Better late than never, I’m hoping. The webmaster humbly apologizes for this review being posted so late! But maybe since so much time has passed we can all once again relish the wonderful presentation by Patricia Paolella about her experience creating her very first digital font!

Here is a note sent to Patricia from member Jean Formo who attended the talk (printed with permission).

It says it all!

Remember - you can comment and join in the reminiscing !

Hi Patricia,

I am sitting here relishing the quiet time in Oceanside the day after our daughter and her family departed for their home in Spicer, MN. This morning I decided to try the Colleagues program link you sent me, but was not very hopeful that it would still be available. I was glad to see that it was, and I watched it. I have always thought (through the whole program history of Colleagues) that periodically (every few years at the least) there is a need to revisit type design. Some years ago we went through a long dry period of neglect of that subject. Although I have never designed a font (except as an assignment in Reggie Ezell's year long class in 1991), I have always recognized the necessity for calligraphy guilds to educate members about type design - its history and current design trends. Some calligraphers are completely ignorant of the relationship between calligraphy and type design. A well-informed guild member knows about the relationship. Others like you, have actually tackled type design by learning the latest technology applications. In recent years we have thankfully had related programing like what Carl Rohrs offered in the way of the history of type design which sprung from the pens of German calligraphers and others.

What you offered in March was a great show and tell about the digital technology used today. You did a good job of showing your process and the result. It was a special treat to hear from Rob Lueschke as well. I remember seeing and admiring his hand lettering years ago. Most conference faculty members then (including me) were quite familiar with his work, even during the pre-digital years when type designers worked mostly by hand. I still have some pages of commercial hand lettering samples of Rob's work in my hard copy study files.

So, thanks for an interesting program, along with the useful vocabulary list. Your font is everything you hoped it to be in the words you used to describe your intentions for it. It will be fun to see more of your work in the future. I am so glad that Janey had an opportunity to speak about Charlie Hughes. Charlie was a fabulous lettering artist/type designer, and a great teacher. Several years ago when he was still with us, he and Janey gave a blockbuster presentation of his life's work. Everyone was astonished at just how much he had produced through the years and its stellar quality.

Thanks for your excitement! Jean Formo