Primarium: Handwriting Education in Primary Schools

A resource about Latin script handwriting instruction around the world

Prague, Czech Republic, January 31, 2024 — Primarium is a research project and non-commercial literacy venture by international type foundry TypeTogether, focused on producing a resource for introductory handwriting education in countries that use the Latin script. The initiative was developed with the support of Google Fonts, the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Brazil, and over 80 collaborators from around the world. Primarium’s recently-launched website (https://primarium.info) is a free, data-rich, and accessible presentation of ongoing research, which currently covers more than 40 countries across five continents.

The website collects and organises crucial information about handwriting education in primary schools, including its role in school curricula, the handwriting models and resources used, and the teaching methods employed in classrooms. “I appreciate your due diligence in the project, which in the end is one of the reasons it is — and will continue to be — so valuable,” said Jonathan Dubay, CEO and curriculum specialist at Handwriting Success, LLC. The collected research is presented in the form of country-wise essays illustrated with samples from historical and current textbooks, as well as original infographics that visually describe the most popular approaches to handwriting instruction in each region.

To produce this resource, researchers at TypeTogether referred to legislative documents, curricula and syllabi, teaching materials, academic publications and marketing information from educational publishers, and conducted numerous interviews with teachers, parents, educationists, administrators, and designers. “Primarium is a one-of-its-kind resource that, for the first time, gathers information about handwriting education from diverse domains and resources and presents it in an accessible format,” said José Scaglione, co-founder of TypeTogether.

The project’s readership targets include educators, students, parents, type and graphic designers, researchers, those interested in anthropology and culture, linguists, communications students and professionals, calligraphers, neuro-cognitive aficionados, developmental and child psychologists, lifelong learners, and the general public.

“Primarium is a living educational project, and, aligned with how we value research and sharing that knowledge, we look forward to expanding both its scope and reach,” said Pooja Saxena, one of the lead researchers working on the project. A book based on the research is already underway, and TypeTogether is actively seeking new partners to extend the project coverage to more countries, scripts, and languages.

Factsheet

Title: Primarium: Handwriting Education in Primary Schools
Published by: TypeTogether, with support from Google Fonts and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil
Editors: José Scaglione and Pooja Saxena
Design: website by Ashler Design, logo by Petra Dočekalová
Website typefaces used: Belarius by TypeTogether
Website: https://primarium.info/

About TypeTogether

The project was initiated by TypeTogether (https://www.type-together.com), an internationally awarded type foundry established in 2006 by Veronika Burian and José Scaglione. TypeTogether creates innovative and stylish solutions to the greatest problems in the professional typography market worldwide through its unique, diverse, curated font platform. “One of our main commitments from the beginning has been to research, share our knowledge, and create something valuable for others,” said Veronika Burian, and this ethos is demonstrated in the active educational role the foundry has played in the type and design community.
TypeTogether’s multiscript font families currently span 12 global scripts and hundreds of languages, focusing specifically on legibility, editorial use, custom typography, and aesthetic value, and have been implemented by leading corporate brands such as Apple Inc., Google, Vivo, WIPR, NRK, and Geely Auto.

Since its beginning, the co-founders have built a truly multinational and multilingual network of type designers and type and language experts with one primary goal: to understand and connect disparate linguistic and cultural systems through typography. The process of bringing together experts from all over the world has turned a small, independent font company with a vision for responsibility and cultural respect into one of the most influential and productive type foundries today.