Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography

The Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT) provides the tools for community members to celebrate and investigate the evolution of typography’s role in all forms of communication.

As the Digital Age continues to increase our interaction with screens, typography—always a core element of graphic design—has become increasingly vital to our visual culture. Consequently, ArtCenter became a central and influential force in this burgeoning field by providing a dedicated space to advance research, teaching, and understanding of letterform design and typography.

In 2015, with generous support from the Lowell Milken Family Foundation, the College founded the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT) in memory of Professor Leah Hoffmitz Milken, typographer, letterform designer, and esteemed ArtCenter faculty member. HMCT was designed as a home for the study of typography, serving as an educational forum, design laboratory, and research center. HMCT presents workshops and special classes, lectures, and residency programs dedicated to all aspects of the typographic field. The foundations of the Center lie in the Archive, Archetype Press, exhibition spaces, and publications.

HMCT Archive is a repository of original and rare materials that document the history and teaching of typography, letterform design, and graphic design. The collection focuses on materials from the 20th and 21st centuries, emphasizing designers and educators associated with Professor Leah Hoffmitz Milken, ArtCenter College of Design, or Southern California. Materials include posters, books, journals, specimen sheets, and preparatory work. The collections can be accessed digitally by visiting archive.hmctartcenter.org.

Established at ArtCenter College of Design in 1989 and now maintained by the HMCT, Archetype Press offers students, the public, and visiting artists the opportunity to practice what has become a digital age rarity: setting type and printing by hand. The Press, a “working museum” with over 2,500 cases of foundry metal and wood type, is the largest educational letterpress studio in the country. In addition, Archetype Press hosts Printer-in-Residence programs and special workshops that encourage artistic exploration within and beyond the boundaries of the medium.

Another key component of HMCT programming is a series of rotating exhibitions throughout several outlets. HMCT Gallery offers notable typographic work as well as original creative presentations exploring language, writing, and the art of visual communication. Up to three exhibitions mounted per year are supplemented by accessible educational programming, including lectures, panel discussions, publications, and tours. Other venues are the HMCT Showcases, located outside of the HMCT classroom featuring contemporary works on paper; the Storefront Gallery, presenting large-scale projected images onto the Center’s outward-facing window on Raymond Avenue; and the South Campus parking lot billboards displaying posters created by ArtCenter typography students.