About
I’m Pedro Arilla (1984—), a designer with a passion for words, co-founder and Type Director of Arillatype.Studio® where we help brands worldwide to encapsulate typographically their voices.
I’ve graduated with Distinction in the world’s top Typeface Design Masters of Reading (UK), worked as a Creative Director at the legendary foundries Fontsmith (UK) and Monotype (USA), led projects for clients such as Google, Amazon, Virgin, Paralympics, MotoGP and FC Barcelona, and designed typefaces in Latin, Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Thai and Japanese scripts.
My job has been awarded and exhibited worldwide. I teach workshops and speak at conferences in universities and events around the globe. I’ve been jury in literary and branding awards. My texts and articles have been translated into distant languages.
I’m writing a book on type evaluation; I co-organise and teach an international one-week type design workshop (Glíglifo); and for 11 years I wrote one of the main blogs on typography in Spanish (Don Serifa).
I’m from Ejea de los Caballeros (Zaragoza, Spain). I’ve lived also in Zaragoza (Spain), Reading and London (United Kingdom). Now I am based in La Cala del Moral (Málaga, Spain) because I love blue colour.
I share my life with Cris — and Bunbury, our dog.
Logs
Gaming
Notes: 🎮 Playing / ⏹️ Stopped / ✅ Finished / ❤️ Loved / 🔥 WOW / 💎 All trophies / ♻️ Replayed
2023:
- 🎮 Metroid Dread on Nintendo Switch, 2 hours
- 🎮 It Takes Two on Playstation 5, 8 hours
- ♻️ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch, 4 hours
- ⏹️ OlliOlli World on Playstation 5, 4 hours
- ⏹️ Vampire Survivors on Steam, 11 hours
- ✅ Bloodborne on Playstation 5, 20 hours
2022:
- ❤️ Tunic on Playstation 5, 16 hours
- ⏹️ God of War: Ragnarök on Playstation 5, 13 hours
- ❤️ Demon’s Souls on Playstation 5, 24 hours
- ⏹️ Deathloop on Playstation 5, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Ghost of Tsushima on Playstation 5, 20 hours
- 🔥 Hollow Knight on Playstation 5, 59 hours
- ⏹️ Thimbleweed Park on MacOS, 6 hours
- ⏹️ Blasphemous on Playstation 5, 2 hours
- ⏹️ Crash Bandicoot 4 on Playstation 5, 8 hours
- ⏹️ Streets of Rage 4 on Playstation 5, 4 hours
- ⏹️ Fall Guys on Playstation 5, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Dark Souls 3 on Playstation 5, 2 hours
- 💎 Elden Ring on Playstation 5, 117 hours
- ⏹️ Cyberpunk 2077 on Playstation 5, 2 hours
- ❤️ Death’s Door on Playstation 5, 16 hours
- ⏹️ The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap on Game Boy Advance (emulated), 2 hours
- ♻️ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch, 4 hours
- ⏹️ Marvel’s Spider-Man on Playstation 5, 14 hours
- ⏹️ Unpacking on Nintendo Switch, 2 hours
2021:
- ❤️ Uncharted 4: The lost legacy on Playstation 5, 8 hours
- ❤️ Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation 5, 9 hours
- ⏹️ Kena: Bridge of Spirits on PlayStation 5, 7 hours
- ⏹️ SteamWorld Heist on Nintendo Switch, 6 hours
- ⏹️ Bonfire Peaks on Nintendo Switch, 2 hours
- ⏹️ Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on PlayStation 5, 12 hours
- ✅ Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on Nintendo Switch, 13 hours
- ⏹️ A plague tale: Innocence on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Star Wars: Squadron on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Bloodborne on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- 🔥 The Last of Us: Part 2 on PlayStation 5, 21 hours
- ❤️ Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart on PlayStation 5, 15 hours
- ⏹️ Ratchet & Clank on PlayStation 5, 6 hours
- ⏹️ Disco Elysium on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Horizon Zero Dawn on PlayStation 5, 8 hours
- 🔥 The Last of Us Remastered + Left Behind on PlayStation 5, 13 hours
