About XYZ Type
We’re Ben and Jesse, and we make fonts. After collaborating frequently over the past few years, we thought it was about time we teamed up to sell our designs through our own independent type foundry, XYZ Type.
In our ongoing pursuit of new ideas for typefaces that are worth making, we take inspiration from history, vernacular lettering, and a forward-looking view of graphic design. To anticipate your needs, we draw upon our experience creating typefaces for branding, advertising, and publication designers. Some of our retail typefaces begin as custom commissions, and some are entirely speculative creations.
But big ideas are only useful with skillful execution. Our meticulous development process always takes unexpected turns, forcing us to find clever aesthetic and technical solutions. Those small moments of innovation are what make our typefaces unique.
Press
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June 17, 2017
HOW Magazine
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June 8, 2017
Identifont
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June 6, 2017
AIGA Eye on Design
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June 1, 2017
Daily Heller, Print Magazine
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May 17, 2017
Communication Arts
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September 1, 2016
Typodarium 2017 calendar
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November 12, 2015
Slanted Magazine #26 – NYC Special Edition
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February 3, 2015
AIGA Eye on Design
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December 8, 2014
Fonts in Use
Awards
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Best Type Foundry Karaoke, Typopgraphics 2017
“Breadth, depth, and commitment are all 100%” –CJ Dunn
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Communication Arts Typography & Lettering Awards 2016
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Typographica
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Typefacts
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Hiii Brand Typography competition 2014
Ben Kiel
Ben designed Grep, the typeface you’re reading right now (available soon), and co-designed Cortado. He also serves as XYZ Type’s technical wizard, making our fonts work effortlessly and troubleshooting your problems.
During his years at House Industries, Ben specialized in addressing complex problems at the overlap of design and technology. He now works at XYZ Type’s intergalactic headquarters, in a room full of letterpress printing equipment in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Ben received his MA in Typeface Design from the University of Reading. He currently teaches at Washington University and Type@Cooper.
Jesse Ragan
At the launch of XYZ Type, Jesse has released two new original typefaces, Aglet Slab and Export. He also works regularly with branding agencies and graphic designers on custom lettering for logotypes (quick) and full custom typefaces (slow).
After studying at Rhode Island School of Design, Jesse got his start working at Hoefler & Frere-Jones. He later co-founded Type@Cooper and taught for the first four years of its certificate program. His students attest that he has a merciless eye for detail.
Jesse telecommutes to XYZ Type from his studio in the notorious pencil factory, in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.