A rare opportunity to hear type designers Paul Barnes (UK) & Kris Sowersby (NZ) talk together about Designing with Letters.

Paul Barnes is a graphic designer specializing in the fields of lettering, typography, type design and publication design. He is a partner with Christian Schwartz in the internationally acclaimed typefoundry, Commercial Type.

Kris Sowersby was named an ADC Young Gun in 2010. In 2013 he was accepted as a member of the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). Sowersby’s typefaces combine historical knowledge with rigorous contemporary workmanship and finish.

Since 1995 Paul has lived and worked in London. He has formed a long term collaboration with Peter Saville, which has resulted in such diverse work as identities for Givenchy, ‘Original Modern’ for Manchester and the logo for Kate Moss. In 2010 they designed the England football shirt.

Barnes has also been an advisor and consultant on numerous publications, notably Wallpaper*, Harper’s Bazaar and The Guardian.

Following the redesign of The Guardian, as part of the team headed by Mark Porter, Barnes was awarded the Black Pencil from the D&AD. They were also nominated for the Design Museum ‘Designer of the Year’. In September 2006, with Schwartz he was named one of the 40 most influential designers under 40 in Wallpaper*.

Kris Sowersby graduated from the Whanganui School of Design in 2003. After brief employment as a graphic designer, in 2005 he started the Klim Type Foundry, which is based in Wellington, New Zealand.

His first retail typeface, Feijoa, was released into the international market in 2007. In 2008, National, Sowersby’s second retail release, won a Certificate of Excellence from the Type Directors Club in New York. Since then he has received two more Certificates of Excellence (Serrano, Hardys) and worked on various custom and retail typefaces, including FF Meta Serif, the seriffed sibling of the renowned FF Meta. A reputation for typeface design has led Sowersby to work with contemporary typographic luminaries such as Christian Schwartz, Erik Spiekermann and Chester Jenkins; and with eminent design establishments such as House Industries and Pentagram.