Tourists are good for business. And some tourists take home valuable cultural lessons. But tourists are customers, not contributors, because they know they’re leaving. Natives are there to stay, even if some would rather leave. Their contribution to culture is often taken for granted, and sometimes even resented by the new generation. Immigrants can be willing or unwilling, but they’re the best contributors to world culture, especially if they balance love for their homeland with love for their adopted nation.
We are of course talking about Non-Latin Type! Fonts that just want to have fun are tourists. Fonts that simply repeat what their parents did are natives. And just like with people, for a font it’s difficult being an immigrant. An immigrant must adapt, but without losing his background, his soul. This balancing, this ambassadorship is what makes him so culturally valuable.

In the field of Non-Latin Type we have plenty of tourists: interesting to look at, but you can’t live with them. We also have plenty of natives: comfortable to live with, but not culturally challenging. However we don’t have nearly enough immigrants, because immigrants – being difficult to understand– get less respect. This talk will expose one person’s journey as a maker of immigrant fonts, hopefully revealing the great cultural contribution they must make.