I am Veronica Alba, an Italian designer, who participated in Typographic Printing Program in summer 2020. My two weeks of Swiss type have been very intense and I have learned so much in such a short time.
After a welcome from the huge mountains of Näfels, I went straight into the studio for the intro evening where we met each other and we immediately started press printing a label with our names, I couldn’t believe we were already printing! From that moment on, I have been most of the time (12/24 hours) in the studio, learning, experimenting, studying, sketching and laughing with Dafi and the rest of the class. The first few days of experimentation were super good fun, printing with different materials and techniques, but also how to clean the presses and the printing tools, which is very important!
Experimentation soon became theory, which was immediately applied to some practical exercises on the presses. It’s been very important for me to dig into micro and macro typography, studying in detail the typographic basics in order to produce an accurate and well-structured poster. I also learned how to combine analog with digital and how to use a photocopier instead of Adobe Indesign (which is more fun). It has been nice to meet new people and share our backgrounds and stories, especially during the Raclette dinner on Saturday night where we enjoyed the typical Swiss cheese and saw fireworks.
All in all, I feel lucky to have spent time in Näfels, and every day when I walked home I was thinking how special this workshop was to me, especially in these uncertain circumstances, I am grateful to have been able to dive into typography and find my way in letterpress printing. In conclusion, I am quite passionate about typography and letterpress, and I really think this workshop helped me express my passions in a constructive environment with Dafi and the other students.
Images by Veronica Alba.