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Garrett Boge and Paul Shaw, a bi-coastal duo, teamed up to create a contemporary digital type foundry churning out unique, stylish typefaces.
Two designers, living on opposite sides of the United States-one does most of his work on computer, the other prefers to use paper and pencil. What could they possibly have in common?
Plenty. Designers Garrett Boge, who lives and works in Seattle, and Paul Shaw, who calls New York City home, make up the type design team of LetterPerfect-an independent, bi-coastal, digital foundry that is releasing trendsetting contemporary designs and thoughtful typographic revivals from some very unusual sources. LEFT COAST TYPE DESIGNER Boge has been drawing letters his entire career, first for Hallmark, then as a contract designer for companies that included Monotype Typography, Microsoft Corporation, and Apple Computer. Today, Boge is a freelance typeface designer specializing in custom designs, and the founder of LetterPerfect Fonts.
When hired at Hallmark, Boge was one of many lettering artists whose job was to transcribe cute and sanguine greetings into equally sappy looking letters. He eventually migrated to Hallmark's type drawing office where he learned the company's approach for creating distinctive script and display fonts. "This was still largely an analog process, drawing, inking, and photo prints converted to early generation digital typesetting, Boge recalls. "The training was good, however, and Hermann Zapf's legacy [Zapf was a long-time advisor to the company] was very strong." Shortly after Boge left Hallmark, he discovered the Macintosh computer, PostScript, and Fontographer and began to build his independent business.
In addition to designing type, Boge is a businessman and production engineer. He manages the day-to-day business of LetterPerfect and is largely responsible for converting his and Shaw's renderings into digital files.
Right Coast Lettering Artist
Shaw, on the other hand, combines his love of history and his teaching skills with typeface design. Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., he has a BA in American Studies from Reed College and a masters degree in American history from Columbia University Self-taught as a designer, Shaw recalls, "I've been drawing letters since I was in grade school, but it wasn't until I was at Columbia University, working on my dissertation and paying for tuition with small lettering projects, that I could begin...