Talk Paper Scissors

Send us Fan Mail The octothorpe goes by many names (such as the number sign and pound sign), but it’s resurgence in recent years is due to its new “hashtag” status. In today’s episode Diana tells the octothrope’s story from ancient Rome to modern tweets and the fact that it was only officially named “octothorpe” about 50 years ago. Who knew such a little symbol could have such a big backstory? #oc...

Send us Fan Mail We’re so dashing excited about this episode! Diana finds herself talking about one of the simplest punctuation marks  - the humble hyphen. There are no fewer than seven (seven!) different hyphen-like characters commonly used, including four different dashes, a mathematical minus sign, a catch-all stand-in called a hyphen-minus (a hyphenated hyphen!) and finally… the hyphen. Plot t...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode features the amazing Britt Rohr, owner and designer of Swell Press in Los Angeles, California. She combines old and new technologies to create stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces using letterpress technology. Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings , The Knot and Oh So Beautiful Paper . In this episode, you’ll learn how Britt uses colour and typography to...

Send us Fan Mail Young man! It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.K! Today’s episode is all about colour! While she’d love to talk for hours about this topic, Diana’s narrowed it down to 30 minutes, looking at the surprisingly flawed concept of the ROYGBIV and how a million different colour are made using paint vs using printing ink. There’s some fun and frivolity along the way, including the one (and onl...

Send us Fan Mail Go big or go home in this episode all about typographic units of measure, how to convert between them (the ‘M’ word is tossed around a little) and examples of type used in record setting books. From the largest book to the longest to the smallest, there’s no shortage of extreme type in the world.   Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram . :)

Send us Fan Mail Type, set, match!  It’s time for our first Talk Paper Quizzers episode where contestants answer trivia questions to compete for the completely fictional, completely worthless, but highly-coveted “Apostrophe” (see what I did there?!).  In this episode, Nicole and Evin face off in 3 category rounds: the history of typography, the technical aspects of font files and the anatomy of ty...

Send us Fan Mail This marks Talk Paper Scissors’ 11th episode! Enter Diana’s long-time friend, colleague and go-to hand lettering lady: Natalia Lumby.  In this interview, you’ll learn what it takes to begin hand lettering (spoiler: not much!) and why it’s such a great creative outlet. You’ll hear what makes hand lettering different from calligraphy, as well as hear how brands are using hand letter...

Send us Fan Mail An infamous logo that combines an inukshuk with the year 1989. A font making the world a better place, one letter at a time. It’s time for the legibility vs. readability smackdown!  In today’s episode, learn the difference between legibility and readability and how to use the technical aspects of typeface design and page layout to improve both. Discover why it’s not always necessa...

Send us Fan Mail Cross your t’s and tittle your i’s...  Today’s episode takes a broad spectrum approach: we examine the anatomy of type through the lens of a children’s story called Letter Parade, as well as a racy rundown of Diana’s top 3 indecent parts of a character. Ooh la la! Grab an old book, magazine or scrap of packaging to keep track of the parts of characters, providing a go-to for futur...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of Talk Paper Scissors coincides with Scholar Strike for Black Lives in Canada happening on September 9 and 10, 2020. Thousands of academics in higher education will be participating to show solidarity and protest anti-Black, racist and colonial police brutality in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere. During the Scholar Strike, we will pause our teaching and administrative...

Send us Fan Mail Rules are everywhere, even in the world of design and typography... but rules are made to be broken!  In today’s episode, Diana runs down designer Rob Carney’s 10 Commandments of Typography . While there’s no true list of to-do’s and not-to-do’s when it comes to typography (or design or art), these rules play the role of detective, helping us figure out why certain designs look pr...

Send us Fan Mail Is it ‘tomayto’ or ‘tomahto’? And while we’re at it, is it a ‘font’ or is it a ‘typeface’? And does it really matter what we call it? Yes and no. In today’s episode, you’ll learn the difference between a font and a typeface to talk the talk in the design world. You’ll also be introduced to type slang of yesteryear that’s used almost exclusively today. Closets and chests of drawers...

Send us Fan Mail Brands have come a long way since Bass & Co. Beer became the first registered trademark in the United States on January 1, 1876. From dependability to differentiation; expressive statements to experiences; iPods and influencers. Today, brands impact us in ways unique to our life on planet Earth right now, which is different from the way our parents generation, grandparents gen...

Send us Fan Mail Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Time Magazine’s Man of the Millennium and the wealthiest person in the world today both got their starts the same way: selling books.  While the story of Gutenberg’s bible isn’t as polished as Amazon’s delivery service, it’s a story worth telling.  In this episode, learn more about the man who helped propel communication technology, and therefore s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we dive into what it takes to produce a softcover book. There are three main processes to manufacturing a book: printing the text, printing the cover, and binding the two parts together. It's the classic story of text meets cover, they connect over glue, and live happily ever after. (We also talk giant rolls of toilet paper and giant glue guns.)  Let's Co...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is all about The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier. In this timeless classic about branding and design, Marty explores what it means to build a strong brand (hint: it's more than a logo) and I share my top 3 Aha! moments revealed in the book. This book and this episode are not to be missed by anyone who wants to learn about the immutable laws of branding.   Let's...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is all about Comic Sans. Comic Sans is the cilantro of typefaces: either loved or hated with a passion . Comic Sans is also like an undercover spy fronting as a children’s entertainer, getting to travel to places where he'd never normally be allowed. Learn more about a typeface that's defined a generation.  Also in this episode, learn more about the host, Di...

Send us Fan Mail Join host, Diana Varma, as she explores the wonderful world of design and printing, typography and branding, books and publishing. In each episode Diana aims to answer many age-old, deep philosophical questions such as: Where the heck did Comic Sans originate? Why do the majority of printed books have blank pages at the end? What is the world's ugliest colour? What does a sas...