We called me Type Manager when I joined Typekit in 2010. That’s a bit like being called Ice Cream Manager at Baskin Robbins, but I didn’t do everything. I split my time between customer support and talking with type foundries about Typekit, including adjusting their fonts for the web.
During that time I learned from customers about how they use type, and the problems they ran into. I learned from type designers about the reasons behind their design decisions, and the intricacies of fonts. And I did what I always do. I did what got me the job at Typekit to begin with (8:05). I shared what I learned. Sometimes I wrote articles. Sometimes I snuck tips into support replies or blog posts about new fonts.
Over time my job changed. We hired support folks, businesspeople, and engineers who specialize in type. I still help – we all do – with support. But gradually, increasingly, I was able to focus on learning and sharing.
Now, we call me Head of Typography for Adobe Typekit and Adobe Type.
Typekit Practice has so much potential. I will continue to focus on lessons, references, and the library, but we’re going to do a few other fun things too. If you’re interested in learning and writing about typography, let’s talk: send a note to support@typekit.com and I’ll answer.
Typekit itself has so much potential. I will advise our design team, other Adobe product teams, external integration partners, and Typekit customers on all typographic matters. I’m especially interested in designing user interfaces that harness typographic data, and that account for the flexibility that the web has inspired in every medium, in order to help make design decisions easier and better by default.
And while I’m not responsible for it, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Adobe Type Concepts program. It is an incredible feat for type designers to be so open and nimble, while maintaining such an extraordinary level of quality in their work. Besides, the more web folks give type designers input, the better suited our type will be for the design challenges we face.
It’s fascinating to think about a product/service team that has someone dedicated not necessarily to the customers, the business, or the product itself, but to the craft that sustains those things. To our practice. This is a responsibility I take very seriously, and a special opportunity.
It’s also a special time in human history. Because of technology, the way people communicate is changing in dramatic ways. To witness and influence how designers respond to that is thrilling. It’s a privilege to participate by learning, sharing, making tools, preserving our heritage, and sticking up for people everywhere who contribute something to the world.
At your service,
Tim Brown
