Marta BernsteinJun 2
Christopher Slye
I’ve learned that Robert Slimbach — one of our greatest living type designers — is being let go by Adobe. He’s near retirement, but I’m disappointed he’s being shown the door rather than leaving on his own terms. To me, it’s more evidence of Adobe’s waning interest in original type development.
May 31 at 4:32pmWeb
Show threadChristopher SlyeMay 31
This looks like the formal end of an era – the muted conclusion of a decades-long program, Adobe Originals, that has been ebbing away. Not exactly surprising given Adobe’s, er, current product focus, but a melancholic moment. I hope Robert gets the send-off he deserves for his 38 years of service.
Show threadGabriel NMay 31

@slye Robert's work has been so inspiring. Adobe firing him when he is about to retire is just callous.

I recently did a monogram for @sinituulia based on Poetica's ligatures, his first font designed for Adobe Originals in 1992.

I celebrate Robert's work from Chile! Regardless of these news, he has not been forgotten!

Show threadChristopher SlyeMay 31
@wtrmt Excellent! Note, though, that Poetica was not Robert’s first typeface for Adobe. That would be (both) Utopia and Adobe Garamond in 1989.
Show threadGabriel NMay 31

@slye Thank you for that!

I’ve done work with both. His fonts has been in my toolset during my entire career.

Show threadTobiasMay 31
@slye That's demeaning from Adobe.
Show threadVictor ZambranoMay 31
@slye @nicksherman tangentially related, and anecdotical, but i kinda felt their ways were going off the rails when i started using XP, which was so bad with typography that when one was managing text it actually felt like it wasn’t an Adobe tool at all.
Show threadjfml - Jonas LaugsMay 31
@slye Can't wait for Adobe announcing a barely functioning AI slob automated typeface designer tool trainwreck tomorrow!
Show threadJorge BejaranoMay 31
@slye this is totally disheartening and shameful!
Show threadGabriel NJun 2
@slye Is there any way to write to Robert? Does he have a personal website?
Show threadChristopher SlyeJun 2
@wtrmt I can ask him. Possibly not. Robert mostly keeps to himself so I wouldn’t ever expect him to have the usual “contact me” kind of thing. At the very least, I could forward an email to him.
Show threadskryJun 4
@slye @typographica It’s also a shitty and inhumane thing to do to a longtime loyal employee, especially in a down market. I hope every Adobe employee sees this for what it means about their own career trajectories.
Show threadNeville ParkJun 4
@slye what?? Why?!
Show threadStefan ArnoldJun 4
@slye In some countries its better to be fired than go on your own terms. Financially speaking. Maybe they wanted to do him a favour? Who knows?
Show threadV.H. BelvadiJun 10
@slye Common as it is, Minion will always be my favourite work from Slimbach. I was also excited to see the new Kis and Aldine, but perhaps this unfortunate news is why they scheduled the releases as they did.
Show threadChristopher SlyeJun 10
@vhbelvadi Minion is probably my favorite as well. It’s a near perfect typeface IMO.