Jesse Ragan

@seriousletterforms

I design typefaces at @xyz_type and live in Beacon, NY.
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Weeks posts
The new Rolling Stone logo.⁠ ⁠ (Trust me, I can’t believe we got this project either!)⁠ ⁠ Few magazines have a visual presence as iconic as Rolling Stone’s—outlandish, ornate, and memorable. Working with Type Network, I got to create my own spin on the three previous iterations—each fantastic in its own way—all designed by the unparalleled Jim Parkinson.⁠ ⁠ Anticipating the wide range of ways the logo would be used, I designed not just one logo, but a suite of them. The system launched today at rollingstone.com and will appear soon on the cover of the magazine, too.⁠ ⁠ Read the case study at the link in our bio to see the whole system, and get a little history lesson too.⁠ ⁠ Thanks to @rollingstone ’s CD @joe_hutchinson , CEO @guswenner , and EIC @noahshachtman for entrusting us with their iconic brand. And to @rogerdavidblack / @typenetwork for inviting me onto this journey.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 in bio⁠!⁠ ⁠ #rollingstone #magazinedesign #customlettering #identitydesign #branddesign #brandidentity #corporateidentity #logotype #logodesign #rocknroll #magazine #brandingdesign #typography #typedesign
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3 years ago
Hello! It’s re-introduction time! I’m Jesse, half of XYZ Type. I designed several of the typefaces that we sell: Aglet, Study, and Export. I’m currently finishing up Escalator, Elevator, and Cedar. I also worked on Cortado and Polymode with Ben, my business partner. In addition to developing fonts for retail sale, I design a lot of custom typefaces and logotype lettering for clients, mostly branding agencies.⁠ ⁠ I co-founded the @coopertype program in 2010, then taught there for its first four years. And before that, I got my start in the early ’00s working with @hoeflerco and Font Bureau.⁠ ⁠ After living in Brooklyn for half of my life, two years ago I moved 90 minutes up the river to Beacon, New York. I’ve discovered a new love for hiking and a much quieter life than I had in NYC. But I still like seeing people—let me know if you’re in town!⁠ ⁠ Portrait by @cydney_cherepak_art ⁠ Photo by @caitlin_keegan ⁠ #TypeDesigner #TypeDesign #TypefaceDesign #typeface⁠ #typography
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3 years ago
Tomorrow at 11am in San Diego, XYZ Type partner Jesse Ragan will give a free talk at UCSD, open to the public. “What is Realness?” will discuss XYZ’s collaboration with @polymodestudio on developing Polymode Sans and their recently-published book, Identity Is Variable. Hope to see you there! May 12, 2026, 11:00 am University of California San Diego Design and Innovation Building Second Floor Room 208 9510 Innovation Ln La Jolla, CA 92093 @ucsdvisarts @ucsandiego
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5 days ago
Lecture this Wednesday at UCLA! Silas Munro (@siborg81 ) of @polymodestudio will present with Ben Kiel (@ben_kiel ) and Jesse Ragan (@seriousletterforms ) of XYZ Type about their collaboration to bring notions of expansive identity into typographic form, as well as their newly published book Identity Is Variable. Hope to see you there!
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11 days ago
Thanks to everyone who came out to the @cma_gallery opening last night! Great to see our specimens representing @seriousletterforms ’ typeface designs alongside work by other Hudson Valley designers. It was also a treat to see Elevator used for the exhibit identity and design. On view through May 12 at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Newburgh, NY.
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1 month ago
🔥 EVENT ALERT🔥 Polymode and XYZ Type: Identity Is Variable Polymode's Brian Johnson and XYZ Type's Jesse Ragan are launching two new projects, Polymode Sans, a variable typeface, and Identity Is Variable, a book exploring type through 15 diverse perspectives. Then the real conversation begins: a discussion on culture, identity, and typography with nicole killian(@saucyunicorn ), David Jon Walker (@davidjonwalker ), and more. 📍 Museum of Arts and Design 📅 Thursday, April 23 Tap the link in bio.
