The Brico system comprises just four shapes with near endless possibilities of letterforms, weights, sizes and styles. It was created so that anyone could share in the joy of type design.
After the release of our prints Brico A–Z Study 1 and Brico A–Z Study 2, and following the acquisition of a much smaller, (just about) portable galley press, we’ve been able to get out of the workshop and set ourselves up at other people’s venues, events and exhibitions.
Visitors are invited to design and print their own letterforms, and to take away one copy of their print, leaving us with a second. These prints are building into a huge, ever-growing archive of letters designed by people from across the UK and beyond.
We also work with many school and college groups, dividing the bed of the press into equal areas in which each participant can put a single letter of their own design.
In this way, a complete collaborative alphabet can be created in a single workshop with up to thirty participants working together.
This alphabet was designed and printed by young members of York Art Gallery's Saturday Club in 2025.
We have also recently welcomed students from Shipley College, Leeds Arts University, New College Bradford, Newcastle College, Notre Dame 6th Form College, all creating unique sets of new letterforms using Brico.
