BRITAIN’S LEADING TYPEFACE DESIGNER, CRAFTING CLARITY THROUGH LETTERFORMS.
Mark Bloom
Designer, author and founder of CoType Foundry
From branding to type design, Mark Bloom has built a career defined by precision, restraint, and purpose. As the founder of CoType Foundry, his fonts have shaped the visual language of brands from Real Madrid to Revolut. We talk about how discipline creates freedom, why minimalism isn’t about less but about meaning, and how Aeonik quietly claimed its rightful place in lasting modern design.
You started out designing flyers before moving into branding and type design. How did that journey lead you to creating CoType Foundry?
I trained as a graphic designer and spent over 20 years in the industry before making the switch to type design in 2019. For much of my career, I specialised in brand identity, often creating bespoke wordmarks and logotypes — where my passion for letterforms first began.
My first foray into type design came in 2011, when ICON magazine commissioned a fictional brief to “rethink” the Royal Mail logo. Alongside a bespoke crown marque and logotype, I designed a one-weight typeface called RM Regular (RM standing for Royal Mail). The project gained traction on several design blogs, and soon I was receiving messages from designers asking to buy the typeface. I released it, but since it had been drawn quickly and offered only a single weight, I was never fully satisfied.
Five years later, I revisited the project and released RM Pro — a fully redrawn version with three weights and italics. That’s when I really caught the type bug. Around the same time, my frustrations with Akzidenz-Grotesk sparked the idea for Aeonik: a modern take on early grotesques, refined and consistent, with details built to last. I worked on it for several years alongside client projects until I teamed up with designer Joe Leadbeater, and together we released Aeonik in 2018 through a small e-commerce site.
After Aeonik’s release, I went back to the RM series, and released RM Neue, a fully redrawn third iteration, now with five weights and italics. I also developed two new typefaces: Ambit - a quirky sans, and Coanda - a sci-fi-inspired display font. With these four typefaces in place, I officially launched CoType Foundry in October 2019. Soon after, I stepped away from client work to focus on building the foundry, a decision that ended up being a turning point for the business.
Your career spans graphic design, branding, and publishing. How does that mix of experiences influence the way you work now?
I think one of the advantages of being a graphic designer turned type designer is having a deeper understanding of how graphic designers want a typeface to perform across different design contexts. That’s why I’ve aimed to build our retail library with a broad mix of styles, from the quirky sans Ambit to the toned down Orbikular. Beyond type design, I also create most of our type specimen books and social media content. This gives me the chance to satisfy both my passion for type and my love for graphic design.
You’ve said you only design fonts you’d want to use yourself. How does that keep your work fresh and relevant in today’s culture?
I’ve always followed the rule: “don’t design a typeface just for the sake of it.” I want our typefaces to serve a clear purpose. The CoType font library reflects this philosophy, offering a diverse range of styles to suit a variety of design needs.
Your style often leans toward simplicity and minimalism. How do you keep things clean but still make them stand out?
For me, it’s all about clarity and purpose. Minimalism isn’t just about stripping things back to look “clean”. It’s about making every detail count. I’ve always been inspired by designers like Josef Müller-Brockmann and Wim Crouwel; their work shows how disciplined grids and precise spacing can make something simple feel striking.
To make a design stand out without over complicating it, I focus on the little things: a subtle curve, a carefully weighted stroke, or some thoughtful spacing. Those small details give a typeface personality while keeping it clean and readable, which is really the balance I aim for in my work.
Aeonik Regular and Aeonik Fono are both used for SOMEWHERE GOOD. What was the inspiration behind Aeonik?
Aeonik grew out of years of working as a designer and wrestling with Akzidenz-Grotesk. I loved its voice, but the digital versions often felt inconsistent. I started sketching a cleaner, more versatile take on those early grotesques, something with crisp details, modern proportions, and spacing that worked across print and digital.
To this day, Aeonik remains our best-selling typeface. Seeing hundreds of businesses adopt it as part of their brand has been a real affirmation that the design struck a chord with the creative community. It’s something I’m genuinely proud of — not just because of its reach, but because it proved that a typeface built with care and purpose can find a lasting place in modern design.
" Minimalism isn’t just about stripping things back to look “clean” — it’s about making every detail count "
Your fonts are used everywhere — from airports to luxury brands. How does it feel to see your work shaping everyday spaces and cultural touchpoints?
