Thomas Phinney

Thomas Phinney Email and Phone Number

Expert witness on fonts, ATypI board member, speaker/presenter/instructor, type (font) designer, consultant, writer & editor. @ Crafting Type
Thomas Phinney's Location
Portland, Oregon, United States, United States
About Thomas Phinney

I am a former CEO who left that to do more consulting, expert witness work and type design. I have carved out a unique niche as “The Font Detective,” dealing with the intersection of fonts/typography and legal issues, especially (but not only) backdated documents using fonts that did not exist at the time.Besides general type design, I especially have extensive experience teaching the basics of type design, as well as a track record of designing for, and working with, cutting-edge font technology (such as four-plus-axis variable fonts with thousands of glyphs per font).Although I am known for type design, fonts and typography, and the intersection of business, legal and technical areas, I have a wide range of interests and background. Most of all, I have never lost the thirst to know and understand more.

Thomas Phinney's Current Company Details
Crafting Type

Crafting Type

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Expert witness on fonts, ATypI board member, speaker/presenter/instructor, type (font) designer, consultant, writer & editor.
Thomas Phinney Work Experience Details
  • Thefontdetective.Com
    Font Detective, Expert Witness, Type Designer, Consultant, Writer
    Thefontdetective.Com Sep 1999 - Present
    Portland, Oregon Area
    Forensic typography and font expert witness work (including detecting forged documents based on fonts and printing, and determining whether documents meet legal requirements for point size); consulting. Expert witness work as covered by BBC News, Wired, NPR, the Washington Post, etc.Consulting, presentations, workshops, and writing on text, typography and fonts; type design; global text/typography; workflows in the creation and use of fonts and text. Consulting clients have included Oxford University Press, Google, and Microsoft.
  • Crafting Type
    Type Design Instructor
    Crafting Type Mar 2013 - Present
    Global
    Crafting Type is an intense 3-day workshop with one to four instructors, where beginners learn how to design typefaces and intermediate type designers boost their skills. It is run at cities around the world: 13 cities in seven countries so far. Thomas has taught 12 Crafting Type workshops, as well as four similar workshops at other conferences and events (WebVisions, Typo Day).
  • Atypi: Association Typographique Internationale
    Board Member
    Atypi: Association Typographique Internationale Feb 2023 - Present
    In my previous stint as a board member from 2004-2020, I stepped down following our institution of term limits. ATypI membership re-elected me to the board in Feb 2023, and the board elected me to the open executive position as Secretary, and then to a one-year term as the new President (Sept. 2023 – Sept. 2024).
  • Communication Arts Magazine
    Contributor
    Communication Arts Magazine Sep 2008 - Present
    Wrote nine articles (listed and linked below)
  • Atypi: Association Typographique Internationale
    Board Member
    Atypi: Association Typographique Internationale Sep 2004 - Sep 2020
    ATypI is the international typography association, the primary professional organization for typography, type designers and font enthusiasts worldwide. Elected to the board in 2004, appointed Treasurer in 2006. Re-elected to the board in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016. Switched from Treasurer to Secretary in 2015. Stepped down as Secretary in 2019, and left the board in 2020 because we instituted term limits.
  • Fontlab
    Ceo
    Fontlab May 2014 - Jun 2019
    Portland, Oregon Area
    As VP, and later CEO of FontLab, I was responsible for business operations, product management and customer relations, and provided guidance on marketing, development processes, and product details. We launched a completely new version of the flagship FontLab app on a new codebase.
  • Extensis
    Senior Technical Product Mgr, Fonts & Typography
    Extensis Apr 2009 - Apr 2014
    Products/services such as WebINK, Universal Type Server and Suitcase Fusion, providing web fonts and font management solutions to the enterprise, workgroups and individuals. Also co-designed a new Extensis logo (used until 2019).
  • Adobe Systems
    Product Mgr, Fonts & Global Typography
    Adobe Systems Jun 1997 - Dec 2008
    In my 11+ years at Adobe, I engaged in a wide range of activities: business, technical, design, writing, and evangelism. My first notable accomplishment was coordinating the changing elements of the fonts subsystem of PostScript 3. My stint in Core Technologies gave me experience managing a major application’s core technology needs (color management, printing, PDF export, etcetera). My responsibilities at various points included driving and specifying typographic functionality within Adobe applications, managing the type group’s relationships with Microsoft and Apple (including the OpenType standard), assisting/evangelizing third-party developers, managing the fonts beta test program, writing documentation and marketing materials, specifying and acquiring mission-critical custom fonts for a range of global languages, and acting as a resource in a variety of technical, business, legal and product management areas. My own typeface, Hypatia Sans, supports multiple writing systems (including Greek and Cyrillic), and was used as a registration incentive for Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications.
  • Rochester Institute Of Technology
    Instructor (P/T)
    Rochester Institute Of Technology Mar 1997 - May 1997
    Created and taught a course in font production (cross-listed as senior level undergrad course and graduate course)

Thomas Phinney Education Details

Frequently Asked Questions about Thomas Phinney

What company does Thomas Phinney work for?

Thomas Phinney works for Crafting Type

What is Thomas Phinney's role at the current company?

Thomas Phinney's current role is Expert witness on fonts, ATypI board member, speaker/presenter/instructor, type (font) designer, consultant, writer & editor..

What is Thomas Phinney's email address?

Thomas Phinney's email address is tp****@****ena.com

What is Thomas Phinney's direct phone number?

Thomas Phinney's direct phone number is +120639*****

What schools did Thomas Phinney attend?

Thomas Phinney attended Rochester Institute Of Technology (Rit), University Of California, Berkeley, Haas School Of Business.

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