LongLunch is a series of graphic design lectures which have been held in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London since 2003. Rydo became involved as event organiser in its tenth anniversary year and helped bring an array of international speakers to Scotland.
In early 2016, LongLunch hosted legendary British letterpress designer, Alan Kitching. Alan stated his preference that someone else take on the mantle of designing the poster for the event it was an honour to oblige. ‘The A–Z of Alan Kitching’ title was agreed in reference to his book; Alan Kitching’s A–Z of Letterpress, with Alan creating prints of the three key letterforms (A, Z,–) in his studio and supplying scans. That artwork was then translated into a fitting, bold poster layout and ink separations were created to produce the final two colour piece.
Rydo served up LongLunch events for over five years and has been a member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) for many more. It was this connection that brought the late type designer and prominent ISTD member, Freda Sack, to Scotland in early 2017 to speak at the Glasgow School of Art. A design concept was developed for the promotional material which made prominent use of the event number (66) and one of Freda’s well known typefaces, Foundry Wilson. The A2 poster was screen printed in white and metallic purple, on charcoal-coloured paper, to make for a collectible commemorative piece.