This three‑session workshop is a hands‑on introduction to experimental type design. Participants will move from expressive analog mark making to digital type construction and finally to printed work. The goal is to explore how letters carry voice, how systems emerge from sketches, and how type can become a tool for personal expression.

Across three weeks, you will draw, digitize, build a small typeface, and use it to design a poster and a spread for a collaborative class zine printed at Secret Riso Club. The workshop centers on thinking through making. You will discover ideas through drawing, shape systems through vectors, and share your voice through print.

No prior lettering or type design experience is required.

About the instructor:
Juan Villanueva is a typeface designer, letterer, and educator based in New York City. He grew up in Lima, Peru and Clifton, New Jersey. His heart is in both places and his work reflects both languages and cultures.
He holds a BFA in Graphic Design and Illustration & Animation from Montclair State University. He graduated from the Type@Cooper Extended program in typeface design and completed the Reading Type Design intensive program. He’s a member of AIGA NY and has served on the board of the Society of Scribes.

When he’s not drawing letters, he’s probably making more coffee. You can follow his lettering explorations on Instagram and see the amazing work from his students at displaytypedesign.com and typerevivals.com.