MuirMcNeil — Paul McNeil, Hamish Muir — London, UK

“A ‘good’ typeface is one that is equipped to operate within the context for which it is required, on the basis of Herbert A. Simon’s proposition that ‘Everyone who designs devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones’. It is often argued that the most excellent or ‘classic’ typefaces are those that are capable of performing well in the widest range of visual environments. For us, Adrian Frutiger’s Univers would qualify as a perfect example of this definition. We enjoy playing with the sweet spot between what we see and what we read.”

Founded in 2009 by Paul McNeil and Hamish Muir, MuirMcNeil’s activities are focused on exploring systematic and algorithmic methods in type design, graphic design and moving image.

Paul McNeil is a typographic designer, educator and author. He was Course Leader of the MA Contemporary Typographic Media at the London College of Communication from 2010–15. Seven years in the making, The Visual History Of Type, McNeil’s exhaustive survey of type design from 1450–2015, was published in 2017.

Hamish Muir was co-founder of the London-based graphic design studio 8vo (1985–2001), and co-editor of Octavo, journal of typography (1986–92). He was a part-time tutor at the London College of Communication from 2001–2019 and has delivered workshops and short courses internationally.