Creative Characters

This episode of Creative Characters is hosted by Livia, our Social Media Manager at Monotype. Livia interviews designer Kat Romulo about her unconventional journey into design, beginning with a serendipitous flyer at UC Berkeley. Kat shares her rise from posting personal projects on Instagram to acquiring client work, her experiences with public speaking, and her thoughts on the pros and cons of s...

Host Doug Wilson geeks out about watch design with Lee Yuen-Rapati of Fears Watch Company. They discuss the intricacies of designing numerals for watches and the parallels between watch design and typeface design. And if you're looking for inspiration on a personal project — or just want to drool over some gorgeous sketches — check out Yuen-Rapati's @ onehourwatch project, where he draws bespoke w...

Host Graham Sturt journeys into the life and work of famed graphic designer Lance Wyman . Renowned for his iconic Mexico 1968 Olympics identity, Wyman shares the story of how a one-way flight to Mexico City ultimately landed him a role on this influential design team. Wyman talks about other key moments in his career as well, like working on the Chrysler Pavilion at the '64-'65 New York World's Fa...

Hear Monotype Creative Director Graham Sturt in conversation with Vic Lee, an artist, illustrator, and self-described "ragamuffin." After years of doing graphic design work for agencies, Vic was ready for a change. So, he began sketching a streetscape from a little cafe in his London neighborhood — a practice that evolved into a popular local prints project and launched his career as a working art...

In this week's episode, first-time host Doug Wilson chats with Petra Dočekalová, a designer, educator, calligrapher, and sign painter from Prague, Czech Republic. They explore Petra's involvement in a book about Yaroslav Benda, a notable Czech designer known for his typography and calligraphy. Their conversation covers networking at events like TypeCon, the influence of Benda's style on Czech desi...

Each year, for over a week, the city of Austin, Texas erupts into a cacophony of life, music, film premieres, comedy showcases, interactive tech demonstrations, and world-class exhibitions for the annual South by Southwest (SXSW). This year, amongst the chaos, community, and creativity of the festival, we recorded our first-ever episode of the podcast on stage in front of a live audience. Monotype...

For many of us, the sea holds a special place in our hearts — the sights, smells, sounds of long summer nights are etched into our minds. Join Monotype Creative Director Graham Sturt as he and guest Justin Burns, Head of the School of Arts at the University of Derby, explore the signage and typography of the English seaside and examine the linkage between letters, memories, and emotion.

How do cultural influences, historical contexts, and geopolitics influence design and typography? As part of the 2024 Type Trends report , we wanted to take a deeper look at how design is manifesting across the globe. This episode will take you on a journey from the bustling streets of New York City to the colorful neighborhoods of Santiago, the romantic avenues of Paris, and the vibrant restauran...

This week, host Charles Nix sits down with Steffi Marty, the Global Director of Brand Identity and Design for Mars Snacking. If that sounds abstract, you probably know the brands she oversees: the Mars Bar, Snickers, Skittles, and M&M's. Charles and Steffi collaborated on a new typeface for M&M's, released last year, and the two discuss the joys and challenges of managing such beloved and personal...

You've probably heard something about it, but just in case you missed it: our 2024 Type Trends report is finally here! And good news: this week on Creative Characters, you can tune in to hear even more about it.   Join Type Designer Jordan Bell and Creative Type Director Damien Collot as they discuss their experiences curating this year's report , guide you through the trends that moved them, and...

We're closing out 2023 by spotlighting three amazing type studios from different corners of the world — and three of our favorite hosts.  This week, Charles Nix, Phil Garnham, and Tom Foley each selected a type designer they admire to bring on the show: Stephen Nixon of ArrowType ; Alja Herlah, Directress & Lead type designer at Type Salon ; and Matthieu Salvaggio, Founder and Type Designer at Bla...

Roger Black draws from origins and evolution of type, type trend drivers, and his own career in this week's episode with our own Charles Nix. Combining various lenses that allow creatives to see between and behind the lines of type, the two designers inspect the nitty gritty of typographic design — from machinery to wider influences of cultural shifts — and how to look backwards in order to see fo...

