Picks of the month: the best design events to catch in June

Workshop: Hidden messages in London’s typography

What: Graphic designer, author and typography extraordinaire Sarah Hyndman is back with another series of her “type tasting” workshops, where visitors come to pick apart the personalities, quirks and meanings behind different typefaces. This time, she will be analysing the letterforms distinctive to London, such as those featuring on street, shop and transport signs, looking at the history behind them and discovering their “hidden messages” and meanings. The sessions are two-and-a-half hours long and take place at Hyndman’s studio in an old Victorian chocolate factory, near Dalston, East London. You don’t need to be a typographic aficionado, either – the sessions are open to anyone from beginner to professional level.

When: 23 June 2019, 10.30am-1pm, and 3pm-5.30pm.

Where: Type Tasting, first floor, The Chocolate Factory, Farleigh Place, Hackney Downs, London N16 7SX.

Info: Tickets cost £65. Drawing materials will be provided, as will tea, coffee and snacks. Head to Type Tasting.

Book: The Graphic Design Play Book

What: What better way to engage people in graphics than through games? This fun activity book, compiled by Paris-based graphic designers Sophie Cure and Aurélien Farina, looks to “explore visual thinking” through a range of pen-to-paper tasks, such as puzzles, spot the difference, drawing and dot-to-dot. The various activities look to demonstrate to design novices how great typography, signage, poster design and branding is made – and for experts, aims to be a bit of joyous, light relief from their real-life briefs. The book comes complete with a pull-out section of stickers, die-cut templates and coloured paper, and is filled with examples of work by the likes of Otl Aicher and Gerd Arntz. Who says activity books are just for kids?

When: Released 24 June 2019.

Where: Available UK-wide.

Info: The book costs £14.99 and is available via Laurence King’s website.

Awards: Design Week Awards 2019

What: We’ve shaken up the format of our prestigious design awards this year, doing away with the seated dinner, and taking on a different venue at the Science Museum’s spectacular new space, Illuminate. In 2019, we’re awarding designers across fields as broad as branding, copywriting, strategy, retail interiors, apps and social projects. There are also new categories, such as best in-house team, and the winners have been chosen by a sterling, independent judging panel including 4Creative’s Alice Tonge, Made design director Ruth Wassermann and Gal-dem designer Chani Wisdom. Tickets to the evening event are now sold out, but if you don’t have one, we’ll be revealing winners online the next day.

When: 20 June 2019, 6pm-11pm.

Where: Illuminate at the Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD.

Info: Look at this year’s shortlist here, and find out more about the Design Week Awards here.

Exhibition: Women’s Work

What: 20th century, female designers have long been overlooked for their male counterparts – this new show at Sussex’s Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft shines a light on the work of craftswomen who ran successful businesses in the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibition showcases more than 100 pieces, looking at a broad group of makers, including textile designer Enid Marx, weaver Elizabeth Peacock and potter Denise Wren. The show will look at their work in context of the two World Wars, examining how the likes of silversmith Catherine Cobb monopolised on the demand for stainless steel cutlery after the war years. The craft show is accompanied by a series of hands-on workshops and events, including ceramics moulding, block printing, clay jewellery making, hand stitching and material dyeing sessions.

When: Until 13 October 2019.

Where: Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Lodge Hill Lane, Ditchling, Hassocks BN6 8SP.

Info: Entry to the exhibition is included in museum admission, which costs £6.50. Head to the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft.

Festival: London Festival of Architecture

What: Back for another year, the month-long festival sees 400 events taking place across the capital, including architectural tours, exhibitions, talks, workshops and more. Why not embark on a walk of East London following the River Thames, perusing the past and future developments of the riverfront on an illustrated guide, or visit an exhibition showcasing hypothetical buildings constructed out of paper by practices including Zaha Hadid Architects and Sarah Wigglesworth? Alternatively, you can check out Musicity’s audio art installation, which has worked with musicians and recording artists to create mini soundtracks to suit 15 locations across London, which can be accessed via Musicity’s smartphone app.

When: Until 30 June 2019.

Where: All across London.

Info: Some events are free and some are ticketed. Head to the London Festival of Architecture.

Other things to catch:

Typo Talk with Dave Buonaguidi: Design collective and talks’ organiser TypoCircle is back with the cricket player-turned-advertising guru, who founded creative studios including 4Creative and Karmarama. 27 June 2019, 7pm, at St Brides Library, 14 Bride Lane, London EC4Y 8EQ. Tickets cost £19, and £12 for TypoCircle members. More info here.

Serpentine Pavilion 2019: Japanese architect Junya Ishigami has designed this year’s installation, creating an experimental structure in keeping with his eclectic style, which has been inspired by roof panelling. Open until 6 October 2019, at Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA. Admission is free. More info here.

Manga: The British Museum’s latest blockbuster exhibition looks at the Japanese illustrative art of manga comics, cartoons and anime. Running until 26 August 2019, at The British Museum, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG. More info here.