Interview with Jean Francois Porchez [2014-04-09]

I design typefaces since 1988, and I don’t think I will ever stop. Typefaces and design are in the center of my life, but the things around nourish the creativity. I teach since the early days of my professional life, currently director of typographic design master of Ecole de communication visuelle, Paris. I’m also involved to many non-profit activities, as various design and typography related organisations.

Software

Typography start when you wrote any text. Because typography help to organizing your thinking and mind. To reply to your questions I simply opened TextEdit, but if it was yesterday it can be Textmate. Who knows? When I wrote, I generally like a lot to use Textile language, because you can separate clearly the content from the structuration without to be annoyed by the style, effect and design step. Its always a problem for a designer to separate the two activities. To set texts, it can be any tools; from pens, brushes, to metal and wood type. On the computer, TextEdit, Textmate, Pages, Keynote, Indesign, Illustrator. To design letterforms and typefaces, again, any tools; from the first pen I can find on a table, to the similar tools that my colleagues use everyday in different order. Fontlab, Robofont, Superpolator, Bitfonter and few others depending the needs.

Ideal work environment

A quite place, never far away from my books, electricity and internet. I work faster on a bigger screen.

Work inspiration

Dreams. Type designers like to build stories around the typefaces they design because it helps them to create a world which reflects their own dreams.