- ❤️ God of War on PlayStation 5, 18 hours
- ⏹️ Battlefield 1 on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Journey on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- ❤️ Uncharted 4 on PlayStation 5, 20 hours
- ⏹️ Returnal on PlayStation 5, 6 hours
- ⏹️ Astros’s Playroom on PlayStation 5, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Pokémon: Crystal on Game Boy (emulated), 10 hours
- ❤️ Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Nintendo Switch, 18 hours
- 🔥 Zelda: A link to the past on Game Boy Advance (emulated), 20 hours
- ✅ Gris on Nintendo Switch, 3 hours
- ✅ Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch, 20 hours
- ⏹️ Immortals Fenyx Rising on Nintendo Switch, 30 hours
2020:
- ⏹️ Overcooked 2 on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Dead cells on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Bioshock on Nintendo Switch, 3 hours
- 🔥 Hades on Nintendo Switch, 35 hours
- ✅ Guacamelee! 2 on Nintendo Switch, 15 hours
- ⏹️ Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ✅ Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, 55 hours
- 🔥 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Nintendo Switch, 25 hours
- ⏹️ Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Fortnite on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Elliot Quest on Nintendo Switch, 3 hours
- ⏹️ Sonic Mania on Nintendo Switch, 1 hour
- ⏹️ Old Man’s Journey on Nintendo Switch, 1 hour
- 🔥 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch, 155 hours
- 🔥 Ori and the Blind Forest on Nintendo Switch, 40 hours
- ❤️ SteamWorld Dig 2 on Nintendo Switch, 10 hours
- ⏹️ Hollow Knight on Nintendo Switch, 20 hours
2019:
- ⏹️ Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on Nintendo Switch, 5 hours
- ⏹️ Cuphead on Nintendo Switch, 2 hours
- ✅ Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch, 40 hours
- ⏹️ Slain on Nintendo Switch, 5 hours
- ❤️ Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Nintendo Switch, 20 hours
2018:
- ⏹️ NBA 2K19 on Nintendo Switch, 20 hours
- 🔥 Super Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Switch, 30 hours
Speaking
- Fonts & Branding. Semana del Diseño, Granada, Spain, 2023.
- Color fonts & At Amiga. Cañas y tipos, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 2022.
- Variable color fonts & Emojis [watch] Design Matters, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2022.
- Color fonts & At Amiga. Cuchi qué tipo, Málaga, Spain, 2022.
- Cooperative type design (with Nacho Lavernia and Javier Mestre). Jornada de tipografía de València, online, 2021.
- Diseño y producción de tipografías para comercializar y distribuir (with Sabrina López and Vicente Lamónaca). Mercado de Industrias Culturales y Creativas de Uruguay, online, 2021.
- Interview. TypeThursday Madrid, online, 2021.
- Narrativa tipográfica. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, online, 2020.
- Narrativa tipográfica. EASD València, València, Spain, 2020.
- Narrativa tipográfica. Creatus Dominus, online, 2020.
- Interview. TypeThursday Bogotá, online, 2020.
- Narrativa tipográfica. MálagaType, Málaga, Spain, 2019.
- Amsteldok. Letterspace, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2019.
- Lost & Foundry. The Galley Club, London, United Kingdom, 2019.
- Lost & Foundry. TypeThursdayLON, London, United Kingdom, 2018.
- Lost & Foundry. The House of St Barnabas, London, United Kingdom, 2018.
- Tipografilias y tipopatías. Creatus Dominus, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain, 2015.
- Tipografía y poesía. TransSocial Express, Zaragoza, Spain, 2015.
- Mamá, de mayor quiero ser tipógrafo. XIV Salón del Diseño Gráfico, Barranquilla, Colombia, 2014.
- Cuarto de tipo: Pedro Arilla. VI Congreso de Tipografía, Valencia, Spain, 2014.
