Simon Johnston
Born in Leamington Spa, England, Simon Johnston was educated at Bath Academy of Art and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart. In London in the 1980s he co-founded the design studio 8vo and was instigator and co-editor of the influential typography journal Octavo.
Johnston's award-winning design practice, Simon Johnston Design, specializes in publications for museums and galleries, with such clients as the Whitney Museum, Gagosian Gallery, the Getty Museum, Steidl Verlag, Blum & Poe, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Yale University Press. He also runs a small publishing imprint, verbeditions.com, producing prints and multiples by himself and other artists.
He has lectured on typography and design and given workshops in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and South America, and his work has received many awards. His designs have been featured in numerous books, including Typography: When, Who, How (Konemann); Mixing Messages (Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum); Making and Breaking the Grid (Rockport); Cutting Edge Typography (Rotovision); 20th Century Type Remix (Ginko); Large Graphics (Rockport); and 8vo: On the Outside (Lars Muller). He has had solo exhibitions at University of California at Davis, and the American Cement Building, Los Angeles, and his work has appeared in many group exhibitions.
He has written extensively on typography and design, most recently contributing the foreword to the book Octavo Redux, a reprinting in book form of the complete series of Octavo magazine, with additional commentaries, published by Unit Editions in 2018.
Simon divides his time between book design and his own art/photography practice, which includes the recently formed Verb Editions publishing. He produces letterpress prints in Los Angeles, London, and Berlin. His photographic books include Unsigned and 16 Minutes in Florence, both published by Verb Editions, and Meridian, published by Steidl, Germany.
Johnston retired as Professor of Typography and Design at ArtCenter College of Design in 2024, where he was named Faculty Emeritus. As founding Creative Director of HMCT in 2015, he created the Center's visual identity and has shaped its artistic direction over the past decade.
All work designed by Simon Johnston except for 8vo studio works (1984-88) co-designed with Mark Holt and Hamish Muir, and the two ArtCenter view books designed with ArtCenter design office team Winnie Li, Eliana Dominguez, Seth Ferris, and Andrea Carrillo. All works are offset litho unless otherwise noted.
Simon Johnston
Born in Leamington Spa, England, Simon Johnston was educated at Bath Academy of Art and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart. In London in the 1980s he co-founded the design studio 8vo and was instigator and co-editor of the influential typography journal Octavo.
Johnston's award-winning design practice, Simon Johnston Design, specializes in publications for museums and galleries, with such clients as the Whitney Museum, Gagosian Gallery, the Getty Museum, Steidl Verlag, Blum & Poe, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Yale University Press. He also runs a small publishing imprint, verbeditions.com, producing prints and multiples by himself and other artists.
He has lectured on typography and design and given workshops in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and South America, and his work has received many awards. His designs have been featured in numerous books, including Typography: When, Who, How (Konemann); Mixing Messages (Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum); Making and Breaking the Grid (Rockport); Cutting Edge Typography (Rotovision); 20th Century Type Remix (Ginko); Large Graphics (Rockport); and 8vo: On the Outside (Lars Muller). He has had solo exhibitions at University of California at Davis, and the American Cement Building, Los Angeles, and his work has appeared in many group exhibitions.
He has written extensively on typography and design, most recently contributing the foreword to the book Octavo Redux, a reprinting in book form of the complete series of Octavo magazine, with additional commentaries, published by Unit Editions in 2018.
Simon divides his time between book design and his own art/photography practice, which includes the recently formed Verb Editions publishing. He produces letterpress prints in Los Angeles, London, and Berlin. His photographic books include Unsigned and 16 Minutes in Florence, both published by Verb Editions, and Meridian, published by Steidl, Germany.
Johnston retired as Professor of Typography and Design at ArtCenter College of Design in 2024, where he was named Faculty Emeritus. As founding Creative Director of HMCT in 2015, he created the Center's visual identity and has shaped its artistic direction over the past decade.
All work designed by Simon Johnston except for 8vo studio works (1984-88) co-designed with Mark Holt and Hamish Muir, and the two ArtCenter view books designed with ArtCenter design office team Winnie Li, Eliana Dominguez, Seth Ferris, and Andrea Carrillo. All works are offset litho unless otherwise noted.
Simon Johnston
Born in Leamington Spa, England, Simon Johnston was educated at Bath Academy of Art and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart. In London in the 1980s he co-founded the design studio 8vo and was instigator and co-editor of the influential typography journal Octavo.
Johnston's award-winning design practice, Simon Johnston Design, specializes in publications for museums and galleries, with such clients as the Whitney Museum, Gagosian Gallery, the Getty Museum, Steidl Verlag, Blum & Poe, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Yale University Press. He also runs a small publishing imprint, verbeditions.com, producing prints and multiples by himself and other artists.
He has lectured on typography and design and given workshops in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and South America, and his work has received many awards. His designs have been featured in numerous books, including Typography: When, Who, How (Konemann); Mixing Messages (Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum); Making and Breaking the Grid (Rockport); Cutting Edge Typography (Rotovision); 20th Century Type Remix (Ginko); Large Graphics (Rockport); and 8vo: On the Outside (Lars Muller). He has had solo exhibitions at University of California at Davis, and the American Cement Building, Los Angeles, and his work has appeared in many group exhibitions.
He has written extensively on typography and design, most recently contributing the foreword to the book Octavo Redux, a reprinting in book form of the complete series of Octavo magazine, with additional commentaries, published by Unit Editions in 2018.
Simon divides his time between book design and his own art/photography practice, which includes the recently formed Verb Editions publishing. He produces letterpress prints in Los Angeles, London, and Berlin. His photographic books include Unsigned and 16 Minutes in Florence, both published by Verb Editions, and Meridian, published by Steidl, Germany.
Johnston retired as Professor of Typography and Design at ArtCenter College of Design in 2024, where he was named Faculty Emeritus. As founding Creative Director of HMCT in 2015, he created the Center's visual identity and has shaped its artistic direction over the past decade.
All work designed by Simon Johnston except for 8vo studio works (1984-88) co-designed with Mark Holt and Hamish Muir, and the two ArtCenter view books designed with ArtCenter design office team Winnie Li, Eliana Dominguez, Seth Ferris, and Andrea Carrillo. All works are offset litho unless otherwise noted.
