser makers, book designers, web developers, illustrators, visual designers, branding experts, font engineers and no fewer than three professors. Speakers have included Erik Spiekermann, Jonathan Hoefler, Jen Simmons, Mark Bolton and Jenn Lukas to name but a few.
Like the audience, all our speakers share a love of type and enjoy nothing more than getting into the nitty gritty, so get ready to geek out, folks!
Why bring it back?
We’ve taken a little break since 2015, mostly so I could write my book Web Typography. Lots has happened in the world of web typography since then, not least the arrival of variable fonts, which I’m sure will make an appearance in some of the talks this year. It’s no coincidence that the new Ampersand website showcases variable fonts in action — possibly the first commercial site to do so (do check it out).
What you need to know
When: Friday 29th June 2018, 10am — 5pm
Where: Ampersand will be taking place at the beautiful and historic Duke of York’s Picturehouse in Brighton — it’s one of the UK’s oldest cinemas, and we’ll be rolling out the red carpet to celebrate all things typography.
Tickets: “When will tickets go on sale?!” I hear you cry. Well Early Bird tickets are now on sale, so the keen amongst you can snap up a bargain before we announce the full schedule.
Get the latest Ampersand news
If you don’t want to miss the latest conference announcements, sign up to our mailing list to receive ticket and schedule updates direct to your inbox. For real-time updates and web typography news, also follow @ampersandconf.
I hope to see you there for a fantastic, informative and fun day dedicated to all things web typography!
First published on the Clearleft blog.
