Lunch Talks

Jesse Ragan

Typeface Designer
July 20, 2012

Black and white portrait of a person with short hair and a beard. They are wearing a button-up shirt and a blazer. They are looking at the camera with a subtle smile and seated against a plain, dark background.

Typeface designer Jesse Ragan discusses the fundamental principles of his process, which he teaches at Type@Cooper. Examples from his work will include custom typefaces and lettering for The New York Public Library, The Museum for African Art, and St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Jesse Ragan has been designing letterforms for as long as he can remember, dating back to his childhood in North Carolina. He learned from the best how to make them into typefaces: as a student at Rhode Island School of Design, as an intern at Font Bureau, and as a full-time designer at Hoefler & Frere-Jones. Since 2005, Jesse has worked independently in Brooklyn, developing typefaces and lettering for clients including Pentagram and House Industries. Among his many design credits are collaborative contributions to Gotham, Archer, and Omnes. Jesse also teaches typeface design at Type@Cooper, the postgraduate certificate program he co-founded in 2010.

  • A man sits on a stool in front of a small audience in a brightly lit room, giving a presentation. The screen next to him displays "Jesse Ragan" along with a web address and a Twitter handle. Snacks and drinks are visible on a table to the left.
  • A person stands next to a large projected display showing a comparison of different typographies. The screen features various text phrases, with emphasis on the words "PATIENT," "TRADITIONS," and "ENGAGING HUM." The typefaces compared are "Benefactors Titling & Names" and "Literary Guardians Titling & Names.
  • A person stands in front of a projection showing two typeface styles of the letter "g" on a white wall. The slide text reads, "from Plate 1 of Studies in Type Design,” with additional details about the typeface. The person is speaking and gesturing with one hand.
  • A man, standing in a room with a modern ceiling light fixture, looks up at projected text on the wall. The text includes locations such as Detroit, Michigan, and Grand Rapids, along with historical references like the Dominican War of Independence and French Rule in Algeria.
  • A man in a black shirt stands smiling, looking at a projection on the wall that displays text in various fonts and styles, including phrases like "Fundamentally antique face?" and "19th-Century Inspiration." He stands next to a stool and a dark cabinet with a glass of water.
  • A group of people seated and attentively listening to a presentation in a room with exposed brick walls. Some are taking notes while others are looking towards the front. The room is well-lit with natural light coming through a large window.

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