Valerio Monopoli

You started out as a graphic designer specializing in branding and video-mapping. How did you progress towards type design? Did this initial career give you a particular vision of typography and type design, and its uses?

When I began designing, I was particularly drawn to "generative" branding projects—those that involved creating systems or tools capable of producing multiple variations of a visual archetype, often built around a simple constructive grammar. In many ways, typeface design is a similar process: it’s not about crafting a single "look" but rather developing a cohesive dictionary of forms and functionalities that maintain a shared meaning despite their diverse expressions. Even before I learned how to craft a clean typeface, I was already experimenting with typography and lettering in my branding projects, but it was only later, as I specialized in editorial design, that I realized just how powerful a custom typeface could be in this context. It became the most accessible way for me to develop tools to address complex identity challenges without the need for extensive coding, leading me to fully commit to exploring the craft. Looking back, I can see a clear and natural continuity between these two creative processes.

You're Italian, but you also studied in Spain, then collaborated with numerous foundries across Europe. Do you still feel that there's a cultural particularity, in terms of type design, specific to each country, or are trends shared across the globe?

A designer's cultural identity is deeply intertwined with their style, and, in my view, the most compelling work often emerges from individuals who embody a blend of diverse influences. While social networks and creative platforms have, to some extent, homogenized distinct national styles, a keen eye can still often discern where—or at least when—a design originated. Rather than being shaped primarily by nationalities, though, I believe our strongest inspiration come from cities and the vibrant communities that inhabit them. A single group of designers and educators with bold, distinctive perspectives is sufficient to establish a "school" whose philosophy and impact transcends national connotations.

For my part, I’ve always tried to remain open to new experiences and viewpoints, actively pursuing a nomadic career in type design, which has put me in contact with several environments and realities. It’s an approach I strongly recommend to anyone aiming to expand their creative horizons, especially for those seeking to infuse a human element into the deeply personal craft of typography, as each new collaboration offers an opportunity to forge a fresh dialogue, enriching both the process and the outcome.

We often overlook that the true source of inspiration lies in people themselves, not solely in the result of their creativity—the “projects” they produce. 

You first published Sapfir with Blaze Type. It's a hybrid typeface, blending blackletter and sans influences. The typeface page even cites Excoffon's Antique Olive as a source of inspiration. How did you come up with this somewhat unnatural marriage?

One of the biggest challenges in creating unconventional display characters is finding a set of references that harmonize without ending up as a disjointed "Frankenstein." This often involves blending features that don’t traditionally belong to the same category—such as using the proportions of a typographic genre and the contrast style of another. In this instance, the "blackletter" label refers primarily to the cursive structure of the letters, while the contrast style and gestural terminals were inspired by bold humanist sans serifs, like Antique Olive, as you mentioned.

I used these references out of necessity, as there isn’t a more established terminology to describe such a combination. However, this project was one where historical sources played a marginal role, leaving room for entirely new constructions to emerge. One of my goals as a type designer is to create models that challenge existing classifications and demand new vocabulary for their description—terms that might one day define a new category of fonts. This process of coining new terminology was a regular practice among past type designers, and I think we shouldn’t hesitate to continue it in the modern era. 

How did your first meeting with Matthieu from Blaze Type go?

Although Sapfir was my first release with Blazetype, my collaboration with Matthieu actually began in 2020 when we first discussed the possibility of releasing another font on his platform, named Sagittaire. Given the complexity of the latter, it wasn’t until two years later that it finally came to fruition. At the time, I was seeking new partners to publish fonts that hadn’t yet found a home, and I was captivated by Blazetype’s early typefaces and unique website, so I got in contact with Matthieu thanks to Leon Hugues, who had already collaborated with him.

From the very beginning, I sensed in Matthieu a shared sense of wonder and curiosity, which made our collaboration feel natural. Even before we officially released anything together, we had already bonded over chess matches and exciting conversations. After some years of on-and-off collaboration and meeting in person several times, we developed a strong mutual trust that paved the way for the ambitious projects we’re currently working on, which far surpass those initial releases in both scope and scale.

