Charlotte Pontifell

Thesis Title: Traditional Typography in the Service of Modern Typology: Textual Materialism and the Modernist Print Innovations of the Kelmscott and Hogarth Presses

What Now: Analyst at The Type Founders

Follow Me: @justalittlechip (Instagram)

I came to Hist & Lit drawn to the ways books, ideas, and culture shape one another — especially through the craft of the book and how mass production and the digital age have transformed what we read and how we read it. I was fascinated by how the book is both a tool for utility and a work of craft — a material object that carries ideas but also tells its own story through form. What I appreciated most about the department was the flexibility and support to dive deeply into these interests. From my thesis on the Kelmscott and Hogarth Presses to coursework that encouraged me to think critically about material forms, Hist & Lit gave me the space to connect my academic passions across disciplines.

Today, I feel incredibly fortunate to continue exploring these themes while also building business experience. At The Type Founders, I work at the intersection of design, strategy, and business — collaborating with designers, helping bring typefaces to market, contributing to company strategy, and assessing prospective acquisitions. Every day, I get to think about how mass production, consumption, and the digital age continue to shape the letterform — an art form that's all around us, yet hiding in plain sight.

Hist & Lit not only gave me the foundation to pursue these questions, but also prepared me to seek out a role where I could bring together my intellectual interests with business fundamentals. It shaped the lens through which I approach my work — one that pushes me to consider what I do at a deeper, more critical level, and to see the connections between history, culture, and the forces shaping them today. If you’re ever in the NYC area or curious about the world of type, feel free to reach out!