Behind almost every character you see displayed on a page or a screen, there’s a complex — and sometimes lucrative — web of licensing deals. Zachary Crockett is just your type.

• SOURCES:
  • Lucas Czarnecki, creative director of Type Network.
  • Gerry Leonidas, professor of typography at the University of Reading.
  • Chantra Malee, co-founder and C.E.O. of Sharp Type.
  • Lucas Sharp, professional font designer and co-founder of Sharp Type.

• RESOURCES:
  • "What Fonts Are Used by The New York Times?" by Nona Blackman (Envato Tuts+, 2024).
  • "Legendary Type Foundry Monotype Sold to Private Equity for $825 Million," by Suzanne LaBarre (Fast Company, 2019).
  • "Calibri’s Scandalous History," by Ross Arbes (The New Yorker, 2017).
  • "This Was The First Computer Font," by John Herrman (BuzzFeed News, 2012).
  • "Manuscripts and Special Collections," by the University of Nottingham.

• EXTRA:
  • "Are Our Tools Becoming Part of Us?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).

Americans throw away 320 million books every year. How do some of them find a second life? Zachary Crockett is just browsing.

• SOURCE:
  • Francisco Hernandez, owner of Leaves bookstore.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores," by Ryan L. Raffaelli (Harvard Business School Working Paper, 2020).
  • Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon (1973).
  • The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (1970).
  • Leaves bookstore.

• EXTRA:
  • "Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

The tradition of sending cards to loved ones was in decline — until it was rescued by a new generation. But millennials have their own ideas about what sentiments they want to convey. Zachary Crockett is thinking of you on your special day.

• SOURCES:
  • Mia Mercado, writer and former editor at Hallmark.
  • George White, president of Up With Paper and former president of the American Greeting Card Association.

• RESOURCES:
  • 34th Louie Awards - Finalists & Winners, (2022-2023).
  • "Season’s (and Other...) Greetings," by Maria Ricapito (Marie Claire, 2020).
  • "Hallmark Greeting Cards Have Adjusted to the Digital Revolution," by Trent Gillies (CNBC, 2017).
  • "Testimony of Don Hall, Jr. President and CEO of Hallmark Cards, Inc. Before a Joint Hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security and the House, Postal Service and the District of Columbia" (2010).