Hello! I’m Aoife, trying my best to be a good teacher, typo/graphic designer, and more recently, weaver. I am a shape-system lover and am interested in the relationship between the codes we use to communicate, and the internal—surface vs. structure. I’m originally from Dublin, Ireland, and have made my circuitous route to land in Ohio, USA where the great Cuyahoga Valley National Park helps me feel at home.

I hold a bachelors degree in Visual Communications from the School of Art, Design and Printing at Dublin Institute of Technology (graduating 2005), and a masters degree in Typeface Design (graduating with distinction 2010) from the Department of Typography and Communication Design at the University of Reading, UK.

After graduating from the University of Reading, I moved to New York City to work as a full-time typeface designer for the type foundry, Hoefler & Frere-Jones (now Hoefler & Co.). In 2013, I moved to Ohio where I was lucky enough to continue to work full-time for H&F-J as a freelance typeface designer and also dip my toe into teaching as an adjunct instructor..

I am an Associate Professor at the School of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University, where I have been teaching classes in typography, graphic design, typeface design, design theory and others since January 2014. As a professor, I have a particular interest in teaching the underlying theories of design, design for sustainability and helping students use typography in particular, and graphic language more generally, as tools for engagement—to participate in a cultural conversation.

Since beginning my teaching career, I have continued my practice as a working typeface and graphic designer, weaving my practice into both my teaching and research. In 2014, I worked as part of a team on the development of the first release of the newly established Frere-Jones Type foundry, Mallory. I have also worked in multiple capacities for Google Fonts, as a typeface designer and consultant, and released my first solo design, BioRhyme in 2015 (which was awarded an STA100 award by the Society of Typographic Arts, Chicago). In 2017, I released my typeface family, Sprout, with the UK-based Northern Block type foundry. Sprout was awarded a Gold in the category of typeface design in the Graphis Typography Annual competition.

I am also the North American Regional Coordinator of the International Society of Typographic Designers’ Annual Student Assessment Scheme along with my colleague, Prof. Jillian Coorey.