Type in Book Design (with Kevin Barrett Kane)

Book designers are some of the most rigorous users of type. With the increased interest in type design programs at design schools and universities around the world, new typefaces are becoming more and more viable for book design. Whereas book designers used to rely on desert island typefaces—a single typeface to use for everything—there are now seemingly hundreds of new options each year for even the most robust use-cases. But with all those options, how does one choose what to spend precious dollars on for long-term use?

In this session, award-winning book designer, typographer, and educator Kevin Barrett Kane reveals his personal checklist for evaluating new (and old!) typefaces and presents an earnest call for increased collaboration between type designers and book designers for the present and future of both crafts.

Kevin Barrett Kane is an award-winning designer and educator. He co-founded The Frontispiece in 2015 and currently serves as senior book designer at University of California Press. He has designed books and typography for Stanford University Press, Chronicle Books, Wilsted & Taylor, Amazon Publishing, Dzanc Books, and more. In 2020, he graduated from the Type West postgraduate Type Design Program at Letterform Archive where he designed Wordcooker with Nurullah Gokdogan. He teaches design practice, theory, and philosophy at Letterform Archive, Stanford University, the San Francisco Center for the Book, Type Electives, the University of Colorado, and more. He lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, with fellow book designer Emma Christine Hall.