Now that the Adobe MAX dust has settled, we bring you our second annual recap of the inspiring event that brought 10,000 from around the world to Los Angeles in October. Between emotional, soul-baring presentations that went much deeper than design, to the "font connection" game at the Monotype booth, there was a palpable sense of community and connection at MAX this year. In this episode, you'll...

For decades, the bright colors and bold type of Globe Poster Printing Corportation formed the cultural heartbeat of Baltimore. From R&B shows and rock concerts to boxing matches and, now, something called a Deviled Egg Pageant (?!), Globe's unmistakable style has shouted out a range of events — and brought color and electricity to the urban landscape.  Globe and its archive are now part of the Mar...

Can you remember a time you had an emotional reaction to type? Have fonts ever made you feel some type of way? This week, we dive into Monotype's scientific research on the emotional power of typography. Marie Boulanger, Senior Brand Designer at Monotype, joins as a guest and shares some of the thinking, methodology, and insights behind the global studies. You'll also hear stories about fonts and...

David Berlow has been at the fore f ront of type design, publishing, and technology for 45 years. His impressive career began in 1978 drawing letterforms for the Haas, Mergenthaler, Linotype, and Stempel type foundries , before he went on to work at Apple, Bitstream , and later founded t he Font Bureau with Roger Black.   A self-described "loose cannon" and "boat rocker," Berlow has been at the ce...

Erwin Hines' creative life began with an interest in architecture and urban planning but shifted to art, design, and brand building after several serendipitous events. In a time when concepts like empathy and inclusivity have become trendy catchphrases, Erwin decided to step away from agency life, where he had been actively involved with DE&I initiatives, to build his own brand, Future is Color. E...

Kent Yoshimura does a lot. And that's kinda his thing. At a young age, Kent learned that pouring himself into something artistic meant he could glimpse at mastery and then find ways to play with whatever that skill might be. Throughout his life, Kent has illustrated for children's books, recorded music for film and television, made a couple documentaries, designed immersive experiences, built a th...

Sarah Olin started her career as a magazine designer at a challenging time — during the 2010s, when the industry was trying to figure out its transition to digital. She stuck with magazines for over a decade, designing for major fashion and beauty publications like Allure, Glamour, and Cosmo. But she recently shifted to brand art direction and, spoiler, she likes it. As Art Director at Warby Parke...

In the Before Times, working from home was often treated as a perk, or maybe a dubious accommodation for someone with a doctor's appointment. But we know how that story unfolded following the COVID outbreak in 2020, and now remote work is the norm for creative teams all over the world. Upwork Executive Creative Director Patrick Holly joins us this week to talk about the benefits and challenges rem...

"Modern creators know that pace rivals perfection." Picsart, which provides photo and video editing tools and templates to the creator community, has lived this motto since it began more than a decade ago. Today, with more than 150 million monthly users, the company is helping to streamline the design process like never before. In this week's episode, Monotype's Bill Connolly sits down with Scott...

This week's episode is a triple threat. Monotype Executive Creative Directors Phil, Tom, and Charles each selected a type designer they admire to bring on the show.  What resulted is inspiring discussions with Mark Bloom of CoType, Naïma Ben Ayed Bureau, and Jesse Ragan and Ben Kiel of XYZ Type, three unique studios making great work in their own distinct ways.

For decades, creative work has consolidated in traditional locations such as Los Angeles, New York, and London. Today, technology has opened the aperture on creativity, enabling brilliant producers, writers, and artists to work directly with brands and entertainment studios from anywhere. In this week's episode, Monotype's Bill Connolly sits down with James DeJulio, co-founder and CEO of Tongal ,...

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:/...

Ever wanted a peek inside the creative minds behind one of the biggest design platforms in the world? If so, this episode is for you. Canva, the go-to graphic design software for 125 million global users, recently celebrated its 10th birthday at its annual Create event in Sydney. Before the big event, our Executive Creative Director, Charles Nix, sat down with Canva's Head of Design, Andrew Green,...