Coming from where, at what age?

Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian

I do believe that formal education tends to stunt originality (although that does depend greatly on the individuals involved). I can spot a KABK font from 5.2 nautical miles.

Originality pays better per hour, but in type design still not nearly enough for LA, with four kids in private school... We each make our lifestyle choices (plus life happens).

Christian Thalmann

Hrant H. Papazian said:

I do believe that formal education tends to stunt originality (although that does depend greatly on the individuals involved). I can spot a KABK font from 5.2 nautical miles.

I suppose there are different ways to be original. I, too, have the impression that one of my selling points as an amateur type designer is the fact that I am not immersed in the descriptive norm of the classical curriculum, and I am more likely to break with tradition or history than someone who is (for better or for worse).

LeMo aka PatternMan aka Frank E Blokland

[…] the fact that I am not immersed in the descriptive norm of the classical curriculum, and I am more likely to break with tradition or history than someone who is (for better or for worse).

After reading this argument I’ll have to recover for at least a week, I reckon. In the meantime I will listen to this chicken, which is breaking tradition by playing the piano differently.

Nathan Zimet

That seems a bit mean Frank.

Chris Lozos

I think we should not judge students work by the schools they may have attended or designers that they may at first emulate.  Design schools are not mind erasing cults.  Give those graduates a few years to find their own way before we put them lockstep in a pigeonhole. Individuals grow and become unique with work and time.  Perhaps only students with self esteem issues or fear of flying may hang on to their school ways a bit longer.  There same people would be no better off without school.  Most of the young people I have met who have graduated fro a type design school are energetic, free minded, and ready to push on with their own original work.  I have no fear that they will end up in a rut.  Let birds fly.

Paul Miller

I'm an Electronics Engineer, I work in Medical Research developing new devices and concepts for diagnosis or treatment.  I design fonts in my spare time (fot the past few years).  I will be retiring in the next couple of years.

I have many years experience working with various types of CAD system which was a great help when learning to use font design software.

The first font I designed ( Kelvinch ) was an example of how not to design a font.  It had features I liked from a wide variety of fonts (copied by hand and eye rather than cut and paste) and so people were confused as to what style it was trying to be.  Also it has far too many characters because at that time I had no idea what was necessary and what was not needed, it was not planned and so there was a lot of mission creep just from the fear of leaving out something essential.

Chris D

OP Thank you for asking this question, I have often wondered the same myself and it's great to read the responses. I'm 35 myself, and though I've studied letters all my life (from pouring over type sample books at a young age, to employing them on a daily basis as an adult graphic designer) I've only just started the journey to drawing and (hopefully one day) publishing them.

I also live in Australia which is not exactly a hotbed for typographic discourse but thanks to forums like this I get to keep up with the times and learn from the best.

It seems like 35-40 is a good age to get started - it's the age where you have enough years of experience under your belt to have a trained visual eye, but you still have enough runway to have a long career from it. However starting at any age is better than starting at none!

Andreas Stötzner

Hrant H. Papazian said:

… I can spot a KABK font from 5.2 nautical miles.

rather 5.7 ?!

Peiran Tan

Jasper de Waard said:

I started drawing letters in Photoshop when I was 12. Daddy was a self-proclaimed typographer, my parents wouldn't let have an xbox or playstation, so I started toying around with photoshop to kill the time, browsing through 1001freefonts.com, and decided I could do better. I moved on to TypeTool and then Fontlab Studio. Dave Crossland 'found' me on typophile and got Google to sponsor my Expletus Sans typeface, which earned me my first money. The hobby grew out of hand, I did a short internship at Dalton Maag, and in 2013 (aged 17) I founded Bureau Roffa, which I've continued to manage and design typefaces for on a part-time basis (currently besides my bachelor at a University College) ever since. I have no formal design education whatsoever. Everything I learned, I either taught myself, or others (online and offline) in the typedesign community were kind enough to teach me.

You did Proza and now you’re not even 25?! Unbelievable.