In 2011, the inventive Swiss graphic designer and typographer, Ludovic Balland, partnered with the Italian Swiss Institute‘s artistic director Salvatore Lacagnina to create the series “Letters on Sale: Changing Design + Print + Use.” The first installation of the three-part series of talks, conferences and exhibitions took place in March 2011: an exhibition on Swiss typography curated by ECAL (Lausanne’s School of Art and Design) coupled with a conference at Politecnico di Milano. The project’s second installment, titled “Printed Talks in the City,” opened yesterday with a workshop on typographic printing, typographers and the city. Graphic design and journalism students in Milan are teaming up with young professionals from the field and transform the space of the Istituto Svizzero into a typography laboratory that’s open to the public. The outcome of this research will then be shared through an exhibition devoted to the composition and printing of posters, that will turn the city itself into an open-air museum: Stemming from the idea that the poster is the key means of public communication in contemporary metropolis, a first series of posters will be displayed along the streets of Milan in mid-November, and a second one in January 2013, extending the conversation to an audience of passers-by. (Natalie Esteve)