Joshua Darden

{{Short description|American typeface designer}}

{{Infobox artist | name = Joshua Darden | image = Joshua Darden (crop).jpg | imagesize = | alt = Joshua Darden at his Brooklyn studio on 18 Jan 2010. | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1979|01|02}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, US | death_date = | death_place = | field = Type design | training = | movement = | works = | patrons = | influenced by = | influenced = | spouse = | awards = ''Print'''s New Visual Artists 2006 }} '''Joshua Darden''' (born 1979 in Northridge, Los Angeles, California)<ref name="graphic design referenced" /> is an American typeface designer.<ref name="Devroye">{{cite web |last1=Devroye |first1=Luc |author1-link=Luc Devroye |title=Darden Studio [Joshua Darden] |url=https://luc.devroye.org/fonts-29559.html |website=Type Design Information |access-date=5 February 2021}}</ref> Darden is the earliest known African-American typeface designer, having published his first typeface at the age of just 15.<ref name="publish">{{cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Terri |title=The Faces Behind the Faces |url=http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/2671.html |website=Creative Pro |publisher=Publish |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010305212630/http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/2671.html |archive-date=5 March 2001 |date=16 November 1999}}</ref><ref name="grafik">{{cite web |last1=Sharp |first1=Lucas |title=Letterform: Rare Goods |url=https://www.grafik.net/category/letterform/rare-goods |website=Grafik |date=30 November 2017 |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-date=6 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706135740/https://www.grafik.net/category/letterform/rare-goods |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="graphic design referenced">{{cite web |last1=Gomez-Palacio|first1=Bryony |last2=Vit|first2=Armin |title=Graphic Design Referenced |publisher=Rockport |pages=231 |date=1 July 2009 |url=https://archive.org/details/graphicdesignref0000gome/page/230/mode/2up?q=%22joshua+darden%22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Joshua Darden |url=https://fontsinuse.com/type_designers/92/joshua-darden |website=Fonts In Use |access-date=5 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Rawsthorn|first=Alice|date=2011-03-20|title=Design Gets More Diverse (Published 2011)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/arts/21iht-DESIGN21.html|access-date=2021-02-12|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Career==

In 1993, Darden and his high school friend Timothy Glaser co-founded The Scanjam Design Company, a studio for interactive, identity, and type design. Scanjam's retail type families included Diva, Interact, Locus, Out, Profundis, and the Macromedia-award-winning Index.<ref name="index fiu">{{cite web |title=Index |url=https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/48080/index |website=Fonts In Use |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> These were distributed by David Carson's GarageFonts foundry.<ref name="publish" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Scanjam: Team |url=http://www.scanjam.com/team.1.html |website=The Scanjam Design Company |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990420180556/http://www.scanjam.com/ |archive-date=20 April 1999}}</ref><ref name="scanjam fonts">{{cite web |title=Scanjam: Catalog |url=http://www.scanjam.com/catalog.1.html |website=The Scanjam Design Company |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001014160604/http://scanjam.com/catalog.1.html |archive-date=14 October 2000 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="emotional">{{cite web |title=Emotional Digital: A Sourcebook of Contemporary Typographics |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/50077257901/in/photostream/ |publisher=Verlag Hermann Schmidt |location=Mainz |pages=147 |date=1999}}</ref><ref name="garagefonts may 1997">{{cite web |title=Fonts |url=http://www.garagefonts.com/1OF_Framesetfonts.html |website=GarageFonts |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970523031637/http://www.garagefonts.com/1OF_Framesetfonts.html |archive-date=23 May 1997}}</ref>

