Connary Fagen is a graphic designer who found his way into typography when he observed a need to supplement his personal font library with effective type designs he could use in his own projects. Eventually, he began offering his typography publicly and it’s seen a great deal of success.
Having an extensive background in graphic design, art direction, branding, identity, UI and web design, illustration, and motion graphics, Connary has a very clear understanding of the needs of graphic designers. His type designs are always masterfully rendered with them in mind, offering an incredible amount of versatility through a wide range of weights, broad multilingual support, and substantial OpenType features.
Connary’s work has been licensed by corporations that include Land’s End, Discovery Digital Networks, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Three of his designs also placed in YouWorkForThem’s Top Ten Fonts of 2016.
“That I’ve had any measure of success in this field surprises and humbles me,” Connary told us. “It’s a crowded market, with thousands of typefaces to choose from, so I’m grateful for every customer. I put a great deal of care and attention into each typeface, and I take it seriously, but it’s also fun and relaxing work.” He’s proud to see Greycliff being used in some high profile work this year, including the Coachella website and app, and more recently, the branding of the Utah Arts Festival.
One of Connary’s most recent releases is Couplet CF, a strong and essential sans serif. “It began as an alternate cut of Manifold, which I was creating for a non-profit client,” Connary shared. “Afterwards, I continued to experiment as it evolved into a softer, semi-condensed typeface with a more casual, humanist appeal. There are still echoes of Manifold there, but Couplet is definitely it’s own thing.”
There’s also an interesting story behind the naming of this font. “There is a really good Shakespearean theater a couple hours from where I live, and every year they put on a selection of Shakespeare’s plays,” Connary said. “We try to make it as often as we can (it’s a lot cooler than it sounds) and we were in town as I was finishing up work on Couplet. My head was probably reeling from prose overload when I decided “couplet” would be a good name for the typeface, but it stuck, and I think it’s a great fit.”
As its name suggests, Couplet pairs its meticulous practicality with warmth and affability, a dual nature that makes it a perfect choice for just about any application. Fashionable and smart without being ostentatious, Couplet is as useful and reliable as your favorite pair of jeans — the one that goes with everything you own.
Much of its pleasant disposition stems from Connary’s approach to its design process. “The process was iterative, with many small changes over a long period of time. I was not in a rush to finish it,” he said. “I’m happy with the overall appearance and character of the finished design, especially since I wasn’t sure where it would end up when I started working on it. Usually I have a very clear idea of where I want a typeface to end up, but I let Couplet take its own course.”
While Couplet took Connary roughly a year to complete, only half of that was actually spent as steady work. “I tried to take it easy, and I think that came through in the typeface itself,” he observed.
Couplet is ideal for headlines, editorials, publishing, advertising, product packaging, corporate correspondence, web content, and mobile apps. Seven weights that range from Light to Heavy with corresponding italics for each make this a beautiful addition to identity and branding applications, allow for total design cohesion through multiple channels.
Couplet offers a host of OpenType features including numerators, denominators, fractions, ordinals, and tabular figures. Its multilingual support extends to Basic Latin, Western European, Euro, Baltic, Turkish, Central European, Romanian, Pan African Latin, Dutch, and Basic Greek for exceptional global accessibility.
As of this writing, Connary offers 14 products through YouWorkForThem. His portfolio is one we suggest you bookmark right away because everything he designs is spot-on. “I’m very happy that people are enjoying my typefaces, and I take feedback seriously,” he told us. “I recently worked with a customer who helped me improve German punctuation on a couple typefaces, and it was a great experience. I always have more in the works, so check back once in a while to see what’s new.”
He’s currently working on a brand new script, which he confided is turning into a “weird mix of calligraphy and art deco.” He’s excited to share it and we’re more than excited to see it, so stay tuned!
