June 1, 2025

Author

Robert Tickner

This email newsletter comes with two shit-hot announcements, let's go!


Black stylized word “Australia” on a white background

1 July – 30 October 2025


I’m currently in NSW for the first time in 3 years. We landed one week ago and have just celebrated Margaret’s 80th birthday, so I’m getting a taste of what home feels like again!

I’m also super excited to share with you my 2025 in-person calligraphy courses in Australia. Come and join me!


August 15th | Griffith University Brisbane South Bank Campus via Typism
August 18th
 | Griffith University Gold Coast Campus via Typism
September 6th | Work-Shop Melbourne
September 27th | Friends of the Botanical Garden Melbourne

KANATA LATIN in bold white text over a pink background with a yellow flower

Kanat Latin: New Font Release!


I’m really excited to share with you my second large project of 2025 called Kanat Latin!

I’ve been developing this font for several months, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the trust and support of Lara Captan from Ama Foundry and my type mentor Jose Manuel Urós from Type-O-Tones, so huge thanks to both of them!



Kanat Latin is a contemporary, bold, and playful display font—and I’m super proud of it! Read more below.


Pink cover with a large white K logo over a banana and the text “PART I” and “KANAT LATIN”
Hands sprinkling flour over a cheeseburger with the words “100% VEGAN” on a black background
Bananas close-up with bold white text: “The future is BANANAS!” and “Canary Islands”
Black text reading “You are driving me completely nuts!” on a yellow-orange background
Orange poster with a white abstract lowercase h and small text reading “Karat Latin Ultra” and “designed by Mario Martinez”

Kanat Latin: graphic Expressionism


In 2024, the Arabic type designer Lara Captan challenged me to create a Latin companion for her existing Arabic display font called Kanat — the Turkish word for “wing.” Captan’s beautiful typeface is a detached stencil design, originally created for letterpress, which carries architectural playfulness and delivers a warm kind of boldness to the reader.


Based on the description above— and challenged by the question: How can I create a Latin companion for an Arabic font I cannot read or write? — I spent many hours observing and analysing Kanat Arabic, its personality and DNA, followed by many more hours of consulting with Lara Captan. The result is a Latin interpretation that carries a bold attitude and playful spirit.

Red tomato with white
Vegan goodness text over two red tomatoes on a teal background
Stylized white text on a dark green background promoting handmade, nature-inspired treats.
White stylized “G” logo on a teal background with small text above and below.

Kanat Latin: language support


Kanat Latin supports 269 languages and covers Basic Latin, Latin-1 Supplement, Latin-2 Central European and Latin Plus. Following its Arabic companion, it contains some stencil characters including: g, j, &, $, €, £, ¥, ¢, ƒ, amongst others.


Bold black quote on a teal background with a red border: “The genius thing that we did was, we didn’t give up...”

Kanat Latin: FONT SPECIFICATIONS


Kanat Latin is best used at 48pt and above. It’s designed to highlight words with flair, and finds its sweet spot in architectural, food, music, fashion, and packaging contexts.


  • Styles: 1
  • Glyphs set: 540


Designed by Maria Montes and distributed by Type-Ø-TonesAma Type Foundry and myself. Come and play with us!

White bowl of soup on dark background with bold text and a column of white dollar amounts on the right

Smiling Maria Montes with glasses and dark hair in a navy polka-dot top against a turquoise wall

For over ten years, I’m the author and editor of a bi-monthly email newsletter announcing calligraphy courses, community events, type related matter and other topics which often include creative mental health and fostering women in the type and industry. Subscribe here and join my journey!

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A stylized, white serif capital letter 'C' centered against a solid black background.
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A white, stylized, cursive monogram consisting of the intertwined letters
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A white, stylized gothic capital letter
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White cursive monogram “Y” on a black background
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White stylized dollar sign on a black background.
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White calligraphic letter “A” on a black background.
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TDC Australia event poster on black background: 9–11 May 2018, Brisbane Powerhouse.
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Stylized white cursive letter “T” on a black background
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Black-and-white “Type Conferences 2018 SPEAKERS” text logo on a black background
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White “Scared” script with “SHITLESS” below on a black background with white leaf-like marks
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White abstract geometric logo on a black background.
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Elegant white cursive letter B on a black background
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Text on a black background reads
By Robert Tickner April 15, 2026
In April 2026, I closed a fully remote chapter, and decided to update this visual presentation with everything that I have learned since 2022 —which is a lot!
The word
By Robert Tickner March 30, 2026
My seven-year-old grandson sleeps just down the hall from me, and he wakes up a lot of mornings and he says, “You know, this could be the best day ever.”
A stylized, white-line decorative letter
By Robert Tickner March 30, 2026
This article is an ongoing resource of fonts designed by women, as well as supporting material to learn more about female and non-binary graphic & type designers.
A stylized, white, cursive capital letter
By Robert Tickner March 29, 2026
Barcelona for graphic designers is my on-going list of resources for any creative visiting this city for the first time(s). Every recommendation is only personal, and it comes with its location and a hyperlink to their website, Google map or Instagram account.
A white, stylized logo of the word
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I’m writing to you from Vietnam today. This is my fourth time in this country, and somehow it feels like the first time I’m actually seeing it.
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Maria Montes is a Barcelona-based type designer, calligrapher, and educator known for her expressive lettering and unapologetically honest creative voice.
A white, ornate, decorative letter
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The title of this monthly newsletter comes from Charli XCX, an artist who has given me a lot of the above over the past six months.
White ornamental calligraphy of the number 10 centered on a solid black background.
By Robert Tickner November 1, 2024
It’s November 2024, and I’m writing this article to celebrate my own 10th anniversary as an independent creative business of one.
Silver gothic-style wordmark reading “Tylism” on a black background
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Recently, the Typism Community asked me a few questions about my lettering and design practice, and here are my insights.
A red circle on a black background featuring the white text
By Robert Tickner April 1, 2024
I’m really happy to share with you that the TDC 70 Type Directors Club has awarded my Calligraphic editorial for Middlebury Magazine commissioned by Pentagram.