Michael Kohnke

Michael Kohnke heads California-based Typebox LLC, a source of ‘unusual but useful’ type designs. He also teaches typography at the Academy of Art and UC Berkeley. Michael earned his Masters degree from California Institute of the Arts near Los Angeles in 2000. Michael graduated with honors in Geography from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, specializing in Cartographic Techniques. He also holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with honors in Graphic Design from the same institution, while working at the design school’s Design Center. Projects included designing for several University cultural events. These experiences came together at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C. In 1990, Michael moved to San Francisco to become an information designer at Richard Saul Wurman’s The Understanding Business. In the years following, he worked as a contract graphic designer where collaborations included projects with Cronan Design, Zimmerman Crowe Design and Mark Anderson Design. He was studio director at Vinje Design from 1994 to 1997, overseeing work that encompassed annual reports, magazine design, identity and print collateral. Michael received the Civic Center Logo Prize for the City of San Francisco.