Type Electives Lecture Series:

Join us for a series of insightful conversations exploring the challenges of language support, diacritic design, and the role of type design in language revitalization. Our guests will share their experiences designing for diverse languages and scripts, offering both practical insights and critical perspectives.

In this session, we’ll speak with Chris Skillern about The Cherokee Syllabary and his work in Indigenous language revitalization. We’ll explore the cultural, historical, and design considerations involved in creating type for the Cherokee Nation, including how type design can support language preservation and community identity. Chris will share his journey in type design, what working with the Cherokee syllabary has taught him, and how engaging with language as both a designer and community member shapes his practice. We’ll also discuss questions such as: What does it mean to design type for Indigenous languages? What is still missing? How can designers support language revitalization projects with cultural respect and sensitivity?

This session will feature a short presentation, followed by a conversation moderated by Juan and Lynne, and an open Q&A for the attendees.

Send us your questions through our Instagram @typeelectives

The event will be hosted online via Zoom.

We look forward to having you with us!

Chris Skillern

Chris Skillern (he/him) is a type designer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He specializes in Latin and Cherokee type design. A graduate of the Type West program at the Letterform Archive, Skillern is the founder of Tulsey Type, an independent foundry focused on warm, expressive multiscript design. He has released Latin/Cherokee typefaces under the Tulsey Type banner, and he has also collaborated with XYZ Type on custom projects for the London Stock Exchange Group and Brand New Conference. Skillern also designed a custom typeface for Cherokee Film, which was used in the Cherokee-language dub of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Chris led the Typotheque Cherokee Project, an initiative to design an ambitious new suite of syllabary fonts. He has shared his work and perspective at TypeCon, Cherokee National Holiday, and at conferences and universities across the US.

Personal: @tulseytype