Matthew Carter
From Free net encyclopedia
Matthew Carter (born 1937) is a designer of digital fonts.
Life
Master typographer Matthew Carter has had over 40 years of experience designing letterforms. The creator of Galliard is the son of Harry Carter a printing historian to Oxford University Press. As Harry’s son, Matthew was able to gain important insight about typography, especially the classical Roman Letterform. Many of Matthew’s typefaces are recreations of 16th century designs.
At the age of 19, Carter spent a year studying in Holland where he learned from Jan Van Krimpen’s assistant P.H.Raedisch. Raedisch taught Carter the art of punch cutting at the Enschede type foundry. By 1961 Carter was able to use the skills he acquired to cut his own version of the semi-bold typeface Dante.
Carter eventually returned to London where he became a freelancer as well as the typographic advisor to Crosfield Electronics, distributors of Photon phototypesetting machines. Carter designed many typefaces for Mergenthalar Linotype as well. Under Linotype, Carter created well known typefaces such as the 100-year replacement typeface for Bell Telephone Company.
In 1981 Carter and his colleague Mike Parker created Bitstream Inc. This digital type foundry is currently one of the largest suppliers of type. Matthew Carter focuses on improving many typefaces readability. He designs specifically for Apple computers and Microsoft. Georgia and Verdana are two fonts that have been created solely for viewing on the computer screen. Carter has designed type for magazines such as Time, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Boston Globe, Wired, and Newsweek. He is a member of AIG, is a senior critic for Yale's Graphic design program, and is chairman of AtypI. Matthew Carter has won numerous awards for his significant contributions to typography.
Work
Previously with Linotype, he co-founded the Bitstream type foundry in 1981, which he left in 1991 to form the Carter & Cone type foundry with Cherie Cone. He is the son of Harry Carter (1901–1982), who was also a type designer.
Matthew Carter's typefaces include: Bell Centennial, Cascade Script, Bitstream Charter, ITC Galliard, Georgia, Olympian, Mantinia, Miller, Shelley Script, Snell Roundhand, Skia, Sophia, Tahoma, Verdana and Meiryo.
Revivals on which Carter has worked include: Auriol, Big Caslon, New Century Schoolbook, ITC Souvenir, Cochin, Gando and Helvetica.
In 1997 he was awarded the TDC Medal from the Type Directors Club.