Admirers say that Marian Bantjes can set a mean page of type—a deliberate understatement—as the ornamental, obsessively detailed text Bantjes puts to paper is nothing short of pure art. Whether drawn in pen and pencil or crafted from sugar, the serifs and shapes flow together in perfect harmony, resembling lace or an illuminated manuscript. A Canadian-born designer, artist, illustrator, typographer and writer, Marian’s clients include WIRED and Saks Fifth Avenue, and her designs have been featured in magazines published from Brazil to Paris. Her work is part of the permanent collection at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper-Hewitt). She is currently an instructor at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. “I can be inspired at any moment by the strangest things,” Marian says. “I am seldom bored. I have more ideas than I will ever be able to produce in my lifetime—some of them are even good ideas.”

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