Colophon Foundry

What is the story of Colophon Foundry? The studio directors, Anthony and Edd met at the University of Brighton in 2006, on the graphic design course. Anthony quit Brighton University in the second year of studying, whilst Edd continued. In late 2008 we discussed starting a studio together, after a spontaneous trip to Japan. In January of 2009, The Entente opened. With no clients, we began to work on our own work, which evolved into opening Colophon Foundry in April 2009. From 2009 till late 2012 we remained in Brighton, mostly working on our own typefaces and cultural projects (artist books, identities …) but in early 2013 moved to London. Since then our business has shifted to include bespoke type commissions, working with Google, Rapha, UEFA and Virgin. Throughout 2016 we expanded to four people, and soon we will be five, working as The Entente/Colophon Foundry. That is the story so far. The story continues.

You are both working as typographers and art directors. How do you balance these two fields? What would you say is the more prolific? We see the two disciplines are joined and necessary for each other. Our structure within in the studio is quite specific. Anthony works on the creative direction, whilst Edd heads up all technical aspects and type design. We wouldn’t ultimately name either of our outputs as prolific, in our realm they are hold equal importance. We believe our approach is specific as we have separated these tasks out. This allows us to develop a particularly skill, whilst collaborating closely with another discipline — seeing their application to each other instantly.

How would you describe the creative vibe of London? How have you seen the graphic design influences evolve in the city over the past years? The creative vibe really differs between different locations throughout London. We, personally, have expanded whilst in London, and feel that the city has influenced our business and work positively. But we also do know practices that have struggled to keep up with London’s rising living costs. The city is a place of extremes.

You designed the font Aperçu that we are using on the katalog website. How was this font created? How do you feel about the fact that it became such a massive typeface, both used by design students but also big companies? We released Aperçu in 2010, after originally designing it for a small art catalogue. Aperçu received an almost cult in the years following its release, with brands as Glossier even hash tagging that Aperçu was in use. This exists in an interesting sphere for us, where we no longer control the product, and the product begins a life of its own — something we explored in our FIVE YEARS, exhibition in 2014. Interview conducted in May 2017 ©ktlg