Letters are at the same time artifacts and symbols, representational and allusive, expressed in the stylized forms we know as type. The conventions of type in any language or script may seem arbitrary, but they arise from both social agreements and primal artistic impulses. The dialectic between shared understanding based on social conventions and the subterranean impulses of creativity means that in the hands of a master, type’s ability to support human communication is virtually unlimited.

Each year we focus an issue of STEP on the subject of type. While it’s easy to get caught up in the latest fonts or the tools we use to access and manipulate them, that’s not all this issue is about. As Allan Haley, who guest-edited this issue’s special type section, points out in his introduction on page 71, type’s diversity is among its enduring attractions. So it’s only fitting that in the articles about type that follow, the full range of human cultures, moods and technologies is explored with all the scrutiny and joy the subject deserves.

Our coverage begins with a trip to Type Camp, the innovative and immersive sessions for type-crazed design professionals conceived by Dr. Shelley Gruendler. Read her tale of how Type Camp came about and what the future holds for it on page 72. On page 78, Jane Jolkovski portrays the special relationship between letterpress and type in the context of three artists’ careers. Next we turn to a global view of type in two articles: Rathna Ramanathan explores the typography of Indian wedding invitations on page 84, and Tamye Riggs reveals the ebullient state of type design in Latin America on page 90.

Software and fonts are important, and two articles in our type coverage delve into them. On page 96, Ilene Strizver shares seven underutilized typographic capabilities of InDesign CS3. And Dr. Hermann Püterschein, the Sweeney Todd of typography, wields his bloody Bézier in his annual foray into font reviews on page 100.

Gail Anderson has made her mark in design more than once—first at Rolling Stone and now with SpotCo, the New York firm responsible for the graphics of so many Broadway shows. Allan Haley’s profile of her on page 106 shows how an abiding love of type has animated her career and continues to enliven her work.

Above all, type is for telling stories, and in this issue we are thrilled to present articles by two of the finest writers working in the field of design journalism. Matt Porter’s profile of Jacki McCarthy and Mark Kaufman, “Wish You Were Here” on page 52, portrays this Seattle design duo with wit, eloquence and uncommon sensitivity. And on page 60, we feature for the first time Natalia Ilyin, author of Chasing the Perfect, a remarkable book about her life with and without Modernism. In “Man in the Irony Mask” she muses on a subject of great importance: whether the ironic stance of designers and others in the creative arts is contributing to the violence and dehumanization so prevalent in contemporary culture.

For whatever virtues this issue may possess, we are indebted to its writers and especially to Allan Haley—esteemed ally, valued contributor and our guiding light to the sometimes-obscure world of type—and Gail Anderson and SpotCo, who designed this issue’s exquisitely lettered cover.