March 8

TypeTogether has focused on equality from the beginning. We have a woman co-founder, most of the core team is women, two-thirds of our typefaces are designed by women (the rest are heavily influenced by women throughout the design and publishing process), and we even name our font families with female names. Each woman team member lives in a different region around the world and brings something important to every conversation and decision. Remove these integral pieces and TypeTogether would not exist.⁠⁠

We don’t promote this aspect very often because we take for granted that equality should be the norm. And on International Women’s Day we again want to give public credit where it is certainly due. This year some of the amazing women we work with share their views, thoughts, and tips.

Anya Danilova: “I am Russian and I am appalled and terrified of what my government, which I did not choose, does to a neighboring country and to my own country. While I am living in The Netherlands and see how the Western world starts to acknowledge and raise awareness of the abuse in general, I also understand that unfortunately this is nowhere near to being addressed worldwide.

International women’s day is set up to acknowledge women’s strength and achievements, but still to this day, according to WHO statistics, every 1 out of 3 women globally has been subjected to violence.

Violence can increase very easily; it can start at home or school and eventually grow so much further. We see wars that might as well started as a domestic abuse, we see that the violence can take people of any gender, any race, any beliefs, and might as well take all of them at once.

The only realistic thing we can do (besides donating) and continue to do is to educate. Educate the children (and parents!) why bullying, physical responses, and emotional abuse are dangerous. If there is no censorship in your country, raise awareness and speak about the problem.”

Cecilia Brarda: “I search, I find and I search again. The key is to keep moving.”

Elena Veguillas: “We need to bring back every layer of history and keep challenging the design canon. History (of design) cannot be made by just one voice.”

Liron Lavi Turkenich: “Being a woman in design is very much about dual connections. You cannot do it alone (and honestly, why would you?). It’s advising others while being advised yourself. It’s sharing your challenges and wins, as well as cheering and comforting others. And despite the geographical distance, finding your remote tribe is the best thing I have gained in this profession (shoutout to Alphabettes and the Alphabettes Mentorship Program).

Luciana Sottini: “Being a mum and a designer is a complex task, but not impossible. You must trust and support yourself in your work environment. Crea tu tribu femenina.”

Najla Badran: “My experience as a woman designer has at times felt like a bit of a battle, sometimes feeling the pressure of competition, but I have thankfully been surrounded by great women in the field from whom at many instances I have experienced solidarity.

Whether during the MATD from people or at work when pursuing my career in teaching, research, and type design, experiences ranged from just support to pushing through tough times in work because there is a need for more women in the field with this specific background or experience, or even just saying what will you lose.

So I would hope that young (women) designers in the field remind themselves not to feel pressured or nervous because we lose nothing by sending our work out and taking risks, but we do gain a lot. I would also encourage them to surround themselves with women who inspire and encourage them — and there are thankfully a lot of women out there willing to help and support each other.”

Nicolien van der Keur: “Keep holding faith that you are or will be a good type designer despite what others would have you believe. You are often better than people let you think.”

Pilar Cano: “Being a woman, you have to be twice as strong in every aspect of life, including working as a designer; being a gay woman, you have to be even stronger”.

Sahar Afshar: “I wish I had more role models in the field when I was starting out, more books and articles and exhibitions on the work of women in type, particularly women of colour. Representation matters, and hopefully this is something that will improve for future generations of type designers.”

Vera Evstafieva: “We’re stronger together — women and men of type design.”

Veronika Burian: “Stand on your feet and never give up.”