Ben Kiel & Jesse Ragan - XYZ Type

10/12/23 • 12 min

Ben Kiel and Jesse Ragan launched their digital type foundry XYZ Type in 2017 to craft typefaces and lettering for major brands, cultural institutions, and publications. XYZ Type draws original typefaces and logotypes from scratch, and often make their custom client commissions available for retail sale. For TypeCraft, Ben and Jesse share their experiences of working with clients, designing the Polymode family for Polymode Studio, and what it is like running a small independent foundry in the wild times of today.
Subscribe to TypeCraft Season One at the Proof&Co. Store to receive full interviews and a comprehensive visual companion to all interviews throughout the season.
Credits:
Interviews conducted by Kyle Read
Audio edited by Andrew Sfiris
Audio assistance and music production by Eric Read
Produced by Joshua Dick

Previous Episode

Ryan Bugden

Ryan Bugden is an independent type and graphic designer based in Brooklyn. He teaches type design through his own workshop Type Sessions and is an adjunct professor of typography at School of Visual Arts in New York City. For TypeCraft, Ryan tells us about his experience reimagining the Rhode Island School of Design identity, building a family of typefaces rooted in conceptual thinking, collaborating with agencies, and what it's like doing custom design work as an individual designer.
Subscribe to TypeCraft Season One at the Proof&Co. Store to receive full interviews and a comprehensive visual companion to all interviews throughout the season.
Credits:
Interviews conducted by Kyle Read
Audio edited by Andrew Sfiris
Audio assistance and music production by Eric Read
Produced by Joshua Dick

Next Episode

Edd Harrington - Colophon Foundry

Edd Harrington is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Colophon, a human-centric agency for typography based in London. Colophon has developed typographic solutions for some of the largest brands around the world, including Instagram, Cadillac, and Burger King. For TypeCraft, Edd discusses with us about the process of working with such large scale clients, where there is room for risk-taking in brand differentiation, and what it's like to see your work out in the world.
Subscribe to TypeCraft Season One at the Proof&Co. Store to receive full interviews and a comprehensive visual companion to all interviews throughout the season.
Credits:
Interviews conducted by Kyle Read
Audio edited by Andrew Sfiris
Audio assistance and music production by Eric Read
Produced by Joshua Dick