Three days of type, code and motion in a crane hall that used to build ships. 1,400 people, 48 talks, three nights in the Boiler House. Misregistration is a feature.
Programme starts in 17.03.2027 · 09:00 CET
(01) Lineup
The day-programme headliners. Thirty-six more speakers land in batches through winter — whenever we stop arguing about the running order.
Hover or tap a card for the talkType designer · Den Haag
“Ink traps are a love language”
Why the tiny notches nobody sees are the most honest part of a typeface — and how to draw them for screens that don’t bleed.
Wed 17 · 09:30 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Creative coder · Lisbon
“Shaders for people who hate maths”
Five fragment shaders, zero equations on the slides. He promised, we have it in writing.
Wed 17 · 10:15 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Motion director · Oslo
“Easing is an emotion”
Twelve curves, twelve feelings, and the one ease-out she refuses to use ever again.
Wed 17 · 11:30 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Poster designer · Glasgow
“Ugly on purpose”
A defence of the loud, the clumsy and the badly kerned — from someone who can kern in his sleep.
Wed 17 · 13:30 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Generative artist · Rotterdam
“Randomness, with manners”
Seeds, noise and constraints: how to let a machine surprise you without embarrassing you.
Wed 17 · 14:15 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Kinetic typographer · Istanbul
“Letters that breathe”
Variable axes as a timeline. Width is the new keyframe, and weight is the new easing.
Wed 17 · 16:00 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Type engineer · Berlin
“One file, 40,000 instances”
What really happens inside a variable font: masters, interpolation, and the bugs that live between them.
Thu 18 · 09:30 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Motion designer · Mexico City
“The 12-frame rule”
Why half a second is the most important unit in interface animation, shown half a second at a time.
Thu 18 · 10:15 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Letterpress printer · Antwerp
“Wood type has no undo”
Forty years of setting type by hand, and what it taught him about deleting things.
Thu 18 · 11:30 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Plotter artist · Utrecht
“Pen plotters and patience”
Nine-hour drawings, one snapped nib, and why slow output makes for better code.
Thu 18 · 14:00 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Art director · Paris
“Build the grid, then break it”
Thirty magazine spreads, taken apart column by column, then put back slightly wrong.
Thu 18 · 16:15 · Main HallIn the schedule →
Live visuals · London
“Projecting onto fog”
A live set for a room full of haze, lasers and one very patient fire marshal.
Thu 18 · 21:00 · Boiler HouseIn the schedule →
(02) Schedule
Every talk is 30 minutes, in English, and in the Main Hall unless it says otherwise. Workshops need their own seat.
08:00–09:00
GeneralYes, your badge will be misregistered.
Foyer
09:00–09:20
GeneralThe Offset crew
Main Hall
09:30–10:00
TypeNoor Valkenburg — type designer
Main Hall
10:15–10:45
CodeTomás Ekwueme-Ruiz — creative coder
Main Hall
11:00–11:30
GeneralPresses open in the Pattern Shop
Pattern Shop
11:30–12:00
MotionHana Sørlie — motion director
Main Hall
12:15–13:15
GeneralVegetarian by default
Hall floor
13:30–14:00
TypeIdris Blackwood — poster designer
Main Hall
13:30–14:00
TypeLightning round: six designers, one timer, no mercy
Dry Dock
14:15–14:45
CodeMei Okonkwo-Lin — generative artist
Main Hall
15:00–15:30
CodeMei vs. Tomás, the room votes by applause
Dry Dock
16:00–16:30
MotionElif Aydın — kinetic typographer
Main Hall
20:00–01:00
NightDot Gain Sound System b2b Halftone Hermits
Boiler House
22:30–23:00
NightBring a GIF, sing a song, regret nothing
Boiler House
Nothing on this track today. Try another day, or the bar.
08:30–09:20
GeneralHangover-friendly pastries
Foyer
09:30–10:00
TypeOttilie Brandt — type engineer
Main Hall
10:00–13:00
GeneralRuben de Graaff, 12 seats
Pattern Shop
10:15–10:45
MotionPriya Castellanos — motion designer
Main Hall
11:00–11:30
MotionSixty seconds each, no voice-over allowed
Dry Dock
11:30–12:00
TypeJules Farrant — letterpress printer
Main Hall
12:15–13:15
GeneralSeat swap: sit next to a stranger
Hall floor
13:00–17:00
GeneralRiso in a day · Variable fonts from zero
Pattern Shop
14:00–14:30
CodeRuben de Graaff — plotter artist
Main Hall
14:45–15:15
TypeBring a poster, leave with notes and a slightly bruised ego
Dry Dock
15:30–16:00
CodeEight projects, four minutes each, one broken demo
Main Hall
16:15–16:45
TypeSabine Moreau-Kato — art director
Main Hall
21:00–22:00
NightKwame Adjei-Stroud — live A/V set
Boiler House
23:00–02:00
NightAmbient set, drawn live by six plotters
Boiler House
Nothing on this track today. Try another day, or the bar.
