Juan Villanueva

Juan Villanueva is a Brooklyn-based typeface designer, letterer, and educator.

He grew up in Lima, Peru and spent his teenage years in Clifton, NJ before pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation from Montclair State University. His heart is in both places and his work reflects the best of both languages and cultures.  

He currently spends his days designing typefaces at Monotype. He’s worked on custom typefaces for Tencent and Google, and contributed to type releases including Helvetica Now, Walbaum, and Sagrantino. 

Outside of work, Juan teaches workshops and gives lectures on topics ranging from diversity in design to type’s role in shaping culture. He’s taught graphic design at the Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive Program and currently teaches typography at the City College of New York.

More than anything else, Juan loves being a type nerd in New York City. He’s a proud graduate of the Type@Cooper program and is an active member of AIGA NY. He serves on the board of directors for the Society of Scribes and the Type Directors Club, where he organizes talks and events bringing together users, makers and lovers of type.

His work has been exhibited in New York City and internationally in Thailand, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.