typo graphic.

As you delve into any subject matter, it’s only normal to keep seeing a few names time and time again. As you get to know these names, you get to know their work, their style, and you start to gravitate towards certain people of your trade. While I’m sure for some of you these names are old news, I’d like to indulge for a second and share with you a couple of my typography heroes:

JESSICA HISCHE—You might know her best from her recent collaboration with Wes Anderson for the titles on the film Moonrise Kingdom. Ever since following her daily drop cap experiment, I’ve been a fan of her penchant for vintage-inspired type and her way with scripts. You could get lost in her world of type for hours and hours. She also loves cake—yeah, that’s serious. Seriously amazing.

LOUSIE FILI—The details you can find in Louise’s work is astounding. I love that the history of typography really shines through in all of her pieces. Everything has a place, and everything has a purpose. Side note: Jessica Hische worked at her firm right out of school! It takes a great typographer to train another.

HOEFLER & FRERE-JONES—This type foundry is hands down my favorite. I love their work for the extreme detail and history that goes into each typeface. They have created my favored gotham & archer typefaces, as well as spending lots of time remaking classic typefaces to be used for the modern day, like in their version of didot. I also think it’s pretty suave that they own the domain typography.com.

MARIAN BANTJES—When I first saw her work a couple years ago, my brain just about exploded. Letters, out of objects? I’d never seen such marvels! Her work is so elegant, and I look forward to every piece that she puts out.

Do you have any art or design heroes in your life? Whether they’re typographically inclined or not, I’d love to hear about them! We could all add a new hero to our lists, right?