Can anyone design type?

On one side: the old guard – master craftsman who have dedicated their working lives to the artform. On the other: the young pretenders – experts in their own field who want to spread their creative wings. Everywhere you look there are designers keen to show off their own take on typeface design.

And no wonder, because as technological advancements improve the ease with which fonts can be developed, designers have become increasingly tempted to experiment with type. Having a toolbox doesn’t make you a tradesman, of course. Which begs several questions: are designers pushing typography in new and innovative directions? Or are they cheapening the artform and producing inferior work? And is it creating animosity towards them from type specialists?

“I wouldn’t seek to call myself a traditional type designer,” reflects British designer and art director Craig Ward. “But, equally, if someone has asked me for a bespoke font, they’re asking for a reason.”

Barcelona-based studio Toormix is part of a new breed of designers who have made the transition to typeface design. The studio used its branding and type expertise to promote Catalan Wines to both a national and global audience, developing a vibrant identity that stretches across a range of merchandising collateral, from posters to point-of-sale material

Barcelona-based studio Toormix is part of a new breed of designers who have made the transition to typeface design. The studio used its branding and type expertise to promote Catalan Wines to both a national and global audience, developing a vibrant identity that stretches across a range of merchandising collateral, from posters to point-of-sale material

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The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq. 

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