Kerning, spacing, leading the way
(how type design taught me everything I know)
Marie Boulanger
Design Lead at Monotype
“You have to learn the rules so you can break them” — the most overrated sentence in the history of the design world.
We aren’t all rule-breakers. In fact, some of us are proud, very creative rule-followers. Marie love rules. In this talk, she will share how the rigid, unforgiving and demanding rules of type design have provided her with the most beautiful framework she could dream of, not just to draw letters but to carve out a career and life she loves.
This talk will go through various custom type design projects and her current work as Design Lead at Monotype, while hopefully giving the audience tools to confidently grow their creative paths.
Speakers
Marie Boulanger
Design Lead at Monotype
Based in London but originally from Paris, Marie Boulanger is the Design Lead at Monotype, guiding the brand’s visual voice. She studied linguistics, graphic design and type design and is particularly interested in the intersection of those disciplines. Prior to joining Monotype, Marie worked in branding agencies and foundries in Europe, the USA and Canada, creating custom type for a variety of clients.
You may have seen her presenting at TypeCon or Adobe MAX, or giving lectures on typography at institutions such as Reading University and University of the Arts London. In 2022 she was selected as part of The Future Laboratory’s global line-up of 100 innovators, disruptors, activists and change-makers for her groundbreaking work investigating the role of gender stereotypes in typography. Her retail typefaces are released with Positype.