David Jonathan Ross
Type Designer, Designer
About
Type designer creating retail and custom fonts for editorial and brand design. His practice also includes teaching type design and programming for designers.
SourceIn their own words
“I love that familiarity with Kuhlman’s oeuvre is not a prerequisite to use the font—the style has a raw communicative power that takes on a whole new life in the hands of contemporary designers.”
I have gone out of my way to make sure that Gimlet’s charm doesn’t detract from its usefulness as an all-purpose serif.
Articles & interviews
- Pentagram creates digital-first identity for De Bijloke
Pentagram's London office created a digital-first rebrand for Ghent music venue De Bijloke ahead of its 2026/27 season. The identity combines a fluid logo inspired by John Cage's notation and oscilloscope audio visualisation with Forma DJR, building-derived colours, programme-specific patterns and a generative tool for dynamic Jazz and New Music applications. The system launched with a new website in May 2026 and is gradually extending into the venue's physical environment.
- Why This Typeface Looks Familiar: It’s a Kuhlman Revival
Steven Heller’s Daily Heller column spotlights the revival of Roy Kuhlman’s distinctive hand-lettered style through a new typeface designed by Steven Brower, Craig Welsh, and David Jonathan Ross. The Kuhlman font, released through Ross’s Font of the Month Club, has already been adopted by major brands and cultural institutions. The article explores the typeface’s origins, aesthetic influences, and its unexpected popularity among contemporary designers.
- Eternal Research by Cotton
BP&O features Cotton’s brand identity for Eternal Research, a Los Angeles-based music technology company founded by Alexandra Fierra. The identity fuses Victorian ornamentation with generative, audioreactive design to reflect the brand’s experimental instruments like the Demon Box. The project showcases an elaborate typographic system and richly gothic art direction that challenges the minimalist norms of the synth industry.
- "Samar Maakaroun Designs Petition-Style Identity for 'Together for Palestine' Initiative"
Pentagram partner Samar Maakaroun created the identity for Together for Palestine, a charity initiative led by Brian Eno and others to raise humanitarian funds for Palestine. The design uses the visual language of petitions and the symbolism of the key to evoke home, hope, and collective action. Combining Nickel Gothic Variable and a custom typeface called Ceasefire, the restrained identity rejects design flourishes in favor of reflection and urgency.
- ZAINA Fuses Arabic and Latin Scripts in Mir’a Identity Using Punctuation
ZAINA, a Paris and Barcelona-based studio, created a bilingual identity for Mir’a, a cultural association promoting MENA artists. The design cleverly unites Arabic and Latin scripts through shared punctuation, using Forma DJR typefaces to achieve visual harmony. The project challenges traditional calligraphic norms, embracing a modern typographic approach to reflect Mir’a’s cross-cultural mission.
- New Branding for Klangwelt Toggenburg by Studio Marcus Kraft
BP&O’s feature by Emily Gosling explores Studio Marcus Kraft’s new identity for Klangwelt Toggenburg, a Swiss cultural organisation devoted to sound and nature. The rebrand introduces a custom typeface, Klangwelt Regular, derived from Forma DJR, and a restrained monochrome palette with yellow accents. The identity extends across signage, digital, and sonic branding, reflecting the region’s acoustic and architectural heritage.
- New Branding & Packaging for Casamalka by Nihilo
BP&O’s feature by Emily Gosling explores Nihilo’s branding and packaging design for tequila brand Casa Malka. The agency developed a holistic identity encompassing strategy, packaging, structural bottle design, illustration, and 3D art direction in collaboration with CG artist Haruko Hayakawa. The result is a refined, gender-neutral, and minimalist brand world that balances restraint with sensuality.
- Saint-Urbain’s cinema-inspired, nostalgic brand for Can-Tini lives in its own eccentric 1960s space
Saint-Urbain developed a nostalgic, cinema-inspired brand identity and packaging for Can-Tini, a ready-to-drink espresso martini brand. Drawing from 1960s aesthetics and Wes Anderson’s cinematic style, the design features a custom cursive logomark, retro typography, and a warm orange-and-green palette. The result blends vintage charm with contemporary sophistication.
- UnitedUs subvert the bland image of frozen meals with their punchy identity for Farmyard Frozen
Brighton-based studio UnitedUs created a bold new identity for Farmyard Frozen, the frozen meal range from Norwich restaurant Farmyard. The rebrand uses electric neon colors, custom typography, and playful copy to challenge the dull image of frozen food. The project also extended to rebranding the restaurant itself, uniting both sides of the business under one expressive visual language.
- Zware Jongens devise an “eclectic, sexy, bold but elegant” identity for Italian restaurant GIGI
Zware Jongens created a bold and eclectic brand identity for GIGI, a new Italian restaurant in Ghent that merges nightlife and dining culture. The design combines Roslindale and Saa Series typefaces, a floral logomark, and a vibrant yet elegant color palette inspired by the restaurant’s interior concept. Founder Filip Janssen describes the identity as 'eclectic, sexy, bold but elegant,' reflecting the restaurant’s lively and unapologetic character.
- TRY Design’s vibrant identity for Godfisk finds its inspiration in cookbooks and sticky notes
TRY Design developed a vibrant and playful rebrand for Godfisk, a Norwegian Seafood Council initiative aimed at encouraging fish consumption in Norway. Drawing inspiration from cookbooks and sticky notes, the identity features custom stencilled typography, lively colours, and approachable photography that reflects everyday kitchen life.
- Pentagram Revamps Fedrigoni in Five Standout New Design Projects
This instalment of The Edit rounds up five recently discovered design projects from Pentagram, DixonBaxi, Studio—BA, Brand Brothers and A New Kind of Kick. Highlights include Pentagram's typography-led Fedrigoni refresh, DixonBaxi's unified Hulu rebrand, and identity systems for a sustainable skincare brand, French micro-brewery, and London furniture and lighting studio.