TDC53 Jury : Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes is a self-described Graphic Artist, who works primarily with custom type and ornament. Stefan Sagmeister says she is "one of the most innovative typographers working today," Noreen Morioka calls her "the Doyald Young of her generation," and Sigrid Albert says "[she creates] spiritual typography which goes beyond religion." Both her graphic work and her design work are continually explorative, but are founded upon 10 years' work as a book typesetter, and an additional nine years as the owner operator of a 2–12-person design firm.

In 2003 Marian left her firm and "strategic design" behind to embark on the work that she has since become internationally known for. Her work has been featured in Eye, STEP, étapes, Azure, Tupigrafia and Print, and she has a book coming out with Princeton Architectural Press in the fall of 2008. She is also known as a writer on design for the design weblog Speak Up, is a board member of the BC Chapter of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and teaches typography through Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver, BC. She lives and works from her home on Bowen Island, BC, off the west coast of Canada, mostly for clients in the US and Europe. Her work can be seen at http://www.bantjes.com.