Simon Johnston

Biography

Born in England, Professor Simon Johnston was educated at Bath Academy of Art and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart. In London in the 1980s he co-founded the design studio 8vo and was instigator and co-editor of the typography journal Octavo. Relocating to California, his current design practice, Simon Johnston Design, focuses on publications for galleries and museums. Clients include the Whitney Museum, Gagosian Gallery, Getty Museum, Steidl Verlag, Blum and Poe Gallery and Yale University Press. He has lectured in the US, Asia and Europe, and his work has received many awards and been exhibited internationally. He is director of Typography in the Graphic Design Department, and creative director of the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography. He divides his time between education, book design, and his own art/photography practice, including the recently formed Verb Editions publishing house.