Mark Simonson has designed some of the most widely used typefaces in the world. Host Charles Nix sits down to talk influences, process, and why truly memorable work – such as Simonson’s versatile, legible, and wildly ubiquitous Proxima Nova – has to be “both novel and familiar.” And speaking of legibility, don’t forget to check out the article about font legibility mentioned in our intro: https://www.monotype.com/resources/expertise/find-legible-fonts

Maureen Raisch has spent the past 18 years designing for some of the biggest names in professional sports — from MLB team rebrands to marquee events for the NHL and NFL, including the Super Bowl. Now, as she embarks on a new journey as the first ever Creative Director for the National Women's Soccer League, Maureen reflects on the importance of visibility and inclusivity in sports branding, the power of design to elevate women's sports, and what she calls her own "personal rebrand." To read more about this episode and our past guests, head over to monotype.com/podcast.

This week’s guest, photographer Tyler Haughey, has made a career for himself photographing the unseen angles of beach towns in the off-season—neon signs glowing in the snow, darkened motel rooms blinking out of deep hibernation, a promise to “see you next spring” painted by some unknown hand. We talk about how signage and other visual signifiers anchor memories in our minds, how those memories slowly transform into nostalgia, and how we reconcile the distance between places as they are and places as we want them to be. And we trade a few Jersey shore stories along the way, for good measure. To see Tyler’s work, visit tylerhaughey.com or read our blog post at monotype.com/podcast.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. This week, Creative Type Director Charles Nix talks to James Horwitz, founder of the London-based design agency Two Times Elliott. The agency's work was featured heavily in Monotype’s 2020 Type Trends report, thanks to its inventive use of bold type. Even a quick glance at their portfolio reveals an agency working at the cutting edge of modern design. James spoke with us during a London heat wave and shared the lessons he learned from founding a design agency, his approach to guiding clients through the creative process, and the impact of Instagram and social media on branding and design. Make sure you check out the work at Two Times Elliott. It's excellent: https://www.2xelliott.co.uk/ To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/.

This week’s guests are Jessica Seamans and Dan Black, who together comprise Landland. Landland is a small but mighty studio that designs and screenprints posters, primarily for bands and musicians. A lot of Landland’s aesthetic centers around the strange and forgotten and corners of society—the abandoned gas stations, rest stops, and other relics of lived lives—and the combination of linework, watercolor, imaginative imagery and lettering is truly unique. We discuss their early days of going to (and playing in) DIY punk shows, how screenprinting keeps you humble, and the evolving relationship between music and the art of the poster. Check out their work at landland.bigcartel.net or on Instagram @landlandcolportage. Also be sure to read our blog post at monotype.com/podcast.

In this week’s episode, Senior Creative Type Director Phil Garnham sits down with the esteemed Michael Johnson, founder of the UK-based design firm Johnson Banks. Michael has seen and done it all in the nearly thirty years since founding his studio, and he shares his perspective on design, branding, and the importance of purpose-driven work. This episode includes some bonus guitar playing and lots of sardonic humor, plus an amusing story about an old Monotype logo that never got a fair shake. To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our twelfth episode, we speak with James Edmondson, a renowned type designer and founder of OH no Type Company in California. James speaks with our own Charles Nix, and shares how he got his start in typography, as well as his perspective on designing a fulfilling creative career. To learn more about James and his work, visit his website (https://ohnotype.co/), or check out our blog post.  To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our eleventh episode, we speak with Lauren Hom, a celebrated designer and hand-letterer based in Detroit. Lauren shares her perspectives on design and how her personal vision has given her the courage to take on a new journey in her impressive career. This one is for everyone who is pursuing their passion, and is hosted by one of Monotype’s most passionate voices, Jay Loo (making his Creative Characters debut!). To learn more about Lauren and her work, check out our blog post.  To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/.