I love seeing our fonts out in the world —especially when they’re used by global brands like Revolut, Real Madrid, and TUI Holidays. For me, it’s a real validation that our work stands up at the highest level, and I’m hugely grateful to the design agencies and studios who champion our typefaces to their clients.
When you’re creating a font for a brand like Nike or Real Madrid, how do you make sure it feels authentic to their identity?
For us, authenticity comes from understanding the brand’s history, values, and how the type will be used day to day. In the case of Real Madrid, they adopted RM Neue as their official brand typeface without any customisation. More recently, we created a bespoke typeface for Ajax Football Club, drawing from their original logotype. Our designer Diana worked closely with both the club and the agency Smörgåsbord to make sure the result felt authentic. The design was grounded in Ajax’s history, tested with fans, and refined until it struck the right balance of heritage and usability. A big part of that success came down to the clarity of the brief and the thorough research that went into the project. It gave us a strong foundation to build something that felt unmistakably Ajax.
" Aeonik grew out of wrestling with Akzidenz — Grotesk.
I started sketching a cleaner, more versatile take on those early grotesques, something with crisp details, and modern proportions "
Helvetica: The game-changing font that rules the world, or boring, uninspired and unattractive?
Without Helvetica, we wouldn’t have the millions of sans-serif typefaces we enjoy today - including Aeonik! Helvetica has long been, and continues to be, the gold standard for many designers.
New fonts are now being ‘dropped’ at the same rate as fashion collections and fast moving trends are impacting type - what impact does this have on the industry?
Like fashion, type isn’t immune to trends. Some styles become tied to a decade and then feel dated just as quickly. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it can make a font less useful in the long run. At CoType, we try to design typefaces that will outlast those cycles - something versatile enough to stay relevant years down the line.
That said, it’s always interesting to watch what’s happening culturally. Lately, I’ve noticed big brands adopting condensed fonts - Amazon and McDonald’s, for example - because they allow you to fit more into tighter spaces while still keeping impact. We’ve addressed that same need in a way that goes beyond trend by expanding Aeonik into both Condensed and Extended widths. By offering a full range of proportions within the same family, designers can solve practical layout challenges and still create a cohesive, lasting identity.
What does a day in the life of a font designer look like?
I have a workspace just a short walk from my home in South Woodford, which I love because it helps me separate work life from home life. My role has evolved considerably over the years. In the early days of CoType Foundry, I would design two to three new typefaces a year to expand our online retail library. Nowadays, most of my time is spent on administrative tasks, from licensing contracts to handling general enquiries.
We also receive many small customisation projects, where clients want to tweak one of our existing typefaces. This can involve anything from swapping alternate characters to making them default, to altering one or two letters to make the font feel more unique and aligned with the client’s brand.
Because the day-to-day running of the business occupies so much of my time, I now take a more creative director role on custom type projects, working closely with my colleague Diana to guide the process between client and design. CoType Foundry keeps expanding with new fonts and collaborations.
What kind of projects would you like to work on next?
For now, I’m not planning to design any new typefaces. Instead, I’m focused on expanding the language support of our existing library. Earlier this year, we added Thai, Vietnamese, Hebrew, and Hangul to Aeonik, which already supported Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic. In the future, we may explore Devanagari and potentially even Chinese and Japanese, though these expansions are both time-consuming and costly.
On the collaboration side, we’re currently working with designers in the UAE and South Korea to create social content showcasing Aeonik Arabic and Hangul. It’s been fascinating to see how designers from different parts of the world approach these challenges.
I would also love to see one of our typefaces used in an art museum, such as the Stedelijk in Amsterdam. Our type specimen book for Aeonik Pro was designed with a museum theme, which allowed us to demonstrate the fonts in real-world contexts like signage and wayfinding. It would be incredibly rewarding to see that concept brought to life.
Finally… Where is your SOMEWHERE GOOD?
Any downtime I get is precious, and I love spending it with my family, whether we’re exploring new places on holiday, enjoying quiet moments at home, driving with my daughter who is learning to drive or cheering on my son as he plays football. These moments help me recharge and bring balance to my work life.
Credits.
Aeonik in use for Sweaty Betty (Designed by Fluoro London)
Words. Mick Wilson
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