- Mamá, de mayor quiero ser tipógrafo. II Jornadas Tipográficas, Granada, Spain, 2014.
- Mamá, de mayor quiero ser tipógrafo. TypoMad, Madrid, Spain, 2013.
- Mamá, de mayor quiero ser tipógrafo. Entretipos, Barcelona, Spain, 2013.
- Claves para dar el salto del aula al proyecto real. Ibercaja Zentrum, Zaragoza, Spain, 2013.
- Mamá, de mayor quiero ser tipógrafo. IES Pilar Lorengar, Zaragoza, Spain, 2013.
- ¿Se puede vivir de la tipografía? Sevilla Design Walk, Sevilla, Spain, 2012.
- Mamá, de mayor quiero ser tipógrafo. Escuela de Arte de Huesca, Huesca, Spain, 2012.
Teaching
- Colour Fonts. Escuela José Val del Omar, Granada, Spain, 2023.
- Type design. Glíglifo Mini, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 2022.
- Boost your typeface. Telmo Dice, Málaga, Spain, 2022.
- Type design. EASD València, València, Spain, 2021.
- Type design. EASD València, València, Spain, 2020.
- Typographic narrative. Máster de Diseño Gráfico, Animum3D, online, 2020.
- Type design. Type Crit Crew, online, 2020.
- Type design. V Glíglifo, Sos del Rey Católico, Spain, 2018.
- Type design. Tristana Project, Zaragoza, Spain, 2018.
- Type design. IV Glíglifo, Sos del Rey Católico, Spain, 2017.
- Type design with Glyphs. Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain, 2017.
- Type design. III Glíglifo, Sos del Rey Católico, Spain, 2016.
- Experimental typography. Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain, 2016.
- Type design. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2016.
- Lettering. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2016.
- Typography. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2016.
- Web type. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2016.
- Experimental lettering. Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain, 2015.
- Analogic type design. Escuela de Arte de Cuenca, Cuenca, Spain, 2015.
- Typolettering. TypeOn, Valladolid, Spain, 2015.
- Type design. II Glíglifo, Sos del Rey Católico, Spain, 2015.
- Type design. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2015.
- Lettering. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2015.
- Type branding. LinkedIn Learning, online, 2015.
- Type design with Glyphs. Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain, 2014.
- Type design. Glígligo Mini, Málaga, Spain, 2014.
- Typolettering. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia, 2014.
- Type design. I Glíglifo, Sos del Rey Católico, Spain, 2014.
- Type design. Domestika, online, 2014.
- Fonts & Branding. Made in Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain, 2013.
- Type design with Glyphs. Entretipos, Barcelona, Spain, 2013.
- Editorial design. Escuela de Arte de Huesca, Huesca, Spain, 2012.
Selected interviews
- «Creo que estamos en el camino del asentamiento de la industria tipográfica en España», Gràffica, 10/11/2022.
- «Pasta y letras», telmodice podcast, w/ Txus Marcano, 12/05/2021.
- «La letra, con diseño entra», Atónitos Huéspedes (Aragón TV), w/ Christian Peribáñez, 16/04/2021.
- «Entrevista a Pedro Arilla», Shifta Blog, w/ Aina Gatnau, 29/01/2021.
- «FS Neruda, poética tipográfica», Rayitas Azules, w/ Ana Moliz, 19/12/2018.
- “Lost & Foundry: Reviving Ghost Typography for a Good Cause”, TypeThursday, w/ Stuart de Rozario, 29/10/2018.
- «Entrevista a Pedro Arilla, diseñador tipográfico en Fontsmith», UI from Mars, w/Cris Busquets, 12/10/2018.
- «Estudiar el MA Typeface Design en la Universidad de Reading», Rayitas Azules, w/ Ana Moliz, 16/07/2018.
- «Pedro Arilla: “Siempre digo que no hay carreras sin salida, solo personas sin salida”», Arrea Magazine, w/ Gerardo Maza, 10/09/2017.
