@talkpaperscissors Episode 283: Indigenous Type Perspectives and Beyond with Leo Vicenti This is the first episode in a 3-part guest lecture series in GCM 230 - Typography, speaking with design typography pros from across North America! This episode features type designer and educator at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Leo Vicenti @lowerearthorigin . In this conversation, you’ll hear how Leo believes typography can support Indigenous language and culture, the ways in which typography isn’t always necessary, Indigenization of digital spaces, and why fixed systems don’t necessarily work (Unicode, for example). This episode was recorded as part of a guest lecture series in #GCM230 - Typography in fall 2025 at @gcmtmu @thecreativeschl  at Toronto Metropolitan University. #TalkPaperScissors #LeoVicenti #typography

🌍 TE Lecture Series: North American Indigenous Languages with Leo Vicenti 🗓️ Friday | October 17th, 2025 | 1-2 PM ET
🎥 30–45 min talks + Q&A 📍 Online | Free to attend (donations welcome) Join us for a series of conversations exploring the challenges of language support, diacritic design, and the role of type design in language revitalization. In this session, we’ll speak with @lowerearthorigin  about North American Indigenous Languages and his approach to type design that honors linguistic and cultural traditions. We’ll explore the design, cultural, and linguistic considerations involved in creating typefaces that support Indigenous communities, diacritics, and regional typographic practices. Leo will share his journey in type design, how working with Indigenous languages has shaped his perspective, and what it means to engage with language as both a designer and a community member. We’ll also discuss questions such as: How can designers work respectfully with Indigenous languages and worldviews? What lessons can typography draw from regional and cultural practices? How can designers support indigenous communities, sovereignty, and cultural expression through their work? About Leo: Leo Vicenti (Jicarilla Apache) (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in Visual Communication Design and a BA in Graphic Design from Fort Lewis College (FLC). His current research approaches indigenous language preservation, revitalization, and the return of these languages to everyday use through the development of language support in typography and representation in the design field. He maintains practice-based research in exhibition design alongside his creative pursuits in visual communication design. Send us your questions @typeelectives 🔗 Register via link in bio

At the end of each run, we would have some fun and mess around with the prints: we would flip them, mix layers that were not meant to be together, slightly shift the paper... possibilities were endless. Some of the outputs were really fun, and it was exciting to see what compositions a less structured process could create. The "3", designed by @lowerearthorigin , has that structure and small details that are worth looking out for: "My idea for this composition is rooted in this particular style of figure which I really love but don’t see as often. I started the composition by drawing the skeleton then mapping out certain shape combinations until I was able to piece together an effective form. After completing most of the design I started to experiment with colors, but ended up reverting to a unified color combination where I can appreciate the combinations of forms and negative space." — Leo Vicenti (Jicarilla Apache) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in Visual Communication Design and a BA in Graphic Design from Fort Lewis College (FLC).

Pueblo Revolt August 10th 1680

You won't want to miss this. Sign up using the link in our bio! In this collaborative session with Kevin King (@calligraphio ), Leo Vicenti (@lowerearthorigin ), and Chris Skillern (@tulseytype ), they explore the vital role of typography in Indigenous language and visual sovereignty. Through individual talks, they examine typography from technical, cultural, and creative lenses. 🕒 3–4:45pm EST | 2–3:45pm CST | 12–1:45pm PST

