Welcome back!
This episode was recorded a couple of weeks ago while at DesignThinkers Toronto 2024, Canada’s largest graphic design conference. I had the great pleasure of having this conversation shared in real time with a group of typography students, speaking with Toronto-based designer, developer and accessibility specialist, Michael Young. He’s currently pursing his Master of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University and his research involves making technology more accessible, specifically through the expansion of Raleway; an open source Google font used in communications by the Ontario Government.
Since 2010, Michael’s been with the Ontario Public Service, developing and overseeing branding and marketing campaigns for the province of Ontario in a small but mighty team of creatives.
In this episode you’ll hear more about Michael’s gateway into this work, hear about the Syllabic writing system, and what Unicode is in plain language. You’ll hear what it was like for Michael to embark on a journey of font creation for the first time, including what surprised him the most and what challenged him most in the process. You’ll learn about typographic tofu and hear helpful resources related to typography for Indigenous language support.
Two parallel episodes to accompany this one include Episode 115: Font Futures, Indigenous Syllabic Type Revitalization with Kevin King and Episode 169: Fonts for a Connected World with Typotheque’s Peter Bil’ak and Kevin King.
This conversation is part of a guest lecture series in GCM 230 - Typography at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Let’s do this! Please tell us a bit about yourself, Michael…
About Our Guest:
Michael Young (https://youngcreative.ca) is a Toronto-based designer, developer, and accessibility specialist. Since 2010, he's been with the Ontario Public Service, developing and overseeing branding and marketing campaigns for the province of Ontario in a small but mighty team of creatives. He's currently pursuing his Masters of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. Beyond his professional pursuits, Michael enjoys repairing old Macs, honing his culinary skills, and urban exploration via public transit.
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Music:
Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License
Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle