Type x Graphic Design
Craft & Originality

Charles is a designer, typographer, and educator. He has designed hundreds of books and typefaces, and for more than 20 years, taught at the Parsons School of Design, where he also served as Chairman of Communication Design. He is also Chairman emeritus of the board of the Type Directors Club, an international organization dedicated to furthering typographic excellence. He is a Type Director at Monotype.

Naomi is a California-born designer & art director who specializes in branding, typography, fashion and the arts. She currently works for Michael Bierut at Pentagram’s New York studio. She received her BFA from Boston University in 2009 where she studied Graphic Design and minored in Art History. She also studied type design at the Cooper Union under the mentorship of Christian Schwartz and Berton Hasebe. Prior to Pentagram, Naomi worked at Mother, Wieden & Kennedy and several prestigious small design studios.

Jennifer co-founded The Original Champions of Design with Bobby C. Martin Jr. She has developed brand identity systems for clients that range from the Girl Scouts of the USA to The New York Times, MTV, the NBA and Ad Age. During 2016, Kinon served as Design Director of Hillary for America. She has spoken about the role of brand identity systems around the world, served as President of AIGA/NY and was the first graduate of the School of Visual Arts MFA Design program to join the faculty.

Ksenya is a creative practitioner and type designer, following her fascination with the nuances inherent in our visual and literary culture. Samarskaya has judged competitions for Communication Arts, TISDC, TDC, and the SoTA Catalyst Award, and served on the board of AIGA/NY. She’s developed curriculum and teaches at Harbour.Space University in Barcelona, as well as fielding courses at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and The School of Visual Ars in NYC. Recent areas of investigation include type in extended reality, and best pedagogical practices for creativity.

Christian is a partner, with London-based designer Paul Barnes, in the type foundry Commercial Type, and heads up the company’s New York office. Schwartz has published fonts with many respected independent foundries and has designed custom typefaces for corporations and publications worldwide including MoMA, the New York Times Style Magazine T, The Guardian, Sprint, and Vanity Fair. In 2007, Schwartz was awarded the prestigious Prix Charles Peignot, given every four or five years by the Association Typographique Internationale to a designer under 35 who has made “an outstanding contribution to the field of type design”. Schwartz’s work has also been honored by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the New York Type Director’s Club, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts.