Mark Simonson (born 1955) is an American independent type designer who works in St. Paul, Minnesota.[2][3][4][5][6]
Mark Simonson | |
|---|---|
 Simonson in 2018 | |
| Born | 1955 (age 68–69) |
| Occupation | Type designer |
| Notable work | Proxima Nova |
Career
editSimonson has described his typefaces as often being inspired by lettering styles of the past, such as the graphic design of the 1970s, Art Deco graphics and wood type.[7][8][9]
Simonson’s most popular font family is Proxima Nova (1994, revised 2005), a sans-serif design in the geometric and grotesque styles used by companies such as BuzzFeed, Mashable, NBC, The Onion, TikTok and Wired.[10][11][12] As of October 2021, it is the fifth highest-selling family on font sales website MyFonts.[13] His fonts also include Anonymous Pro, a monospaced font designed for programming released under the OFL.
Simonson worked as a graphic designer before specialising in type design.[1][14][15] His career as a type designer got a boost when his partner Pat won money on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,[16][17] as her success allowed him to take six months off from graphic design work to design several new typefaces that he could sell.[7][8] He has also written blog articles on the history of type design and the lettering styles used in films, including the type blog Typographica.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ a b Simonson, Mark (27 May 2020). "How I Became a Type Designer in Only 30 Years with Mark Simonson". Vimeo. Cooper Union. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Hutchinson, Grant. "Q & A: Mark Simonson". Typedia. Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
- ^ O'Driscoll, Conor (22 July 2013). "One Minute with Mark Simonson". Oneminutewith. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Interview: Mark Simonson". Planet Typography. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Interview: Mark Simonson". Eurekaville. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Morlighem, Sébastien. "Mark Simonson Studio: Breathing New Life into the Past". FontStand. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ a b Sorkin, Eben. "Creative Characters: Mark Simonson". MyFonts. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Mark Simonson interview". LetterCult. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Metallophile". Geotypographika. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Vo, Tri Branch (6 December 2015). "Why Proxima Nova is Everywhere". Medium. Mic. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Friedman, Granr. "Interview with Type Designer Mark Simonson". ArtBistro.
- ^ Peters, Jay (17 May 2023). "TikTok has a new font". The Verge. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "Bestsellers". MyFonts (archived). Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "How to design a typeface: Mark Simonson's process". Adobe Systems. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Lileks, James. "My Minnesota: Mark Simonson". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Dodge, Bernadette (21 January 2008). "Designs for justice, designs for change". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ "Prize winner recalls classmate who died". Deseret News. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ Eddin, Peter (January 2006). "Good Film, Shame About the Helvetica". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Boxer, Sarah (16 May 2005). "Arial, Mon Amour, and other font passions". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2016.