Sagittaire is currently your most important and richest creation. Here again, the design is a hybrid, somewhere between humanistic and more contemporary and nuanced. Maybe I'm wrong, but one could get the impression of a W.A. Dwiggins typeface in its classic look and the importance given to details that are ultimately very contemporary... Is this a conscious influence for you? How did you approach the design of this typeface?

I hold great admiration for figures like Dwiggins, not least because of his extraordinary versatility across multiple creative disciplines—from bookmaking and illustration to typography—demonstrating how these fields communicate and influence one another. Sagittaire emerged from a similar disciplinary crossing, inspired by the work of another master illustrator, Aubrey Beardsley. It aimed to translate the delicate intricacy of Beardsley’s fine line drawings into typography, capturing both their elegance and rigor. The outcome was a hairline design that balanced at the intersection of the human and the artificial, merging organic fluidity with meticulously calculated forms. From this initial concept, the typeface family evolved, expanding its foundation to become a versatile font capable of adapting to a wide variety of contexts and applications.

Did you already have the idea or desire to extend the family to optical bodies as varied as text and display when you began creating this typeface?

Once the Display family was completed, I tested it at smaller sizes and quickly realized that its dramatic contrast made the font impractical for editorial use. Given that it was a relatively minimal design with high inherent legibility, it felt natural to develop a thicker family to expand its usability in this context. That said, as of now, even the current "text" version remains primarily a display font. To address this, I’m actively working on an even more text-focused version designed specifically for the very small application, which will be published alongside a completely new stencil family.

You've made a kind of stylistic leap from Sapfir to Sagittaire. The mentalities are different, but do you now recognize yourself more in the creative twist of Sagittaire or the radical bias of Sapfir?

Although conceived around the same time, the intentions behind these two fonts were rather different. Sapfir was a provocative and exploratory work, created without a specific use in mind, which gave me the freedom to push creative boundaries with a narrower scope. In contrast, Sagittaire was designed to serve as the foundation for a versatile type system, requiring me to move beyond the initial concept and learn to adapt the original sketch to accommodate a full range of weights and optical sizes.

I see myself reflected in both approaches, albeit at different moments. On one hand, there’s the challenge of crafting complex, marketable systems; on the other, the enjoyment of presenting smaller, critical pieces of type design as a creative diversion between larger, more structured releases. Finding a balance between these two types of projects is challenging, and I often find myself prioritizing the latter. However, I think this dynamic helps me stay engaged and avoid feeling overwhelmed by the lengthy production phases required for type families like Sagittaire.

Is there a particular glyph you enjoy drawing when creating typography?

I am a big fan of the lowercase letter "a"—so much so that I’ve filled dozens of sketchbooks solely with iterations of it. It’s a letter of remarkable adaptability, capable of taking on countless forms while remaining instantly recognizable. For me, it’s often the starting point when creating new fonts, as its design can inspire and inform the character and structure of the entire typeface.

Do you have any future projects with Blaze Type, or what kind of type family (slab, stencil, etc.) would you like to develop in the future?

I’m currently collaborating with Fred Wiltshire on the largest type family either of us have ever undertaken—and possibly the most extensive in Blazetype’s catalog. This ambitious project includes a vast collection of sans serif, slab, soft, and stencil styles, so large that it will require multiple releases to bring to market. The first installment is set to launch in early 2025, with monthly updates planned throughout the following year. 

In addition, I’m finalizing a pixel script font named Proxima, originally designed as a custom project for an eponymous company run by friends here in Barcelona. After receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback following its initial launch, we decided to expand it and make it accessible to a wider audience. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a busy and exciting year ahead!

What typefaces from the Blaze Type catalog (which you didn't design) do you secretly admire, and why?

One recent standout for me was Balete by Jad Maza—a truly remarkable design with a unique character and vibrant texture that’s impossible to ignore. Another jaw-dropping moment came long before with Swirl by Đuc X Cao. Its striking outline display style is impressive on its own, but even more so when you rerealize it’s just one part of a gorgeous text family he created.

To be honest, I believe everyone involved in this foundry possesses incredible talent. Being part of such a gifted roster is something I’m truly proud of, and I look forward to continuing to contribute my best work to the community in the future.