"In an era when most people interact with type as a digital experience, Monotype's unique collection of artifacts relating type history – original concept artwork, examples of precision drafting, metal and film masters, photographs and tools, and many examples of promotional material – provide a chance for visitors to explore the very physical history of the typefaces they already know," Dan Rhatigan, Monotype's UK type director, explained to PrintWeek in an interview.

Monotype’s Pencil to Pixel exhibition will run from May 3-9 at the Tribeca Skyline Studio in lower Manhattan and feature examples from the American design scene, such as "Typographic Sanity," the 1931 Linotype magazine published in Brooklyn, N.Y., and original Monotype Centaur typeface drawings by American typographer and type designer Bruce Rogers.

"These artifacts are not simply for show, however," Rhatigan added. "They are chosen and arranged so as to tell a story about how the design of typefaces is informed, constrained, and even enhanced by technology; whether it's the technology of machine and molten lead or microprocessor and bitmap.

"That story of the relationship of technology to analog typography connects in an unbroken chain of development to the way Monotype creates typefaces and the means of using them today, 125 years after they started."

There will also be speeches and related events held in conjunction with Pencil to Pixel, including "From Logo to Experience," from New York-based brand strategy and design firm Lippincott. For more information on this free exhibition, including how to book a guided tour, visit www.penciltopixel.org.

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