Joshua Darden

Joshua Darden is an American typeface designer born in 1979 in Northridge, Los Angeles, California.1 He is notable for several achievements in the field of typography:

Career Highlights

• Published his first typeface at the age of 15, becoming the first known African-American typeface designer.1
• Founded The Scanjam Design Company in 1993 with his high school friend Timothy Glaser.1
• Joined The Hoefler Type Foundry in 2000, initially as a freelancer and then as a full-time employee in 2001.1
• Established his own foundry, Darden Studio, in Brooklyn in 2004-2005.1

Notable Typefaces

Darden has created several widely-used typefaces, including:

• Freight: A superfamily of 120 fonts used by publications like W magazine and Medium.1
• Omnes: As of 2020, Darden Studio's best-selling typeface, used by brands such as AT&T, Carrefour, and Crayola.1
• Jubilat: The logo typeface for Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.1

Current Status

In 2019, Darden sold Darden Studio to Joyce Ketterer, who had been working at the company for 13 years.1 While Joshua Darden is no longer actively working in type design, he still maintains a financial stake in the studio.2

Teaching and Lecturing

Darden has shared his expertise through various educational engagements:

• Lectured at the University of California, Santa Barbara.1
• Participated in panels at TypeCon and South by Southwest Interactive conferences.1
• Served as a Guest Critic at the Rhode Island School of Design.1
• Taught typeface design and usage at Parsons School of Design.1

Joshua Darden's contributions to typography have left a lasting impact on the field, influencing many designers and establishing Darden Studio as a respected name in the type design industry.