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1 month ago
2026 at XYZ Type: Jesse Ragan
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3 months ago
Tomorrow! Live in person, in my hometown of Greensboro, NC! @modernjss and I will talk about working together on the typeface Polymode Sans. Hosted by @aigatriadnc —full details below. What Is Real? 📆 Wednesday, July 12 🎤 5:30pm: lecture at @transformgso 🍻 7:00pm: gather at @southendbrewing Can a single typeface express diverse viewpoints through its own functionality? Partners from two design studios, @polymodestudio and @xyz_type , discuss their collaboration to bring notions of expansive personal identity into typographic form. The unexpected road to their typeface Polymode Sans began by viewing a historical type revival through a queer lens, and led them to harness variable font technology as a form of cultural code-switching. Animation by @egg.g.s
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2 years ago
I’m always interested hear what @arminvit (of the blog Brand New/@ucllc ) has to say about our work, even if I don’t agree. He gave some astute criticism about our work for @interbrand on the @casey ’s identity: “While the wordmark is really nice, very well executed by Jesse Ragan, and subtly-yet-cleverly tied to the vane, there is something a little off about such a free-flowing wordmark confined inside the barn shape.” Personally, I like the contrast between the two—especially as it plays out across the design system. What do you think?⁠ ⁠ See our case study at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ 🖼🎞: Interbrand⁠ ⁠ #CustomLettering #IdentityDesign #BrandDesign #BrandIdentity #CorporateIdentity #logotype #wordmark #logo #LogoDesign
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3 years ago
In what may be our largest lettering application to date, I designed a custom “End Zone optical size” for the Dartmouth Athletics logotype that perfectly fits the dimensions of the grass end zones at @dartmouthcollege Memorial Field. It’s not often that our work is sized up to ten yards tall and is visible from outer space!⁠ ⁠ See more in our case study, link in bio.⁠ ⁠ #CustomLettering #IdentityDesign #BrandDesign #BrandIdentity #CorporateIdentity #logotype #wordmark #logo #LogoDesign #DartmouthCollege
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3 years ago
Dartmouth Athletics needed a visual vocabulary distinct from the institutional side of @dartmouthcollege , and @championsdesign asked me to draw a logotype for them as part of their extensive identity system.⁠ ⁠ Using a vintage jersey as inspiration for the lettering, I created a strong, authoritative logotype in an established collegiate vernacular, yet drawn from Dartmouth’s unique history.⁠ ⁠ In the end, we made several variations of the lettering, as well as a treatment of “BIG GREEN”—the name for the varsity and club athletic teams at the university.⁠ ⁠ See more in our case study, link in bio.⁠ 🖼: Dartmouth College ⁠⁠ #CustomLettering #IdentityDesign #BrandDesign #BrandIdentity #CorporateIdentity #logotype #wordmark #logo #LogoDesign #DartmouthCollege
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3 years ago
Shamelessly sharing some choice quotes about our collaboration with @championsdesign on the @carnegiehall monogram: ⁠ ⁠ “This new monogram becomes a digital component that’s so key to how Carnegie Hall is able to communicate across social media and even more informal circumstances, such as merchandise.”⁠ –Sara Villagio (@sara.villagio ), chief marketing officer, Carnegie Hall⁠ ⁠ “Now, the CH that was once on a steel beam is a CH that is the Twitter icon, which is meaningful because the history of the place is meaningful to the experience.”⁠ –Jennifer Kinon, Champions Design⁠ ⁠ “Jesse’s like an extension of our design team … and he’s such a scholar when it comes to type design and typography.”⁠ –Bobby Martin (@bobbycmartin ), Champions Design⁠ ⁠ Images: Champions Design⁠ & Carnegie Hall ⁠ #CustomLettering #IdentityDesign #BrandDesign #BrandIdentity #CorporateIdentity #logotype #wordmark #logo #LogoDesign #CarnegieHall
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3 years ago