Darden joined The Hoefler Type Foundry in 2000 as a freelancer, and in 2001 as a full-time employee.<ref name="graphic design referenced"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=2003-10-04|title=The Hoefler Type Foundry {{!}} Profile|url=http://typography.com/profile/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031004165739/http://typography.com/profile/index.html|access-date=2020-07-14|archive-date=4 October 2003}}</ref> In 2004–2005, after a lengthy court battle,<ref>{{Cite web|title=HOEFLER TYPE FOUNDRY vs. DARDEN, JOSHUA|url=https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=mlclTkStCtDhR4JEI5JhdQ==&system=prod|website=iapps.courts.state.ny.us |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-07-01|title=Font War: Inside the Design World's $20 Million Divorce - Businessweek|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-08/font-war-inside-the-design-worlds-20-million-divorce |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701025049/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-08/font-war-inside-the-design-worlds-20-million-divorce|access-date=2020-07-14|archive-date=1 July 2014}}</ref><ref name="darden studio history">{{cite web |last1=Ketterer |first1=Joyce |title=Darden Studio post on the history of the foundry |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CBx6VzUBxPX/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/dardenstudiofonts/2337906266485494743 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |url-access=registration|via=Instagram |date=23 June 2020 |access-date=14 July 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> he established his own foundry, Darden Studio, in Brooklyn.<ref name="grafik"/><ref name="darden archive">{{cite web |title=The Darden Studio |url=http://www.dardenstudio.com/studio/ |website=Current members of the studio |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819004840/http://www.dardenstudio.com/studio/ |archive-date=19 August 2008}}</ref><ref name="darden studio">{{cite web |url=https://www.dardenstudio.com/studio |title=Members of the studio |website=Darden Studio |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> Soon after, he published the font superfamily Freight, 120 fonts in five families (Big,<ref>{{cite web |title=Freight Big |url=http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightbig.php |website=Joshua Darden (archived) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329183007/http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightbig.php |access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=29 March 2006 }}</ref> Display,<ref>{{cite web |title=Freight Display |url=http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightdisplay.php |website=Joshua Darden (archived) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329182956/http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightdisplay.php |access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=29 March 2006 }}</ref> Micro,<ref>{{cite web |title=Freight Micro |url=http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightmicro.php |website=Joshua Darden (archived) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329183011/http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightmicro.php |access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=29 March 2006 }}</ref> Sans,<ref>{{cite web |title=Freight Sans |url=http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightsans.php |website=Joshua Darden (archived) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329183029/http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freightsans.php |access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=29 March 2006 }}</ref> and Text).<ref name="hauling freight">{{cite web |last1=Berry |first1=John D. |title=Hauling Freight |url=https://creativepro.com/dot-font-hauling-freight/ |website=Creative Pro |date=30 May 2005 |access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Freight Text |url=http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freighttext.php |website=Joshua Darden (archived) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329183045/http://www.joshuadarden.com/shop/freighttext.php |access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=29 March 2006 }}</ref> It was inspired by the "Dutch taste" school of typeface design, including the work of Kis, Caslon and Fleischman,<ref name="hauling freight" /><ref name="typenetwork freight">{{cite web |title=GarageFonts hauls Freight to Type Network |url=https://garagefonts.typenetwork.com/news/article/garagefonts-hauls-freight-to-type-network/ |website=TypeNetwork |access-date=17 July 2020 |archive-date=18 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718023611/https://garagefonts.typenetwork.com/news/article/garagefonts-hauls-freight-to-type-network/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was named a "Favorite Typeface of 2005" by ''Typographica''.<ref name="Weissman Freight 2005">{{cite web |last1=Weissman |first1=Dyana |title=Our Favorite Typefaces of 2005 |url=https://typographica.org/on-typography/our-favorite-typefaces-of-2005/#freight |website=Typographica |date=25 December 2005 |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> It became one of his most widely seen designs, used by art directors such as Abbott Miller, Mark Porter, and Rick Valicenti, and employed by editorial platforms such as ''W'' magazine and Medium.<ref name="grafik"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Coles |first1=Stephen |title=Darden's New Website Unloads Big Freight |url=https://typographica.org/on-typography/dardens-new-website-unloads-big-freight/ |website=Typographica |date=7 August 2005 |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Freight Text in use |url=https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/2774/freight-text |website=Fonts In Use |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> Its popularity was perhaps matched by Omnes, as of 2020 Darden Studio's best-selling typeface;<ref name="darden studio history" /> initially designed for Landor. Omnes was released in 2006 and has been used by AT&T, Carrefour, Courrier International, Crayola, Eventbrite, Fanta, and Huggies.<ref name="darden studio history" /><ref name="carrefour">{{cite web |title=Carrefour brand book, Version 1.0 |url=https://issuu.com/logobr/docs/carrefour_brand_book/44 |website=Issuu |publisher=Carrefour |page=44 |date=August 2009 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Omnes in use |url=https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/19/omnes |website=Fonts In Use |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> Darden's other releases for his foundry include Birra Stout, Corundum Text, Dapifer, Halyard, and TDC award-winner,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Untitled|url=https://www.tdc.org/work/untitled/ |website=The Type Directors Club |language=en-US |access-date=2020-07-14}}</ref> Jubilat<ref name="darden studio catalog">{{cite web |title=Our Retail Library |url=https://www.dardenstudio.com/typefaces |website=Darden Studio |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> the logo typeface of Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=Naomie |title=Bernie Sanders for President 2016 |url=https://fontsinuse.com/uses/10488/bernie-sanders-for-president-2016 |website=Fonts In Use |date=18 October 2015 |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> In 2006, Darden was named one of ''Print'' magazine's "New Visual Artists", an annual award given to 20 designers under the age of 30, and he juried the prize in 2010.<ref name="print award">{{cite web |title=New Visual Artists 2010 |url=https://www.printmag.com/post/new-visual-artists-2010 |website=Printmag.com |date=18 March 2010 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref>

