Juliet Shen started out as a painter and became a graphic designer out of economic necessity. For more than 25 years the profession suited her aspirations just fine. Then she was asked to teach typography and her life changed. All she has learned since then about typeface design has convinced her that it’s the tao of applied art, which was capped by a year in the MA Typeface Design program at the University of Reading.

Now she designs for a few select clients, crafts typefaces, teaches, makes letterpress prints, and studies tai chi. She has designed a custom font family for Oxford University Press and a Lushootseed font for the Tulalip Tribes based on traditional Salish aesthetics. Juliet was born in New York where her father was a translator for the United Nations. She lives in Seattle and teaches typography at the School of Visual Concepts.

Juliet Shen started out as a painter and became a graphic designer out of economic necessity. For more than 25 years the profession suited her aspirations just fine. Then she was asked to teach typography and her life changed. All she has learned since then about typeface design has convinced her that it’s the tao of applied art, which was capped by a year in the MA Typeface Design program at the University of Reading.