The ATypI () or Association Typographique Internationale (the International Typography Association) is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to typography and type design. The primary activity of the association is an annual conference, held in a different global city each year.
History ATypI was founded in 1957 by Charles Peignot (from the French type foundry Deberny & Peignot). The members of the organisation come from the typographic community from all over the world and consist primarily of type designers, representatives of type foundries, graphic designers and typographers.
The organisation is run by a board elected by ATypI members. Each board member is elected by the ATypI membership for a period of three years and may serve up to two consecutive terms. The current president, elected by the board in 2025, is Nada Abdallah. Executive director since 2015 has been Tamye Riggs. Previous presidents have been Charles Peignot, John Dreyfus, Tage Bolander, Martin Fehle, Ernst-Erich Marhencke, Mark Batty, Jean François Porchez, Gerry Leonidas, Jose Scaglione, John D. Berry, Carolina Laudon, Crystian Cruz, Thomas Phinney and Carima el-Behairy.
Purposes
The objective and purpose of ATypI is to provide an integrated forum and conferences for all those involved in the field of fonts and typography through their profession and/or their interests, including without limitation:
type designers and typographers; educators in graphic design, educational institutions; developers of typographic software and typesetting equipment of all sorts; printers and advertising agencies; professional organizations, associations; and all people, companies, associations, groups, or clubs interested in typography
ATypI also: preserves the culture, tradition and history of type and typography promotes contemporary digital fonts encourages outstanding typography and typographic design promotes a critical understanding of typographic issues
From the Bylaws ATypI
Conference The ATypI conference is held internationally, each year at a different city, usually in September or October. It is organised with the help of local members and institutions, often universities or colleges. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ATypI conferences were held virtually.
+ Overview of ATypI conferencesPast conferences , on the website of the ATypI Year City Country 1957 Lausanne 1958 Düsseldorf 1959 Paris 1960 Paris 1961 Zandvoort 1962 Verona 1963 Vienna 1964 Cambridge 1965 Zurich 1966 Mainz 1967 Paris 1968 Frankfurt 1969 Prague 1970 Bruges 1971 London 1972 Barcelona 1973 Copenhagen 1974 Paris 1975 Warsaw 1976 Hamburg 1977 Lausanne 1978 Munich 1979 Vienna 1980 Basel 1981 Mainz 1982 Beaune 1983 Berlin 1984 London 1985 Kiel 1986 Basel 1987 New York 1988 Frankfurt 1989 Paris 1990 Oxford 1991 Parma 1992 Budapest 1993 Antwerp 1994 San Francisco 1995 Barcelona 1996 The Hague 1997 Reading 1998 Lyon 1999 Boston 2000 Leipzig 2001 Copenhagen 2002 Rome 2003 Vancouver 2004 Prague 2005 Helsinki 2006 Lisbon 2007 Brighton 2008 Saint Petersburg 2009 Mexico City 2010 Dublin 2011 Reykjavík 2012 Hong Kong 2013 Amsterdam 2014 Barcelona 2015 São Paulo 2016 Warsaw 2017 Montreal 2018 Antwerp 2019 Tokyo 2020 ATypI All Over virtual event 2021 ATypI Tech Talks virtual event 2021 ATypI All Over virtual event 2022 ATypI Tech Talks virtual event 2023 Paris 2024 Brisbane 2025 Copenhagen 2026 Stanford 2026 Sharjah
Working Seminars As well as the main conference, ATypI Working Seminars have taken place in Basel (1974), Reading (1976), The Hague (1978), Mainz (1981), Stanford (1983), Hamburg (1985), Gdańsk (1988), Budapest (1992), Colombo (2019), Puebla (2019) and Amiens (2020).ATypI Working Seminars, Gerry Leonidas, Medium, 2018
Prix Charles Peignot Every three to six years the ATypI awards the Prix Charles Peignot for Excellence in Type Design to a designer under the age of 35, who has made an outstanding contribution to type design. The recipient is chosen by a committee of ATypI members appointed by the Board. Past winners are: Claude Mediavilla (1982), Jovica Veljović (1985), Petr van Blokland (1988), Robert Slimbach (1991), Carol Twombly (1994), Jean François Porchez (1998), Jonathan Hoefler (2002), Christian Schwartz (2007), Alexandra Korolkova (2013), David Jonathan Ross (2018).
References
External links Website of the ATypI Historical Website of the ATypI Prix Charles Peignot on the ATypI website