Peter Biľak is a multidisciplinary designer based in the Netherlands. He is the founder of Typotheque, which specializes in type design, typography and branding. Whether as small as postage stamps or as large as major exhibitions or branding projects, his work is characterised by deep engagement with the content and audience. He prefers to get involved in projects in their early conceptual phases, and many of his endeavours have challenged the status quo: he co-founded Dot Dot Dot, a seminal art and culture magazine, and also Works That Work, a magazine of unexpected creativity that not only broadened the definition of design but also introduced new models of operations for independent periodicals. He co-founded Fontstand, a new way of discovering and licensing fonts, as well as TPTQ Arabic, a company focused on the development of modern and authentic Arabic typefaces. His longstanding collaboration with the choreographer Lukáš Timulak led to the start of Make Move Think, a foundation for interdisciplinary artistic collaboration. Peter writes and lectures worldwide about the possibilities of design.

Since Peter is also a member of this edition’s jury, we conducted this interview on the occasion of the Exhibition of Croatian Design 23/24. The following interview will also be available in Croatian.

 

OM: You already have an enviable career behind you, filled with numerous impressive and successful works, and your curiosity is still very much felt in your latest achievements. How did you get into typeface design in the first place? To what extent did the love of the written word play a role in defining your career path?

PB: As with many things in life, I got into type design by necessity. Back in the 1990s, I wasn’t able to find fonts that supported Slovak well, so I ended up fixing other fonts. I also realised that I could make my own fonts for new projects. I was always interested in text, publishing and books, and the typefaces supporting various languages were missing for me to do the work. Who could have known it would later become my primary focus on work?

 

 

“Translation is a human interchange, and we focus on transmitting ideas and purpose. It is the same with fonts; understanding the readers is crucial.”

 

OM: Typeface design in Croatia is receiving more and more attention, primarily thanks to the systematic education of the young generation of designers led by your colleague Nikola Đurek. What will you focus on as a jury member of the Exhibition of Croatian Design 23/24? How would you rate the quality of typography used in the submitted works?

PB: I don’t have an answer right now on how we will approach the judging of the work that I haven’t seen yet. This still remains to be seen. But I can tell you that I am looking forward to this review, for the reasons you described. We have had regular students from Croatia at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, where I teach, and I’ve been impressed with their skills and attitude. I think they inspire each other, and their work is becoming more visible. Nikola Đurek played a critical part in recognising the possibilities of typography.

 

OM: Creating a unique typeface for nations rich in culture and multilingualism is complex but instructive and challenging at the same time. November South Asia is an award-winning typeface designed for 14 fonts used in India today. How do you unify so many different scripts into a single whole? To what extent can the peculiarities and characteristics of each script be preserved at the same time?

PB: I always compare creating different language versions of fonts to the work of literary translations. You need to understand the readers — to understand their shared experiences, what they are accustomed to seeing and reading and find a way to connect with them. Translation is a human interchange, and we focus on transmitting ideas and purpose. The same is true with fonts; understanding the readers is crucial. There are 14 different fonts created for 14 different groups of readers while still trying to preserve the unique voice of the original typeface. The typeface does not translate or interpret particular details across cultures.
Since then, our work has continued, and November now supports 36 different writing scripts, which cover 99% of readers worldwide.

 

 

OM: On the other hand, Typotheque also designs typefaces for fewer users. Such an example is a script designed for the Georgian language, spoken by a population almost equal to Croatia. While in Croatia, Latin prevailed over the traditional Glagolitic script, in Georgia, the traditional, historical scripts are not only heritage but also scripts in constant use. In what way are the centuries-old characteristics of scripts translated into the modern world of digital media? What are the main rules that must be followed while adapting such scripts?

PB: We engage with marginalised scripts of the world, be it Georgian or Armenian, or even much smaller Syllabic scripts of Canada, or other indigenous groups such as Osage or Cherokee. These scripts represent the identity of people and are essential for the survival of the people who speak them. Otherwise, they would be swallowed by the dominant, ever-growing cultures and languages. In the case of Georgian, the existential threat is real, as many languages of Caucasus disappeared because of Russification efforts. As always, the main rule for approaching marginalised languages is to do so with the active involvement of the native communities. This is especially important for our work in Canada, where we make specific agreements with the community leaders.

