Cyrus Highsmith Sketchbook Collection

Collection — Container: 169-02

Identifier: 169-02

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection comprises sketchbooks kept by Cyrus Highsmith between 1993 and 2025. The sketchbooks (210 sketchbooks and 33 pocket notebokos) include sketches, working designs for typefaces, personal notes, and ephemera laid in or pasted onto pages.

Dates

1993-2025

Creator

Highsmith, Cyrus (Daley-Highsmith), 1973- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to research.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials in the collection may not be used for commercial purposes.

Biographical / Historical

Cyrus Highsmith (1973) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He came to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1994 to study graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1997, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and started work as a type designer at Font Bureau, Inc.

In 2000, he married ceramic artist Anna Highsmith (née Galloway). They returned to Providence in 2005. In 2008, their son, James, was born.

In 2012, he published the book, Inside Paragraphs: Typographic Fundamentals. Since then it has been translated into 9 languages.

In 2017, Highsmith joined the Japanese type foundry, Morisawa as the Creative Director for New Latin Type.

Highsmith was an adjunct faculty member at RISD from 2000—2026, where he taught typography and type design.

Extent

12.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Japanese

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series: 1) Sketchbooks, representing the majority of the collection, 2) pocket sketchbooks, and 3) other materials created by Cyrus Highsmith, including prints and published materials.