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Ellen Lupton

@ellenlupton

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I’m a designer & educator. I teach @mica_gdmfa. Check out my books & my courses on @domestika_en and @skillshare. In-person workshops via @coopertype.

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Tips: Breaking for sense
—Poets break their lines for sense. Line breaks help people see and hear rhymes, patterns, and units of meaning.
—Think like a poet when you typeset headlines.
—Listen for natural breaks and pauses.
—Commas, periods, and dashes come at the end of a phrase—that’s a good place for a break.
—Avoid breaking hyphenated words or phrases.
—Avoid breaking proper names.
—When possible, bring down the first word in a sentence (especially “The” or “A”) to a new line.
—Pay attention to the overall shape of the text. Sometimes, you have to override the unity of a phrase to make an attractive shape or rag.

Music by @michellequreshimusic
Rabbit egg painting by Jennifer Tobias @ideasintopictures
No Kings poster concept by Julia Lupton @jrlupton81 by @ellenlupton

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a year ago

Tips: Noodles vs. Nuggets
—Type set in very long lines is hard to read. I call these excessively long lines “noodles.”
—Generally avoid using more than 75 characters in a line.
—Columns with very wide lines lack structure. They appear to fill up space (like water in a glass) rather than define or divide space.
—Use narrower columns to create solid chunks of type.
—A list of items set in very long lines often looks uneven. It will have many short lines, many long lines, and some stray words left over at the end of a line. All those noodles look choppy and sloppy.
—In contrast to a noodle, a “nugget” is a neat, compact chunk of content. It stands out visually as a unit of meaning.
—Noodles are loosey goosey; nuggets are chunky dory.
—So: more nuggets, fewer noodles.

Thanks to Abbott Miller for nugget theory.

Music by @michellequreshimusic by @ellenlupton

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a year ago

Nugget tips

—A nugget is a lump of gold or other precious metal buried in the dirt.

—Verbal nuggets are little kernels of wisdom, and food nuggets are bite-sized clumps of processed soy or pulverized chicken.

—In typography, every word is a nugget. Good spacing holds the nugget together, so it reads as a whole thing, not just a string of letters.

—Paragraphs and headlines are nuggets, too.

—Make your headlines more nuggetty by tightening the spacing between words, letters, and lines.

—Auto line spacing is too loose for headlines. Tighten it up!

—Auto line spacing creates big problems when you are combining different sizes of type. Use custom line spacing to group units of information together, such as headings and subheadings.

—Love your nuggets! And next time your layout is looking baggy and loose, follow the nuggets!

Special thanks to Abbott Miller for the kernel of nugget theory.

Music by @michellequreshimusic by @ellenlupton

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2 years ago

Three days of creativity, learning and inspiration. Thank you to all participants and @erichbrechbuhl, @ellenlupton and @anthonyburrill for bringing your ideas and energy to our Summer School. Until next year! 💟

📸 @ruben.vdh
Supported by @keepaneyefoundation and @gemeente_breda taken in Breda by @ellenlupton

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21 days ago

Back to School Replay: Serifs
I’m replaying some of my favorite videos this month to get back into the design school spirit.
—Serifs appeared during the Roman Empire
—Some scholars, such as Father Edward Catich, say that serifs were created when brushing letters onto stone before carving them.
—Others, such as Nicolete Gray, argue that serifs were created during the carving process itself.
—Are serif fonts more legible than sans serif? You will surely meet a client at some point who believes this with all their heart.
—One theory is that serifs improve legibility because they guide the horizontal movement of the eye.
—Research studies have failed to prove, however, that serifs enhance reading speed or comprehension.
—At very small sizes, sans-serif fonts can be more legible because they have less detail.
—Nonetheless, many individuals prefer serif fonts for reading long texts. Bias favors familiarity; people may prefer what they see most.

Sources
—Nicolete Gray, A History of Lettering: Creative Experiment and Letter Identity (David R. Godine, 1986).
—Rob Roy Kelly, American Wood Type: 1828–1900, Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Letters (New York: Da Capo Press, 1969).
—Sophie Beier, Reading Letters: Designing for Legibility (Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2012).
—Charles Bigelow, “Typeface Features and Legibility Research,” Vision Research 165 (2019): 162–72.
—Ole Lund. “Why Serifs Are (Still) Important.” Typography Papers 2 (1997). 91–101.

Music by @michellequreshimusic by @ellenlupton

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a month ago

A Ellen Lupton mandou um recado pra vocês 🥰

Além de incrível, inteligente e inspiradora, ela ainda faz vídeos fofinhos com comida. Ganhou o coração de todo mundo aqui do Leiautar e vai ganhar o seu também.

A Ellen vai palestrar no Festival Leiautar no dia 20/09 com tradução simultânea em português.

Já garantiu seu ingresso?
Nos vemos lá! by @ellenlupton

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a month ago

É OFICIAL!!!
A @ellenlupton vai palestrar no Festival Leiautar.

Vocês não sabem a emoção que é trazer essa notícia ❤️

A Ellen é uma super referência pra gente aqui do Leiautar e pra todo designer que se preze. Ela é autora de clássicos como Pensar com Tipos, O Design como Storytelling, Extra Bold e Os Novos Fundamentos do Design, referências bibliográficas sempre presentes nos nossos cursos e aulas.

No Festival, a Ellen vai trazer a palestra "Sundae School: Lições de Design para Mentes Sensoriais" e compartilhar suas metáforas tipográficas favoritas.

Se você já queria participar, agora só resta a certeza, né? Até porque não é toda hora que a gente vive um momento como esse.

Bora que estamos na reta final!
Adquira seu ingresso (link na bio).

#FestivalLeiautar #Leiautar #EllenLupton #design #tipografia by @ellenlupton

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a month ago

3 days.
3 Masterclasses.
@anthonyburrill
@erichbrechbuhl
@ellenlupton
Breda, The Netherlands.

Such a blast at this year’s @graphicmatters Summer School: Does it Stick?

#PAVnetherlands #graphicmatters taken in Breda, The Netherlands by @ellenlupton

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a month ago

We're excited to announce our emcee for the evening, the esteemed @ellenlupton.

Baltimore's own legendary designer, author, and educator will be our guide for the night as we celebrate the best and brightest.

Tickets are selling fast! Reserve your seat at the link in our bio ⤴ by @ellenlupton

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2 months ago

As always, we’re kicking off Summer School with our Morning Talks! Join our three masters and special guest @studiospass as they offer a glimpse into their practice and tell stories behind their work.

With @anthonyburrill, @ellenlupton, @erichbrechbuhl and @studiospass
📍 5TRACKS Platform C
🎟 €10, including coffee, tea & croissant (free for Summer School participants) taken in Breda by @ellenlupton

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3 months ago

Every year I buy something wonderful from the Typographics Book Fair. Yep, still open Sunday, 10-5, 3rd Ave and 6th Street, NYC. @weinbergmodernbooks @typographicsnyc by @ellenlupton

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3 months ago

Graphic Matters Summer School
Breda, Netherlands
August 19–21, 2026

Break out of your computer screen and play with materials! Use basic sugar icing to create letterforms, icons, design elements, and unexpected textures. Embrace the glitzy, glitchy imperfections and sensory appeal of sugar. Next, we will photograph these visual assets and create a poster (or series of posters) featuring a short phrase. Create graphic elements that are unique to you. Play with color, form, and texture. Relax, explore, and revive your creative energy. No kitchen skills needed!

Link in bio @graphicmatters

https://graphicmatters.nl/en/ by @ellenlupton

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4 months ago