Julian Waters (born 1957) is a

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

type designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

and teacher.

Early life

He was born in

Hampshire, England Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltsh ...

in 1957 and is the son of calligrapher Sheila Waters and book binder/conservator

Peter Waters Peter Godfrey Waters (19 May 1930 – 26 June 2003), a former Conservation Officer at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., United States, worked in the areas of disaster recovery and preparedness, and the salvage of water-damaged pape ...

. He now lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States.

Teaching career

Starting in 1979 Waters studied with German type designer

Hermann Zapf Hermann Zapf (; 8 November 1918 – 4 June 2015) was a German type designer and calligrapher who lived in Darmstadt, Germany. He was married to the calligrapher and typeface designer Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse. Typefaces he designed include ...

. In 1981-82 Waters worked with Gerard Valerio at Bookmark Studio in Washington DC, specializing in logos, books and publication design. In 1984 he opened his own studio in Capitol Hill. The same year, Zapf asked the 27-year-old Julian to substitute and teach his two-week masterclass at

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

. Waters ultimately succeeded Zapf in 1989. Since 1978 he has taught specialized seminars on lettering and design attended by calligraphers and graphic designer all over

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Asia and Europe and has taught and lectured at institutions including

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Sunderland University and

Imperial College, London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. In 2006 Waters was the keynote speaker at *Letterforum*, part of the 26th International Calligraphy Conference, at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

Private-sector works

Waters has worked on logos, posters, CD packaging, titling for books and publications. He has designed titling lettering for

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

for over 20 years. He is the only lettering designer to have been featured in a "Behind the Scenes" full page photo profile in the Magazine late 1999. He has been featured on TV in the U.S. and Europe, including the Emmy Award-winning segment entitled "Man of Letters", on the Sunday morning magazine show, ''Capital Edition'', 1989. In 1997 Adobe Systems released his Multiple Master typeface "Waters Titling".

Public works

Waters produced lettering for books, posters and stamps for the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

, including "Bill of Rights" and "Presidential Libraries" stamps, "Love" envelope and "Legends of American Music" series. During the construction of the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly called the Vietnam Memorial, is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granit ...

in Washington DC, Waters was a typographic advisor to

Maya Lin Maya Ying Lin (Chinese: 林瓔; born October 5, 1959) is an American architect, designer and sculptor. Born in Athens, Ohio to Chinese immigrants, she attended Yale University to study architecture. In 1981, while still an undergraduate at Yal ...

. He was the typographic designer for the

Women in Military Service for America Memorial The Military Women's Memorial, also known as the Women In Military Service For America Memorial, is a memorial established by the U.S. federal government which honors women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The memorial is loca ...

Arlington Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Awards

Waters has received awards from the Type Directors Club, Art Directors Club, Print Magazine and

Letter Arts Review ''Letter Arts Review'' (formerly ''Calligraphy Review'' and originally ''Calligraphy Idea Exchange'') is a quarterly magazine devoted to contemporary and historical lettering, calligraphy, typography, and text-based art. The magazine was establish ...

Annual. He was the 1997 Rubenstein Memorial Guest Artist at the

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a private, college preparatory, Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' (), alludi ...

, Washington DC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Julian 1957 births Living people American calligraphers