TYPO Berlin is Europe's most important regularly scheduled design conference. Each year, the conference is dedicated to a different theme, this year's being "Passion". TYPO is hosted by FontShop AG in Berlin/Germany. Now that it is only ten days away (!) TYPO fever is building. The heart in the logo on the TYPO website started beating, plus a countdown has been added. TYPO Night also received its dedicated web page, with details on the venue and the programme. After having sold 1115 tickets, TYPO is down to the very last 35 tickets, organiser Benno Rudolf told me today. So if you still want in on the fun, don't procrastinate any longer! And talking about procrastinating – I'd better get busy assembling materials for my presentation next Thursday. I know perfectly well what I'll be talking about, and I always work from a rough outline rather than a detailed text, but I'd like to have some images to illustrate the topics I will tackle. On the other hand maybe I shouldn't worry too much. I am programmed against design star and originator of influential grunge type foundry T-26 Carlos Segura, so I may very well be talking to an empty room. : P

Yesterday TYPO Berlin proved once again how on top of their game they are. I already knew they were tech savvy and quick at adopting the latest technologies and trends in social media to communicate with their audience. In addition to the TYPOBerlin Blog, TYPOBerlin Videoblog, and Flickr Group Pool, they have a Facebook page and a Twitter account. However I wasn't prepared for the brilliant iPhone app TYPO launched on Sunday. I have been playing around with it this morning, and it's a fantastic example of user-friendliness and astute contemporary marketing.

The free bilingual (German/English) TYPO Berlin Conference App is the perfect companion for a smooth, efficient, and stress-free conference experience. Not only does it provide event information, it also integrates multiple news feeds from TYPO, and displays your personal favourite sessions from your iPhone. Furthermore it connects to social networks like Flickr and Twitter, and allows you to compile and synchronise your personal three-day programme. With this application, you are able to access and manage information including:

Tweets and feedback on sessions and speakers;Full editorial content of TYPOblog;Shared images from TYPO 2010 group on Flickr;Create a custom itinerary of your sessions;Provide feedback on the topics you have attended;Navigate through a Berlin map with TYPO hot spots.

Upon start-up, the six latest messages from the conference organisation appear on the News page: three from the TYPO Berlin Twitter account and three from the TYPOBerlin Blog. Manually refresh them with the refresh button at the top right.

The Programme page requires signing up once*. You can compose your personal TYPO timetable by adding favourites. Simply press the heart button next to the presentations of your choice in the programme section. Your selection is then uploaded and synchronised, after which it can be accessed both from your mobile device and from the TYPO Berlin website.

* For now the app asks you to register each time you access the Programme, but this will be solved before the start of the conference

Through the Social page you can access the main social networks: Facebook, Twitter, TYPOblog, and Flickr. Besides the two channels managed by the TYPO editorial team – the TYPO Berlin Facebook page and TYPOblog – friends and visitors of the conference can contribute their own content through Twitter and Flickr. Tweets including the #typo10 hashtag appear on the TYPOwall; pictures uploaded in the TYPO Berlin 2010 Group Pool on Flickr are automatically published in the Flickr album in the TYPO app.

The fourth and last navigation item in the App is the Info page. It provides concise portraits of the organiser and the sponsors, plus contact info and a colophon. Most importantly it offers a Berlin city map with pins for the conference venue Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the TYPO Night location Goya.

Download the free TYPO Berlin Conference App at the iTunes App store. Try out its functions, and lay the foundation for your individual TYPO experience. Future updates to be added before the start of the conference are the TYPOcam function and a game amongst others. And those not able to attend can watch selected video content from the TYPO Video Archive in the TYPO App.

The TYPO Berlin website was designed and produced by Studio adhoc, and the application developed by DGMK.