Cassidy Vierling Completes Capstone Project with Partners in Print
During the summer quarter, UW Textual Studies student Cassidy Vierling completed her culminating Capstone project as part of the requirements for the UW Textual Studies and Digital Humanities Minor. Working with Seattle-based letterpress printing non-profit, Partners in Print, Cassidy learned the ins and outs of letterpress printing, while researching and writing about the history and evolution of letterforms. In her own words, Cassidy describes her summer internship, reflects upon her work in contemporary letterpress, and describes what she learned through her research. Read on to find out more!
Letterpress Printing Internship with Partners in Print
My name is Cassidy, and I am a history major, currently minoring in Textual Studies and English. I am interested in literary history and printing history, which the Textual Studies minor allows me to learn about and explore in detail. For my Capstone this summer, I undertook an internship with Partners in Print, a non-profit printing company in Seattle born out of the School of Visual Concepts. As part of my internship I organized PiP’s wood type collection, helped run walk-up workshops at events where the public could print posters to take home, and assisted with logging volunteer information into their database. Interning at a printing company allowed me to learn more about the history of print and print technology, as well as take part in the letterpress printing scene as it exists in the modern world.
Textual Studies Minor Researches the History of Letterforms
Inspired from my internship work handling and organizing moveable type, I wrote my Capstone paper on the history of letterforms, specifically analyzing significant technologies’ roles in determining the shape of letterforms. I studied how manuscript writing, moveable type, the typewriter, and the personal computer each created new sets of rules that constrained or expanded the art of letterform creation. In the end, I determined that the cultural and societal needs that accompany a technology do as much to shape the letterforms of that time or place as the technology itself does.
Capstone Opportunities in the UW Textual Studies Minor
The Capstone is the culminating project of the Minor in Textual Studies and Digital Humanities. It is undertaken during any quarter of the academic year and is designed to bring together the minor’s learning goals with the skills gained during the course of the program. Working alongside a faculty member, a librarian, or with an organization in the form of an internship, students can explore their individual interests and build skills to support them in their future careers and studies.
Congratulations to Cassidy on completing her Capstone project! To find out more about the Minor in Textual Study and Digital Humanities, Capstone requirements, and upcoming TXTDS courses, you can explore our website or email text@uw.edu.
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