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Poppy ThaxterThe Designers: Monotype’s Marie Boulanger on cultivating career goals and nurturing new talent
Our interview series The Designers delves deep into the world’s leading design studios through a series of in-depth conversations with the individuals that make them tick. For the thirty-seventh instalment, Monotype’s Marie Boulanger sits down with us and reflects on not only the past 12 months, but also remembers how her career in type design got started. Fresh in her new role as Design Lead at the type and tech specialist, she charts the path that led her to the marvellous and meticulous world of letters; and from there, how she worked her way up to a managerial position. In addition to the day-to-day duties, Boulanger also discusses the broader development and delivery process of type design projects at Monotype. Overall, her journey serves as an inspiration for aspiring designers, highlighting the power of self-belief, determination, and the pursuit of one’s true passion.
PT Hi Marie! What a year you had in 2023! How are you?
MB Tell me about it! Last year was wild and wonderful in all kinds of ways. I am feeling extremely happy and fulfilled. Professionally, it was the best year of my life. Fortunately, I’m more than just a job title, and I’m happy to report that things are looking great outside of work too, but it has been a dream – one big thing checked off the bucket list!
Let’s say I’m in a state of ‘content tiredness’ rather than full-blown exhaustion, which says a lot, but it’s definitely a positive. It really is a lot easier to give your time and energy to something that makes you happy, and for me that’s type.
PT Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in type design?
MB I’m a fiercely creative human who has finally figured out what to do with the creative fire I was born with. From the moment I was about four, I was always making things. I wrote and directed plays with my brother and our friends, and made all the costumes too. I curated exhibitions about ladybugs in our garden and made terrariums and little explanation cards. I was also extremely drawn to letters and alphabets. I used to cover pages and pages with letters, I found it incredibly soothing.
Then I got scared of a creative career, and started a degree in linguistics at UCL. However, at some point, I came to my senses, dropped out and went to art school in Paris instead. When I was 20, I spent a few months living in Montreal for a design internship. One day we drove up to Vermont for a team day. We were having lunch, just chatting about ambition and creativity and the studio owner said “You have a bright star shining above your head.” I remember that moment so vividly, and I don’t think he knows how many times I summoned it when I reached a dead end. Validation is a real anchor sometimes.
My first ever design job was in publishing. It was honestly very stressful, but also deeply creative. I thought that was it for me. But one day I was working on a book about famous type designers. I remember thinking that I wanted to have my work featured in the book, not design the book. So I thought about the star above my head, I quit my job and went back to university to study type design. Funnily enough, the book was never published in the end.
People can get scared of a young woman with clear ambitions.
PT How did you land your role at Monotype? Were they always on your radar?
MB Nobody believes me when I say it, the boring way! I sent my CV, got a call from the recruiter, and had two interviews. No leg ups! Although I think the way I used social media and the public-facing work I had done made a big difference.
They absolutely were always on my radar. Through my own practice, I have wondered many times what it means to have a positive impact on our industry. I think I’ve done plenty of things which serve that purpose, but I wanted to have a seat at the biggest table and push as hard as I could. I’m driven to try to make typography matter, try to respect the craft of type designers and make it shine, and try to foster healthy relationships with people who use type. If I’m honest, the second my eyes landed on the job description I felt such a sense of calm. This might come across as self-important, but I like to think of it as perfect alignment and belief. I knew it couldn’t be anybody else but me, just seemed like a match made in heaven. It was a massive career step, and a few months in I started to really feel the heat, but I leaned heavily on other industry mentors and grew into it.
PT And from there, how did you work your way up to Design Lead?
MB The first year I learned as much as I could about the business itself. I don’t think people realise how big the company is! When you work for a complex structure, it’s extremely important to create relationships with all the teams you collaborate with.
The second year I challenged myself hugely. I pushed the boundaries of my role, was given ownership of campaigns and projects that went extremely well, so I had numbers to show.
Then, when starting my third year, I went into bulldozer mode. I created a monster spreadsheet for tracking my goals and my progress, with the clear intention of going into a managerial role in the not-so-distant future. I think people can get scared of a young woman with clear ambitions, but it worked. When an opening was created, that spreadsheet helped immensely. I went through a thorough interview process which I took very seriously. There were very strong external candidates for the position. It comforts me to know I take control of the opportunities in front of me. If I try my hardest and it doesn’t happen, then it wasn’t meant for me. I also included my team in my decision and process, since I would become their manager, and they were extremely supportive and all rooted for me. I was overjoyed when I got the news.
PT On a day-to-day basis, what are your main responsibilities? How do you manage a team of creatives?
MB The elevator pitch of my role is nurturing the culture and talent of the design team and facilitating the execution of design projects across Monotype’s portfolio, whatever they may be. It can be a graphic for a press release, or a huge cross-functional campaign, such as Monotype’s annual Type Trends report. Right now we’re working with a team of amazing freelance creatives to bring it to life, and our internal animation team too.
The role also includes building bridges with business functions that can be supported through design, and anticipating design needs for the company.
Funnily enough, the managerial aspect of the role did not scare me at all. Maybe I’m just an eldest daughter, but it gives me tons of energy to create relationships with people and work on their growth and success. I also must credit my team members for making the transition process from peer to manager extremely smooth.
For our first team meeting, I wanted to reintroduce myself as a leader, so they could know what to expect. I created a little mantra for myself, which I shared with them – passion and compassion. I am passionate, confident and hardworking, but I also hope to know when to listen and make space. My team can hold me accountable for that!
Remaining fluid and open to shifting priorities is important.
PT Could you share some insights into the development and delivery process of type design projects at Monotype?
MB We actually completely overhauled the process, starting from about six months ago.
