DesCan Vancouver and Hemlock Printers are pleased to celebrate the 2025 Jim Rimmer Scholarship Award recipients with Matt Heximer, renowned Vancouver designer, educator and typographer.
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025 6:30pm – 9:00pm PST
Location: LaSalle College Vancouver, 2808 Bradfield Court, Vancouver, BC V5M 0E3
Guest Speaker: Matt Heximer
Matt Heximer is a Vancouver-based designer and educator with over three decades of experience in branding, storytelling, and typographic communication. A Visual Communications graduate of Grant MacEwan University and Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Matt has worked in senior design roles at leading creative studios and agencies across Vancouver. In 2002, he co-founded a design consultancy (10four Design Group) with business partner Susan Lepard, producing work that spans everything from beer packaging to museum exhibits. His projects have been widely recognized through design awards and international publication.
Matt is currently a faculty member in the Graphic Design for Marketing program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Wilson School of Design, where he teaches strategic Marketing Communication Design. He has also been a guest lecturer at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Langara College, Capilano University, and Douglas College. A passionate typographer, Matt leads type design workshops through Capilano University, and his own typeface development work continues to evolve and gain attention.
In 2025, Matt completed the prestigious Condensed Type Design Program at Cooper Union in New York City — an intensive deep dive into contemporary type design and production.
Presentation Overview
Matt’s talk will share a behind-the-scenes look at his six-week residency in New York’s East Village while attending Cooper Union’s Condensed Type Design Program. He will walk through the development of his custom typeface, the design challenges and delights of learning in one of the world’s most typographically rich environments, and the next phase of his work: a research initiative focused on integrating First Nations language support into the typeface. Along the way, he’ll reflect on why the craft of type continues to matter.
Admission:
DesCan Member – Student: FREE
DesCan Member: $10
Non Member – Student: $25
Non Member: $35
The Jim Rimmer Scholarships have been awarded since 2009 to student projects (or one currently in progress) for a community program, a non-profit organization, or an environmental or social cause. Students who are currently enrolled, or have graduated within the last year from a design program in BC are eligible. Scholarships are awarded on the strength of the solution, how effectively it communicates a message, benefits a community, affects action and promotes change.
Jim Rimmer, F.DesCan was a pivotal influence in Canadian letterpress and private press. Many of his typefaces, such as Albertan are ubiquitous in print and digital graphic design worldwide (and used in all the scholarship promotional materials!). His stature as an icon was recognized in 2007 when he was awarded Fellowship by DesCan.