Typohacks – Gendersensible Typografie

In the organizer's words:

Lecture by Hannah Witte and discussion with Nadine Finke-Micheel

In visual communication, we make language visible, give it a typographic form and decide on hierarchies. But what possibilities are there to use typography to act in an anti-discriminatory way and hack the standardized two-gender system?
Based on her book Typohacks, Hannah Witte introduces the topic of gender-sensitive language and typography at Künstlerhaus Dortmund. In addition, she will show methods for dealing with typographic signs as political troublemakers.

The lecture was initiated by members and KINs of the Künstlerhaus who have joined forces in the "Renaming" working group. Their motivation is to encourage a self-critical reflection on their own naming through an open dialog. The name "Künstlerhaus Dortmund" has been formulated in the generic masculine for over 40 years.

Hannah Witte (she/her) is a graphic designer and lives in Leipzig. She completed her studies in communication design at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen in 2020 and graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig (HGB) in 2024. She is currently a master student of Prof. Anna Lena von Helldorff at the HGB.
Her design practice focuses on queerfeminist themes, gender stereotypes and non-binary typography.
Her book Typohacks - Handbuch für Typografie und gendersensible Sprache was published by form Verlag in 2021. Since 2022, she has also been a co-founder of FLINType, an online platform that serves as a living archive of typefaces by FLINTA people from all over the world.

Nadine Finke-Micheel, M.A. is deputy head of the Equal Opportunities, Family and Diversity Office at TU Dortmund University and has been working there for 13 years in various positions on the identification and elimination of structural exclusion mechanisms and, in this context, on the use of gender-equitable language.