Monotype Creative Director and admitted car nut Terrance Weinzierl sits down with Hannelore Ocampo, Fonts Lead and Type Specialist at Ford Motor Company. Terrance and Hanne discuss the countless ways type shapes the in-car experience, how type helps keep your eyes (and your car) on the road, and the role type will play in our self-driving future. To check out more great Monotype content, head over to https://www.monotype.com/  

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In this episode, Creative Type Director Charles Nix talks with Angelina Lippert, Chief Curator at the Posterhouse museum in New York City, about the history of poster design, the unseen hands behind some of the more iconic posters from history, and the finicky wonder of Rubylith.  To learn more about Angelina and Posterhouse, check out our blog post at monotype.com/podcast.  To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit https://www.monotype.com.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our eighth episode, we speak with John Norman, a celebrated visual storyteller and former Chief Creative Officer of world-renowned creative agencies. John shares insights from his career, which started with an appreciation of typography and has spanned several decades, including work for iconic brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, HP, and many more. To learn more about John and his work, check out our blog post. To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit https://www.monotype.com/.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our seventh episode, we speak with Sarah Hyndman, founder of Type Tasting and the author of several books, including Why Fonts Matter and How to Draw Fonts and Influence People. Sarah shares her mission to change the way we think and talk about typography by making it entertaining and relevant with humour, a dash of theater, and lashings of audience participation. To learn more about Sarah and her work, visit typetasting.com and check out our blog post.  To learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit, montype.com

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our sixth episode, we speak with Chris Do, award-winning designer, CEO and Chief Strategist of Blind and the founder of The Futur—an online education platform that teaches creatives how to make a living doing what they love. Chris shares his vision for helping one billion people build meaningful careers, and discusses what the future holds for creative work.  To learn more about Chris and to connect with his team, visit thefutur.com and check out our blog post. Also, we’ve partnered with Chris on something pretty exciting: a set including his hand-picked, curated, all-time favorite typefaces. Explore all three font bundles here, which fit every application from posters, websites, identity systems, presentations and videos.Finally, to learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our fifth episode, we speak with Terrence Williams, Senior Design Lead at Salesforce. Terrence discusses the importance of relationship design for brands, and shares his perspective on building environments that allow designers to bring their full identities into the workplace.  To learn more about Terrence and to connect with his work, check out our blog post at http://monotype.com/resources/expertise/creative-characters-terrence-williams. Also, be sure to read his brilliant article, “Designing My Blackness,” and listen to his new podcast, Macro Progressions. To see what his team at Salesforce is working on, visit: https://www.salesforce.com/design/.  Finally, to learn more about Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype that explores the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. Our guest in episode four is Tré Seals, founder of the type studio Vocal Type. We talk about his efforts to break down stereotypes in design, create space and opportunity for designers from marginalized communities, and how a middle-school side gig, born out of a brush with serious childhood medical issues, helped him become the artist he is today.  To see Tré’s work and learn more about Vocal Type, visit: https://www.vocaltype.co/ or check out our blog post at http://monotype.com/resources/expertise/creative-characters-tre-seals. To learn more about how Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/

In this episode, we talk with Chicago-based lettering artist Jenna Blazevich, founder and sole proprietor of Vichcraft, a multi- disciplinary design studio that "works right around the line between art and design to build a collection of activist-driven products." Topics include (but are not limited to) chain stitching, punk rock, the artist’s role in social justice movements, and whatever the heck Malört is. To see Jenna’s work, check out our blog post at https://www.monotype.com/resources/expertise/creative-characters-jenna-blazevich Or visit her website at www.vichcraft.com and follow her on Instagram @vichcraft.

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. In our second episode, Monotype Creative Type Director Charles Nix talks with Scott Starrett, Co-Founder and Principal of NYC design firm Tandem. Scott shares his story of a serendipitous introduction to a young bartender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which led to Tandem designing the branding for her transformational 2018 Congressional campaign. To learn more about Scott and the work Tandem is doing, visit: https://www.tandem.nyc/. To learn more about how Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/

Welcome to Creative Characters, a podcast by Monotype exploring the people and personalities behind the brands, campaigns, and designs we love. This is our first episode, and our guest is James Sommerville, who has worked at several notable brands including The Coca-Cola Company. Today, he is the co-founder of KNOWN_UNKOWN and is working to transform the future of creative talent. To learn more about James and the work he’s doing at KNOWN_UNKNOWN, visit: https://known--unknown.com/ To see a presentation James gave on his career journey and the future of creative work, visit: https://www.monotype.com/resources/videos/james-sommerville-keynote-brand-talks-connected To learn more about how Monotype, and how we are empowering brands through type, visit: https://www.monotype.com/