Words are often used to polarise, provoke and divide. So in a world of increasing noise and disconnection, what role does language and design play in helping us reconnect with the things that matter?
Communication is under threat from fakery and empty words, and trust has never felt more fragile. As creatives, we have always used our means of expression to transcend boundaries and forge belonging, helping us shape how we see the world, and each other. Join us at UNION to hear from designers, writers and typographers and help us explore how language influences culture, identity and belonging.
We’re excited to welcome…
Elliot Stocks
Few people have done more to champion typography than Elliot.
Designer, author, speaker and musician, Elliot has spent his career exploring the relationship between words, type and technology. From founding the typography magazine 8 Faces, Elliot has gone on to play a defining role in modern type, helping shape Adobe Fonts, creating Google Fonts Knowledge with Google, and championing typography through books, publishing and design. His work has influenced how millions of people experience typography every day.
At UNION, Elliot will bring decades of insight into how letterforms shape communication and why typography is one of our most powerful tools in reclaiming how we communicate.
Sabrina Shim
Sabrina is a Senior Writer at Reed Words, a London-based agency that makes brands and businesses stronger through language. Her globetrotting career has taken her from academia to editing fashion magazines and freelancing for H&M and Acne Studios, and even to a stint in strategic comms at the anti-poverty charity Trussell.
She’s spent the last two decades moving between different worlds, and finding that language has the same power wherever it lands.
At UNION, Sabrina will share her thoughts and insights around the importance of verbal identity in breaking down barriers and helping us connect with one another.
Sam Howard
A Creative Director at Koto London, Sam believes the strongest creative work begins long before visuals. He’s driven by the belief that the best work is strategically grounded, ideas-led and made collaboratively.
With over 13 years of experience building brands, Sam combines strategic thinking with collaborative design to create work that connects with people in meaningful ways.
In the spirit of collaboration, Sam will be joined by his wordsmith colleague Tom in our first ever creative double-act. Together they’ll dive into how they work together to create writing and design that makes its mark in the world.
Tom Hoare
Tom is a Copy Director at Koto and works across everything relating to verbal identity and messaging.
He has written for the BBC and Vice as well as GoPro, Adidas, and Red Bull as a freelance copywriter. With over a decade of agency experience, he’s created verbal identities for the United Nations, Montblanc, and Sony Music.
At UNION, he’ll share how he works closely with designers such as Sam at Koto to make language central to the studio’s work.