MANILA, Philippines—There’s a large community of designers in the Philippines who specifically design type fonts to be used for posters, signages, or any other creative need. As big as it is, there was never one place to document, promote, or even just showcase all the different typefaces available to the public by Filipino creatives.
On top of that, there was an even greater lacking in resources for anyone who wants to learn more or start in this specific creative path. This is why when Type63 was launched to the public in 2020 as an Instagram page, it immediately received an outpour of support from local and even international creatives looking for new types to design with.
Initially, it only showcased Philippine-creative type fonts on Instagram by posting design works created with it (with credit of course), plus the weekly Type Talks Tuesdays dialogues on their YouTube page where several type designers discuss various type-related topics. But a year later, and Type63 stirs up excitement within the community once again with the launch of their official website: https://type63.carrd.co/
Screen grab of type63.carrd.co/ homepage
The most exciting part about the new site is the Type Directory, where Type63’s featured fonts are catalogued with the link for download, price, and the designer’s name. Already, there are 75 typefaces on the directory, with plenty of space to grow.
Designers can also reach out and submit their work to be featured, whether it’s a fully realized font release, personal experiments with letters, or custom typefaces used for client work. The only requirement? It has to be created by Filipinos, one with its main goal of showcasing Filipino work.
With so many submissions to Type63’s very lean team, there’s no guarantee that every submitted work will be cleared for posting. This is also why the Type63 team—currently run by only one person at the time this story is being written—has posted a call for volunteers and donations to the community to help sustain the initiative.
“After a year, it has become more than just an online catalogue—it has evolved into a public and connected space where we can ask the whos, whats, whys and hows of Filipino type and its community—and one voice is not enough to sustain it,” the announcement post read.
Type63 is currently looking for contributors who want to share their ideas, posts, articles, knowledge, and time to the cause. Even anyone who wishes to join the core team.
Just one year into its launch, and Type63 has already grown tremendously in influence and platform following, and it’s amazing to see the Filipino type community thrive in such a way. The Instagram page, its main hub, already has hundreds of featured fonts, and that’s just with one active team member. The initiative has still so much potential for growth and expansion.
Nonetheless, Type63 has found triumph in gathering, celebrating, and promoting Filipino artistry through typefaces, especially in getting type artists the reach they deserve for their craft. The platform continues to be a space online for graphic designers looking for new type fonts to use, type artists seeking avenues to promote their work, and interested creatives who want to venture into creating their own designs, but have no idea how to start. We’re excited to see how much more the initiative and community will grow in the months and years to come.
For more information, head on over to https://type63.carrd.co/#
This article first appeared on www.rankthemag.ph on July 9, 2021 and updated by the editor on January 14, 2022.