ATypI Brisbane 2024 | Stephen Banham | A Brief Survey of Australian Typography 1983–2023

This presentation offers a broad overview on Australian typography over the past 40 years. Aimed at an international audience as well as those locals eager to contextualise and understand their own contribution, it is by no means exhaustive in nature. Spanning four decades of type design (existing typefaces, lost typefaces), typographic designers and typographic publishing right up to the current internationalised status of the field, this session will offer an important context for the rest of the ATypI event. This will be based on both previous and current research and writing from both professional and academic sources.

Keynote speaker Stephen Banham addresses the theme of ‘Crafted Technology’ by surveying how the various attempts at referencing Australian culture have been crafted using the ever-shifting technologies of their time. Given that this is the first time an ATypI conference has been held in Australia, this presentation will offer an important background to the subsequent presentations and workshops.