08:30–09:20
GeneralLast chance to print a badge
Foyer
09:30–10:00
TypeAma Kyei — wayfinding designer
Main Hall
10:00–13:00
GeneralPriya Castellanos, 18 seats
Dry Dock
10:15–10:45
CodeLars Nakamura-Holt — designer & developer
Main Hall
11:00–11:30
MotionFenna Rijpstra — motion designer
Main Hall
11:45–12:45
GeneralSoup, bread, and the last of the stickers
Hall floor
13:00–13:30
MotionFive film openers, frame by frame
Dry Dock
13:00–17:00
GeneralFrom sketch to shader · Loud signs, fast
Pattern Shop
14:00–14:30
CodeYusuf Brandão — creative technologist
Main Hall
14:45–15:15
TypeDagny Voss — type designer
Main Hall
15:30–16:00
GeneralBest mistake of the year, judged live
Main Hall
16:15–16:40
GeneralClosing, and next year’s dates
Main Hall
20:00–02:00
NightEveryone who DJ’d, in one very long b2b
Boiler House
22:00–00:00
NightPrint your own gig poster until the ink runs out
Boiler House
Nothing on this track today. Try another day, or the bar.
(03) Why come
Offset is for people who zoom to 3,200% to fix one curve, write forty lines of code to avoid drawing a circle by hand, and still get weirdly emotional about paper. For three days in March we fill a crane hall with them, switch on the presses, and let everything go slightly out of register.
Designers, type people and creative coders. Roughly a third of them will ask you what font that is.
Capped at 30 minutes each. There is a gong, and we have used it.
Five people agreeing with each other on a stage is not a talk. It’s a queue.
Running in the hall all day. Bring your own paper or use ours; misprints go on the wall.
One table, straight down the hall, vegetarian by default. We measured it twice.
In the Boiler House, where the sound system is more forgiving than the acoustics.
(04) Workshops
Two drums, three inks, one poster you’ll actually frame. Paper included; aprons strongly advised.
14 / 16 seats taken2 left
€85+ ticket
Draw two masters, interpolate, export, break it, fix it. Bring a laptop with any font editor.
20 / 20 seats takenFull
€95+ ticket
Start with a 2D canvas sketch, end with a fragment shader running at 60 fps. No maths degree needed.
17 / 24 seats taken7 left
€85+ ticket
Timing, spacing and easing, taught with sticky notes and a stopwatch before we touch a single keyframe.
9 / 18 seats taken9 left
€75+ ticket
Twelve plotters, twelve seats. Write code, watch a pen follow it, take home an A3 drawing.
11 / 12 seats taken1 left
€90+ ticket
Brush, card, enormous letters. Paint a sign for the closing party and see it hung that same night.
6 / 16 seats taken10 left
€70+ ticket
(05) Venue
Built in 1921 to assemble ship hulls, now mostly used for assembling people. Step-free, heated (we checked), nine minutes from Centraal.
Werfhaven 12, Rotterdam-Zuid
A 1921 crane hall, 160 metres long. Main Hall, Dry Dock and the Pattern Shop all sit under one roof. Doors at 08:00.
Stoomkade 40, Rotterdam-Zuid
220 rooms held at €129 a night until 1 February 2027 with code OFFSET27. Ask for a harbour view — they say yes more often than not.
Ketelstraat 3, Rotterdam-Zuid
The old boiler house. Three nights, one very forgiving sound system. Last metro 00:40; the water taxi runs until 02:00.
Rotterdam, right now --:--
(06) Tickets
Every ticket covers three days, three nights, lunch, and a screen-printed tote that won’t embarrass you on the train home.
1,118 / 1,400
(07) Partners
Want your mark on this wall? The partner deck is twelve pages long and roughly half of it is jokes.
Request the partner deck(08) FAQ
Still stuck? Find anyone in a hi-vis vest. They know things, and most of them know where the coffee is.
Every talk and workshop, yes. The bar staff will judge your Dutch kindly, and the menus come in both.
Transfers are free until 1 March 2027 — just change the name in your confirmation email. Refunds are possible up to 60 days before, minus a €20 admin fee that mostly pays for the admin.
Step-free throughout, including the Boiler House. Induction loop and live captions in the Main Hall, a quiet room upstairs, gender-neutral toilets on every floor, and reserved seating near the front — just ask at the desk.
Day talks go online about six weeks after, free for everyone. The night programme stays in the Boiler House, which is where it belongs.
No. If you care how things look and how they’re made, you’ll be fine. Last year we had two dentists and a harbour pilot, and the pilot won the poster jam.
Lunch every day at the 140-metre table, vegetarian by default, with vegan and allergen options clearly labelled. Coffee from 08:00 until it runs out, which it won’t.
Yes, and we enforce it. Harassment of any kind gets you removed, ticket not refunded. Our care team wears yellow lanyards and is reachable by text 24 hours a day during the event.
(09) The Misprint
Email hello@offset27.example with “subscribe” and we’ll add you to the list.