TYPE DESIGN INFORMATION PAGE last updated on Wed Jan 29 16:40:08 EST 2025

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ABOUT

Barnbrook (was: VirusFonts, Virus Foundry, Studio 12) [Jonathan Barnbrook]

Jonathan Barnbrook was born in 1966 in Luton, England. He is a type and graphic designer and filmmaker. Since 1990 he has worked with cultural institutions, activist groups and charities and produced a steady stream of posters. He is also known for his collaborations with Adbusters and Damien Hirst, his work for David Bowie, and his typefaces released by Emigre and Virus (his own foundry). He started Virus in 1997, and works out of the Barnbook Studio (now Studio 12) in London's Soho. Virus Foundry became just Barnbrook ca. 2017. He specializes in cult-type typefaces.

MyFonts interview. Creative Pro interview. Bio at Emigre.

In 2007, Mathieu Réguer wrote a thesis at Estienne on Barnbrook.

Barnbrook designed these typefaces:

• Apocalypso Pictograms and Apocalypso Crosses (1997).
• Bastard (1990, blackletter) and Bastard Even Fatter.
• Bourgeois (2005). In 32 weights, this was originally done for the Mori Art Museum in Japan. Codesigner with Jonathan Barnbrook of Bourgeois Rounded (2019) and Bourgeois Slab (2019).
• Coma (2001).
• Delux (1997).
• Julian Moncada, Jonathan Abbott and Jonathan Barnbrook jointly designed Doctrine Sans and Doctrine Stencil in 2013 at Virus.
• Draylon (1997).
• Drone 666 (2010). and Drone (1997).
• Echelon (2001, connected upright script).
• Exocet (1991, Emigre). This is possibly his most recognizable face.
• Expletive Script (2001, upright connected and modular script).
• False Idol Script (1997).
• Infidel (2003). A crusaders type family praised by Claudio Piccinini.
• Mason (1992, +Serif, +Sans). Done at Emigre.
• Melancholia (2001).
• Moron (2001).
• Newspeak (1997).
• Nixon Script (1997, fifties style connected upright script).
• Nylon and Drylon (1996).
• Patriot (1994). Exocet, Patriot---these were the good old days of the missile attacks on Israel and the war in the Falklands. Strange that Barnbrook never designed a font called Wolf Blitzer.
• Olympukes (2004, with Marcus McCallion) was a free dingbat font at Fontshop. It can now be found at Undt Typefaces. Followed by Olympukes 2012 (2012), which acknowledges the complex contradictions of the modern Olympics.
• Priori Sans (2003, Emigre), Priori Serif (2003) and Priori Acute (2010, Emigre) are Escher-like trompe l'oeuil fonts.
• Prototype (1990).
• Prozac (1997). This font was created based on just four basic shapes.
• Regime (2009). A slab serif.
• Resolution and Resolution Blackletter (2015, by Jonathan Barnbrook, Ryuhei Nakadai and Julian Moncada): A family of display typefaces that were developed as part of a creative response to the political situation in Northern Ireland.
• Sarcastic (2007). A modular connected script.
• Shock&Awe (2004).
• Sora (2019). A free sans family at Google Fonts and Github. Co-designed with Julian Moncada.
• State Machine (Virus, 2004). Based on lettering on US and Russian military vehicles.
• Tourette (2005).

Fontworks link. MyFonts link. FontShop link.

Showcase of Jonathan Barnbrook's typefaces.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Barnbrook (was: VirusFonts, Virus Foundry, Studio 12)
 [Buy fonts]
 [Designer info]
Fontspring link [Buy fonts]
Monotype link
Monotype foundry link
Dafont page
Klingspor Museum page
MyFonts search
Monotype search
Fontspring search
Google search

INTERNAL LINKS
Type designers ⦿ Type designers ⦿ Commercial fonts (small outfits) ⦿ Handwriting fonts ⦿ Dingbats (original) ⦿ Type design in the United Kingdom ⦿ Type design and Escher ⦿ Blackletter fonts ⦿ Experimental type ⦿ Military typefaces ⦿ Stencil fonts ⦿ Sites with only a few free fonts ⦿