Selected texts
- donserifa.com, Articles and podcast on typography, 2011–2022.
- graffica.info, Articles on typography and type design, 2016 + 2020–2021.
- เพื่อความงดงามของการเขียน, Cadson Demak, w/ Kamolkarn Kosolkarn (tr.), 10/05/2019.
- ‘For the beauty of writing’, Typenotes (no. 03, 2019), pp. 68–71.
- “For the beauty of writing”, Fontstmith, 13/12/2018.
- fontsmith.com, Articles on typography and type design, 2017–2019.
- Pedro Arilla en Reading, Blog on my experience at MATD, 2016–2017.
- Fontown, Type designers biographies and typeface reviews, 2016–2017.
- «Estudiar tipografía en España», Deleátur (no. 07, 2016), pp. 58–59.
- «Atipo interview», Gràffica (no. 02, 2016), pp. 86–87.
- «Forma y contraforma», El bombín cuadrado (no. 13, 2014), pp. 12–13.
- «Dicen», El bombín cuadrado (no. 12, 2014), pp. 18–19.
- unostiposduros.com, News on typography and type design, 2012–2013.
Awards
- Red Dot Awards 2022, Best of the Best for RTL United.
- iF Design Awards 2022, Winner for RTL United.
- D&AD 2021, Wood Pencil for Amsteldok.
- Dutch Creativity Awards 2020, Bronze for Amsteldok.
- European Design Awards 2020, Gold for Amsteldok.
- TypeToday 2020, Typefaces with perfect Cyrillic for FS Brabo Pro.
- Transform Awards Europe 2020, Silver for Amsteldok.
- WPPED Cream Awards 2019, Winner for Amsteldok.
- Brand Impact Awards 2019, Highly Commended for Amsteldok.
- Eurobest Award 2019, Bronze for Amsteldok.
- Granshan 2019, Special Mention Cyrillic-Latin for FS Brabo Pro.
- Communication Arts 2019, Shortlisted for Amsteldok.
- Clio Awards 2019, Bronze for Amsteldok.
- Cannes Lions 2019, Shortlisted for Amsteldok.
- European Design Awards 2019, Silver for FS Neruda.
- Modern Cyrillic 2019, one of the winners for FS Brabo Pro.
- D&AD 2019, Wooden Pencil for Storytelling Serifs Specimen.
- Creative Circle 2019, Gold for Lost & Foundry.
- Gerard Unger Scholarship 2017 (TypeTogether), Mention for Rock & Roll.
- Behance 2012 (Adobe), Most appreciated projects for Valentina.
- CEA 2012, 2nd best project for Valentina.
As jury
- Premios Asociación Andaluza de Diseñadores, 2022.
- World Brand Design Society Awards, 2020.
- Premios Gràffica, 2020.
- Ukranian Design: The Very Best, 2020.
Exhibitions
- New Bulgarian Typography 2 (collective). Cyrillic type design, Moscow (Russia) and Sofia (Bulgaria), 2019.
- Tipografía en la cultura contemporánea (collective). Type design, Monterrey, Mexico, 2018.
- Una tipografía para Buñuel (collective). Type design, Madrid, Spain, 2018.
- Revival salsero (collective). Type design, Bogotá, Colombia, 2018.
- Typostammtisch (collective). Type design, Berlin, Germany, 2018.
- ATypI (collective). Type design, Montreal, Canada, 2017.
- Cuántos síes contienen tus noes (individual). Mural calligraphy and poetry, Zaragoza, Spain, 2015.
- Cada letra cuenta una historia (collective). Type design, Valencia, Spain, 2014.
- Homenaje a Rubén Fontana (collective). Type design, Valencia, Spain, 2014.
- VIII Jornadas ESDA (collective). Type design, Zaragoza, Spain, 2014.
- Ampersand (collective). Type design, Brighton, UK, 2013.