We're thrilled to announce that Chris Skillern (@tulseytype ), Kevin King (@calligraphio ), and Leo Vicenti (@lowerearthorigin ) are joining the (re)Creating Turtle Island lecture series for a powerful session on Native Typography! Live Class: August 5th from 3–4:45pm EST | 2–3:45pm CST | 12–1:45pm PST Meet the artists redefining visual language through Indigenous perspectives: Chris Skillern is a type designer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, specializing in Latin and Cherokee scripts. He founded Tulsey Type, an independent foundry focused on multiscript type design. A Type West graduate, he created Chokecherry and has collaborated with XYZ Type and Cherokee Film on several projects. He designed a custom typeface for the Cherokee-language dub of The Rings of Power and is currently developing new syllabary fonts in partnership with Typotheque. Kevin King is a Canadian typeface designer, typographer, calligrapher, and researcher. He earned his Master’s in Typeface Design with distinction from the University of Reading in 2018. Kevin’s work focuses on supporting minority languages, collaborating directly with Indigenous communities in North America to aid language revitalization. He has contributed to updating the Unified Canadian Syllabics in the Unicode Standard. He also teaches workshops and lectures on type design and calligraphy across Canada and Europe. Leo Vicenti is a designer and educator focused on Indigenous language revitalization through design. He teaches Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, where his work explores the intersection of typography, culture, and community. Vicenti developed the “daanazaa” typeface to support the Jicarilla Apache language and co-leads the Ezhishin Scholarship, supporting Native and First Nation type designers. His practice advocates for decolonizing design education and centering Indigenous perspectives. Discover more and enroll today using the link in bio. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from these incredible voices!

Nuestro siguiente invitado es Leo Vicenti / Our next guest is Leo Vicenti Diseñador tipográfico Jicarilla Apache y profesor en Emily Carr University / Jicarilla Apache type designer & professor at Emily Carr University 🌍 Let’s Decolonize Digital Spaces! / ¡Descolonizemos los espacios digitales! 🌍 Problem / Problema 84 Indigenous languages in Canada face digital barriers: outdated keyboards, faulty fonts, and incomplete encoding. 84 lenguas indígenas en Canadá enfrentan barreras digitales: teclados obsoletos, fuentes defectuosas y codificación incompleta. Challenge / Desafío These gaps limit self-determination and language revitalization. Estas brechas limitan la autodeterminación y la revitalización lingüística. Solution / Solución Collaborative design with Indigenous communities. Diseño colaborativo con comunidades indígenas. ➔ Typotheque Indigenous North American Type: Partnering with Heiltsuk Nation (Bella Bella, BC). Proyecto de tipografía en alianza con la Nación Heiltsuk (Canadá). Join Multilingüe 2025! / ¡Únete a Multilingüe 2025! Share strategies for inclusive digital futures. Comparte estrategias para un futuro digital inclusivo. 🔗 Register / Regístrate: Link en bio #IndigenousLanguages #DecolonizeTech / #LenguasOriginarias #TecnologíaInclusiva "Every letter heals. Every word empowers." / "Cada letra sana. Cada palabra empodera." ✊🌐

Maashiłgó̲zhó̲! (I am happy about it)

@posterhousenyc In our upcoming virtual program, explore the visual narrative of the Apache people through a map of memories and recollections! On November 6, join assistant professor and educator Leo Vicenti (Jicarilla Apache) as he moves between posters and printed ephemera to lay out the resilience of the Apache in the fierce conditions they faced and encountered. Along the way, discover a new, more truthful understanding of a community continuously mischaracterized by historical violence and colonialism. Click the link in our bio to RSVP for this free event!

Leo Vicenti @lowerearthorigin #typecon2024 #typecon 📷 @tipocracia_

@typotheque We’re launching Typotheque Indigenous North American Type — a new collaborative project to remove barriers and support innovation through community-partnered solutions.Our goal is to provide digital language tools and offer technical solutions without charge to communities so that they can access, write and view their languages correctly on all of their digital devices with reduced barriers, strengthening the overall vitality of these languages both today and into the future. Through this work, we also hope to generate deeper understanding about the unique typographical needs of Indigenous languages in North America to improve typeface support, thus strengthening standards in digital language mobilization. Our project begins with an exciting partnership with Heiltsuk Revitalization and the Heiltsuk Nation under a Memorandum of Understanding. We’ve assembled a research team working in Indigenous language revitalization, type design and digital language support, including Mark Turin, Leo Vicenti @lowerearthorigin , Cris Hernández @crisrhernandez , Bridget Chase, and Julia Schillo. To learn more about this project, please visit: /research/north-american-research or email kevin@typotheque with inquiries.