Typography terms and definitions.
From alternates to X-height, this list of typography terms and definitions covers just about everything you’d want to know about fonts and typography.
Driven by their passion for type, our Studio is the heart of the largest library of fonts in the world.
We offer a suite of services that enable brands of all sizes to express their voices through type, helping people to instantly recognize and connect with them.
The Monotype Studio team excels in helping the world’s leading brands define, design and express their voices through type. Ready to start your type transformation with them? Fill out our form and a member of our team will get back to you.
This custom-designed font family, Alibaba Sans, will help partners and customers power on-brand designs.
Hearst Media has dozens of iconic titles. Learn how Monotype helped them evolve to meet the demands of a growing digital audience by offering more design flexibility and freedom.
Monotype worked with noted illustrator Sir Quentin Blake and his team to recreate his handwriting as a bespoke typeface.
Tom Foley is an Executive Creative Director for Monotype, and in his role, is responsible for leading a team of type designers creating fonts for the Monotype Library and corporate brands. Words and letters are in Tom’s blood - his great-grandfather was from a family of stonemasons that specialized in letter carving, and his uncle was a sign painter.
Phil is an Executive Creative Director with many years of experience in the design and engineering of fonts for global brands. Working in collaboration with design studios and global clients, Phil understands the creative and business needs of brands looking to build continuity with type.
Creative Type Director Akira Kobayashi has nearly four decades of experience and an extensive background in Japanese typeface design and is a 2022 TDC Medal and Keinosuke Sato Award winner. After studying at Musashino Art University in Tokyo for four years, Akira Kobayashi accepted his first job at phototypesetting manufacturer Sha-Ken Co., where he was involved in the lengthy and intricate process of designing Japanese fonts.
Tom Rickner is Senior Director of the Studio with a career in type that spans more than three decades. During that time, he has mastered nearly every aspect of type design and font production, from his earliest days editing bitmaps, to designing some of the very first Multiple Master fonts for Adobe and TrueType GX Variations fonts for the Font Bureau and Apple, where he was also a pioneer of variable type.
Born in Cyprus, Monotype Creative Type Director Emilios Theofanous has a soft spot for quality Greek and multilingual typography. Since joining Monotype, Emilios has worked on many custom typeface projects for clients across fashion, banking, retail, and automotive sectors, as well as some iconic Monotype Library releases including Helvetica Now Variable. His latest typeface release ‘Touvlo’, has won the Communication Arts award of Excellence for typeface design.
Sara Soskolne is a Creative Type Director and designer. As a reformed bookworm, her deepest inspiration as a typeface designer is the experience of reading, and her abiding interest is in creating typefaces which not only serve but enrich that experience. Originally a graphic designer, Sara’s increasing fascination with type eventually drew her to study typeface design at the University of Reading in the UK, and then to practice it at Hoefler&Co.
Ryota Doi is a Senior Type Designer for Monotype. Ryota first became interested in type as a design student while at university in Japan. After receiving his BA in design from Tokyo University of the Arts, he enrolled in the MA typeface design program at the prestigious University of Reading, where he studied the differences between Japanese and Latin type.
Robin Hui joined Monotype Hong Kong as a type designer in 1988. He is currently the Chief Typographer and Production Manager of Monotype Hong Kong, responsible for a wide variety of type design and technology projects, including compression, hinting, and rendering control of typefaces across different platforms. Before joining Monotype, he spent 10 years as a professional typesetter, where Robin gained experience in how type is used effectively while also developing a strong passion for Chinese typography.
Juan Villanueva is a Senior Type Designer at the Monotype Studio in New York City. He grew up in Lima, Peru and Clifton, New Jersey. His heart is in both places and his work reflects both languages and cultures. Juan joined Monotype in 2016 where he contributes to library designs including Helvetica Now, Futura Now, and Walbaum and creates custom projects for global brands such as Google, Microsoft, Tencent, M&Ms, and Entertainment One.
As a Creative Type Director in the Monotype Studio, Terrance Weinzierl has been creating and modifying typefaces for the Monotype Library and a wide range of brands since 2008. In addition to working on custom projects for PBS, Microsoft, Google, Barnes & Noble, Domino’s and SAP, he’s designed type for video games, professional sports teams and auto manufacturers.
Jordan Bell is a letterer and type designer at Monotype. He is fascinated by handwriting and its effect on modern type design as well as early American typefounding. Originally from Texas, Jordan received a BFA from Abilene Christian University and then worked as a graphic designer in Santa Fe, NM before attending the MATD program at University of Reading in the UK to further his knowledge in design history, graphic communication, and typeface design.
From alternates to X-height, this list of typography terms and definitions covers just about everything you’d want to know about fonts and typography.