Meet Veronika and José

Veronika Burian

Veronika is, with José, the founder of TypeTogether. She designs, organises, answers countless emails, and takes care of all of us. Despite having indecipherable handwriting, she has designed, according to her friends, one of the most beautiful calligraphic typefaces — Maiola. If she’s teaching, she’s moving; gesticulating is as automatic as breathing to her. And if she’s travelling, it’s probably because she’s preparing to teach or exploring on holiday.

Veronika is a rare breed: a true traveller who betters herself by discovering others; an instinctual designer; an active woman who loves climbing, hiking, and swimming; and an animal lover, especially of her wonderful dog Zappa.

1 · Where is your office located?
In Munich and the countryside close to Santes Creus, Cataluña.

2 · In what countries or cities have you lived?
Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Italy, UK, USA, and Spain. I’ve been quite fortunate to see many places around the world.

3 ·  What kind of music do you listen to, if you do, while working?
Jazz, psychedelic rock (’60s/’70s), and funk.

4 ·  Who is your everyday hero?
People who live consciously and with principles and are prepared to make sacrifices to turn this earth into a better place for everyone.

5 ·  What are your love/hate glyphs when designing?
I like to draw ‘k, a, s’ and have quite a dislike for the numeral 2.

6 ·  What is your hobby when not designing fonts?
I don’t have a hobby as such, but I go climbing, swimming, hiking, dancing, and do felting and photography.

7 ·  You have one opportunity to do something different in your life. What do you choose?
Contemporary dance performing artist, or photographer.

8 ·  What is your favourite word?
Seelenruhe, which approximately means “calm of the soul”.

9 · What is the most amazing script you have worked with and why?
I would not say Armenian is the most amazing script, but I do have some inexplicable affinity for it. It might relate to my eastern roots, or my last name that is supposedly Armenian from a long time ago, or… many other reasons. It’s something I can’t put into words.
 

José Scaglione

José Scaglione is the other talented founder of TypeTogether. He has a habit of changing his title every few months, and it’s always somehow a mix of sci-fi references and font nerdiness. He loves to have a few hours for open air grilling and, as far as business goes, is more into asking questions than forcing agreed answers.

1 · Where is your office located?
My studio is on the top floor of my house. If I am late, it means there was a traffic jam on the stairs.

2 · In what countries or cities have you lived?
Argentina, UK, and USA.

3 ·  What kind of music do you listen to, if you do, while working?
That depends on the kind of work I am doing. For general design and administrative work, I like listening to anything from soul and funk to rock. But I prefer complete silence when I research or write.

4 ·  Can you name three fonts you love that were designed by others?
Of course I can’t! I am a type designer. There’s some kind of etiquette rule against that.

5 ·  What are your love/hate glyphs when designing?
For a long time I argued that there were many reasons why ‘a’ should be one of the first glyphs to be designed. I argued that it has a very high repetition rate in most languages, that it has features that can be translated to other glyphs, and that it was complex enough to test how bold a font can get. Then I came to the conclusion that I simply love drawing that letter.

6 ·  What is your hobby when not designing fonts?
Rocking with my band!  :)

7 ·  You have one opportunity to do something different in your life. What do you choose?
I would probably try to be a chef.

8 · What is the most amazing script you have worked with and why?
Georgian. I think it surprised me. It looked quite simple and it has a very small character set, but it was unexpectedly hard to do it right.