Charles Gibbons
A self-described type geek, Charles Gibbons learned the basics of lettering from a childhood spent in Massachusetts' colonial graveyards. His interests are decidely alphabetic, revolving around the design and history of type, inscriptional carving, calligraphy, and exploring the semiotic potentials hidden in written forms. He received a BA in English Literature from Boston University, spent three years studying design at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and earned an MFA in graphic design from the Rhode Island School of Design.
The time at RISD allowed him to return to his roots: he spent much of his time learning to cut letters in stone with John Hegnauer. Gibbons' graduate thesis seized on designing a new typeface as the opportunity for a meditation on the historical, social, and personal forces that shape and sustain typography. Elements of this work were published in the journal Visible Language.
Although originally a New Englander, Gibbons spent much of the last decade in the Midwest as a designer for the University of Minnesota and as assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Wisconsin. In 2001, he joined the Library of Congress as the designer to the United States Copyright Office.
[Charles Gibbons, April 2002]