 

 

OM: Like an umbrella institution over all these complex typographic systems, the Zed type system is adapted to numerous languages ​​and scripts but primarily to users with various visual impairments. As you say yourself, one font cannot fit everyone, so it is essential that the font is adaptable and can be used by people with different needs and limitations, on various media, and in different situations. What is new about Zed, and what makes it adaptable to many different needs?

PB: The approach for this project is novel — it involves lab-based research, communication with medics, people of various abilities, and people of different cultures. It is unprecedented to take such a wide approach and still create something very versatile and usable. What is very important is that it is still a typeface that is fun to use and will appeal to regular users, too.

 

 

OM: Sometimes, it seems that everything good has already been invented and designed, and today, it is just being recycled in different ways. Is there a difference between good and original design? How can designers use the rich treasury of typeface design history without entangling themselves in the dangers of plagiarism?

PB: I believe that when one simply pays attention to the current conditions, there are plenty of unexplored areas of designers’ work. We often create fonts for languages where no other fonts have been made before. Everyone is just paying attention to what other people are doing and not what needs to be done. This way, we have hundreds of thousands of fonts for Latin and no functional fonts for the Syllabic script. Personally, I am interested in the impact of design, and it is easier to make a positive impact when one engages with an unexplored area of the discipline rather than working in an area where thousands of other people are doing the work already. Many great designs are the result of constructive frustration with the current situation. Instead of complaining, designers assume broader responsibility and create novel work.

 

OM: I’m interested in the first steps of the design process. You wrote about the importance of play in typography and recently produced an ideal sketchbook in Typotheque. To what extent is sketching still very important today, regardless of all the available tools?

PB: With a limited amount of time and plenty of work, we focus on quick iteration, and there is no better way to explore ideas than to put ideas on paper. I use a lot of sketchbooks every year, and creating one that works for me improves my work. All projects start as simple notes and silly ideas, and some survive and mature into something tangible.

 

OM: Your attention to detail and love for typography can also be seen in your statement that the design of the famous magazine Works That Work began with designing a typeface. Does such a typeface have to appear “serious” and “strict” to emphasise the value of the text and the magazine’s content, or is this interpretation wrong and old-fashioned?

PB: Lava, the typeface created for the magazine, set the tone and direction of the project. Once there was some basis, designing various editions (printed, digital, and hybrid) was easier. We wanted to appeal to non-designers, so we avoided making it overly fashionable and trendy and instead made it confident and pragmatic.

 

“The ever-changing nature of the profession is the most exciting part of the work. To be relevant, we must pay attention to what is happening around us.”

 

OM: Unifying designers and artists who exchange their knowledge, experiences, and talents leads to unique creations. From today’s perspective, this method of creating artistic work is obvious and logical. On the other hand, you succeeded in combining two disciplines that, at first glance, do not seem connectable. What unites dance and typography, and how does one build on another?

PB: Dance is my other passion but it is rather separate from other work. If I wanted to, I could find similarities between design and performance art — they both need an audience to exist and use rhythm to organise separate elements. Still, I prefer to see them independently, unburned by other disciplines and expectations. For the past twenty years, I’ve been working with the choreographer Lukáš Timulak on the concepts of modern dance performances for various theatres, thinking about how to connect with audiences worldwide.

OM: The Fontstand platform perfectly reflects the age of ubiquitous streaming and subscriptions to various digital services. It meets the needs of modern designers who value the availability of a large number of quality fonts at all times. How does the platform work, and what can it be used for?

PB: Fontstand was trying to address the questions I was getting from friends and strangers. Some complained about the prices of the fonts. Others complained that they needed to buy fonts to try them. So, we created a system where one can try the full fonts immediately for a few hours. Instead of discounting fonts, we conceived a way to stream them to a computer to reduce the duration of the use. So when someone uses the fonts just for a month, they pay a fraction of the regular price. Since then, we have brought the same fonts on iPads, started an editorial platform and organised an annual design conference. The next one will be in our hometown in The Hague. Fontstand continues evolving. Ten years after its original launch, we will introduce some major changes next year. Stay tuned.

 

OM: Typotheque recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a retrospective exhibition. What has changed since the company’s beginning, and what do you see in its future?

PB: Everything changed. We started at the time of CD-ROMs, excited about the possibilities of the web; no social media, no smartphones. Today, we discuss the role of AI in the creative industry. The ever-changing nature of the profession is the most exciting part of the work. To be relevant, we must pay attention to what is happening around us. I am grateful that we’ve been able to do it for so long, and I feel that our best work is still ahead of us.