In 2019, Darden sold Darden Studio to Joyce Ketterer, who had been working at the company for 13 years. The company retained his name and continues to expand and release Darden's type designs.<ref name="darden studio history" />

== Teaching and lecturing ==

Darden has lectured at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has sat on panels at the TypeCon and South by Southwest Interactive conferences, visited the Rhode Island School of Design as a Guest Critic, and taught the design and use of typefaces at Parsons School of Design.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-05-10|title=Parsons Hosts AIGA: Type Forecast|url=https://amt.parsons.edu/blog/parsons-hosts-aiga-type-forecast/ |website=Art, Media, & Technology |language=en-US |access-date=2020-07-14}}</ref>

==Typefaces== Joshua Darden's typefaces include the following: {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break}} '''1995''' * Diva<ref name="graphic design referenced" /><ref name="garagefonts feb 1997">{{cite web |title=View by Designer |url=http://www.garagefonts.com/1designers.html |website=GarageFonts |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970210124622/http://www.garagefonts.com/1designers.html |archive-date=10 February 1997}}</ref> '''1997''' * Index (with Timothy Glaser)<ref name="garagefonts may 1997" /> * Interact<ref name="garagefonts feb 1997" /> * Locus (with Timothy Glaser)<ref name="garagefonts may 1997" /> * Out (with Timothy Glaser)<ref name="garagefonts may 1997" /> * Out Post (with Timothy Glaser)<ref name="garagefonts may 1997" /> '''1999''' * Profundis (with Timothy Glaser) * Profundis Sans (with Timothy Glaser) {{Col-break}} '''2003''' * Sterling (with Karen Silveira, Tobias Frere-Jones, and Jonathan Hoefler)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sterling type family |url=https://designarchives.aiga.org/#/entries/sterling/_/detail/relevance/asc/5/7/640/sterling-type-family/1 |website=designarchives.aiga.org |access-date=2020-07-21}}</ref> '''2004''' * Bosch (with Christian Acker, Christian Schwartz, and Erik Spiekermann)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Christian |title=Bosch |url=https://www.christianschwartz.com/bosch.shtml |website=Schwartzco Inc. |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> '''2005''' * Freight<ref name="CreativePro Freight">{{cite web |title=New Type Design: Freight Released |url=https://creativepro.com/new-type-design-freight-released/ |website=CreativePro |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> (additional styles released later,<ref name="Freight Big and Display">{{cite web |last1=Weissman |first1=Dyana |title=Freight Big and Display |url=https://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/freight-big-and-display/ |website=Typographica |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="CreativePro Freight Big and Freight Display">{{cite web |title=New Typeface Designs – Freight Big and Freight Display – Released by Phil´s Fonts and GarageFonts |url=https://creativepro.com/new-typeface-designs-freight-big-and-freight-display-released-by-phil-s-fonts-and-garagefonts/ |website=CreativePro |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> not all by Darden)<ref name="grafik" /> * FF Meta Headline (with Christian Schwartz and Erik Spiekermann)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Christian |author-link=Christian Schwartz |title=FF Meta Headline |url=https://www.christianschwartz.com/metahead.shtml |website=Schwartzco Inc. |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> '''2006''' * Corundum Text (based on the work of Simon-Pierre Fournier)<ref name="darden studio catalog" /> * Omnes (with Jesse Ragan)<ref name="darden studio catalog" /><ref name="Omnes typographica review">{{cite web |last=Vit | first=Armin |title=Omnes |url=https://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/omnes/ |website=Typographica |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> '''2007''' * Argent (unreleased)<ref name="graphic design referenced" /> {{Col-break}} '''2008''' * Birra Stout<ref name="darden studio catalog" /><ref name="Luecke Birra Stout typographica">{{cite web |last1=Luecke |first1=Karsten |title=Birra Stout |url=https://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/birra-stout/ |website=Typographica |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> * Jubilat<ref name="darden studio catalog" /> '''2012''' * Dapifer (with Thomas Jockin, Scott Kellum, Noam Berg, and Lucas Sharp)<ref name="Phinney Dapifer">{{cite web |last1=Phinney |first1=Thomas |title=Dapifer |url=https://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/dapifer/ |website=Typographica |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="darden studio catalog" /> * Dapifer Stencil<ref name="darden studio catalog" /> '''2017''' * Halyard (with Eben Sorkin and Lucas Sharp)<ref name="darden studio catalog" /><ref name="Halyard Typographica review">{{cite web |last=Stefan |first=Ellmer |title=Halyard |url=https://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/halyard/ |website=Typographica |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> {{Col-end}}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [https://www.dardenstudio.com/ Darden Studio]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darden, Joshua}} Category:American typographers and type designers Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African-American designers Category:Designers from Los Angeles Category:21st-century African-American people Category:20th-century African-American people