Display type is not taken seriously enough. Modernism with its "less is more" and "ornament is a crime" teaches us that display letters are unnecessary. Moreover, display typefaces are somehow considered playful and fun and therefore  easier to design. If we go back to the origin of display types, we'll see that they were invented exactly to distinguish themselves from text types, to be catchy, to be interesting, to embrace the spirit of their time. We all enjoy a sleek grotesque or the perfect texture of a book typeface, but why are we not enriching our usual typographic palette with something decorative, catchy and not necessarily timeless?

Marta Bernstein is a graphic and type designer originally from Milan, now based in Seattle. Type and typography are her true passions, she  especially has a soft spot for 19th Century type, a topic she has been researching for more than ten years. She has presented her ongoing research at international conferences such as AtypI and Typographics NYC. She regularly gives workshops and lectures on type and has been an adjunct professor in Typography at Milan's Polytechnic, visiting professor in Architecture and Design at University of Navarra, and lecturer for the Interior Design master at Tongii University, Shanghai.  Marta collaborates with international companies, start-ups and public institutions. She is one of the founders of CAST digital type foundry.