In a big company with an in-house creative team, there are always a lot of requesters with completely different needs, and we have got it to a place where the process is standardised. We use pretty straightforward project management, with a briefing and review process. People write their briefs, we support them if they need help with the writing, or any information requests. Our aim is to have 80% of design time booked out with briefs, whether they are self-initiated or come from internal clients, and 20% free to work on “fall from the sky” projects. Then depending on the needs, we assemble a working team of designers, writers or animators and work backwards from the due date.
I try to remain flexible, because people’s needs can vary wildly. Also, people think that we just make typography, but there is a lot more to it! And even a typeface release is a pretty big design project which would involve a lot more people than just the Design team and the Monotype studio.
PT How do you balance your own design practice and independent research with your role at Monotype?
MB This has been and still remains tough. For the past years, I focused on Monotype, saving for a few days of teaching and workshopping (although that was still very connected to my role at Monotype). But last year, it became more of a focus, not so much on the research side, but the design practice. I’ve drawn type in my free time, I have connected with people I admire to make beautiful things happen. I think remaining fluid and open to shifting priorities is important. But there’s no magic solution.
PT What sparked your interest in exploring the relationship between gender and type?
MB When I completed my first degree (in Graphic Design), I was already extremely drawn to type design. But the specialised degrees seemed so intimidating. Every book about type design was filled with old white men. These were books from 10 or 15 years ago; things have since changed for the better, I’m so glad to say. I could not see myself being happy in that field. So I did the classic thing of ignoring my dreams thinking I could just bury them. Spoiler alert – they came back even stronger!
That thought never left me throughout my studies. When we had the opportunity to choose a design thesis topic for our MA (which then became my book XX, XY), I instantly knew I would do something related to gender and type. It was then fuelled by conversations I kept witnessing, with clients and peers who would say things like “make this less feminine”. What the hell does it mean? I had to investigate!
PT During your career, have you observed any gender imbalances in the design industry?
MB Absolutely. One of the biggest things I always notice is the way men speak to women and how they speak to men. Calling your male colleagues ‘mate’ and ‘sir,’ barely looking at female members of your team in the eye. The little details matter, and you can tell the difference when people truly care about creating an inclusive culture. At my first publishing job, there were seventeen of us on the office floor, sixteen women and one man – the publisher and my manager’s manager. He was the only one with an office, which we internally called ‘the man room.’ At first, I thought I wanted a man room of my own, but I don’t. I have no interest in taking part in that system. If I lead, it isn’t to alienate and divide, it’s to empower and champion people, whether we are alike or not.
If you care at all about accessibility and equality, then you also have to care about intersectionality. Gender is only one of the imbalances in the design industry, there are many more. One thing I absolutely love about Monotype is the fact it is truly global. I think interacting every day with people who look nothing like you and have different holidays, traditions and cultures is a very important thing.
PT Are there any particular women-type designers who have influenced or inspired you?
MB So many. I have a great story about this. The type book I worked on which never got made? I had to work on cover concepts, and I used a picture of Sara Soskolne from Hoefler&Co. Ten years later, she is now a dear colleague, having joined Monotype two years ago; we gave a talk together at Adobe MAX in Los Angeles last October. I think my past self would have had a brain aneurysm at the thought of giving a talk with Sara. She told me I could do it too. Sometimes you don’t need much more than that. Other women designers who have inspired me are Carol Twombly, Susan Kare, Alice Savoie, Margaret Calvert, Zuzana Licko, Sandrine Nugue and Lynne Yun. I did a workshop with Lynne on a university trip to NYC in 2019, while she was part of the Monotype studio. I remember thinking that if only I had her job I would be the happiest person ever. And just two years later… I found something even better for me.
An amazing portfolio will get you nowhere if nobody sees it.
PT How do you envision the future of women designers in type design, in terms of visibility and their contributions to the field?
MB Things are changing. For the better. I’m torn between wanting gender to be an irrelevant component of somebody’s personality or work, and wishing people could freely harness what gender means to them. What I mean in regards to your question is that I long for a time when we no longer need to add a ‘designed by a woman’ tag to typographic work to make it visible. However, there are so many excellent typefaces out there which tackle feminist themes and relate to the lived experience of being a woman, and they deserve to shine. I’m kind of hoping for both of these things to grow in parallel.
PT What would be your top advice for young women who aspire to pursue a career in type design?
MB Just do it! There are many of us now, and lots of structures that can help. Apply for mentorship with the Alphabettes; if you’re a college junior apply to the Beatrice Warde scholarship. I get contacted by so many students. Far more than I ever ever thought; in fact, it makes me feel bad about all the emails I sent about advice, internships and feedback when I was at university… I would be lying if I said I help every single one, but I try my best. Build and nurture a network of peers and mentors. Oh, and something I always like to repeat – an amazing portfolio will get you nowhere if nobody sees it.
PT What are your goals and aspirations for the future of your own design practice and wider research on gender and type?
MB Regarding my own design practice, it’s a funny question. I’m now moving into a role which is a lot less hands-on, which is what I wanted. I love being able to focus my energy on nurturing the team, long-term planning and strategy. But I’ve also found that the more creative side of me has come flooding back in. My brain has more energy left for design than it did before, so I’m doing more in my own time. Slowly coming back to drawing type organically, just for me. Whatever I end up doing, I don’t want to let myself get rusty. Design is unfortunately not like riding a bike…
As for my own research, bringing it into the mainstream has always been a background goal. My position at Monotype helps with that. I wanted to focus on other professional goals these past few years, but now I’m ready to dive back into it. In fact, I actually think I feel a lot more secure and settled now, which is a good base for such an energy-consuming endeavour. I’ve reached as far as my twenty-one-year-old self could dream, and I’m excited to let go for a bit and see what’s next.
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