Patricia Saunders was a British type designer whose career was notably marked by her work at Monotype Corporation, where she played a key role in the development and adaptation of both classic and modern typefaces. Saunders' formal education took place at Reigate County School for Girls. After a brief period working in an art bookshop, she joined Monotype’s Type Drawing Office (TDO) in Salfords, Surrey, in 1951. Initially trained as a drawing clerk, she contributed to numerous typefaces, including “Castellar“, “Spectrum“, and “Glint Ornaments“, as well as various non-Latin typefaces developed internally.
Her responsibilities at Monotype reflected the intricate requirements of hot-metal typesetting, which included expanding character sets, creating optical sizes, and adjusting weight and width variations. Interestingly, when Saunders first began, Monotype's culture did not emphasize typographic history, so she initially learned type design without knowing much about the fonts themselves. Over time, however, she developed a good understanding and skill in the field.
Patricia met her husband, David, at Monotype, and after their marriage in 1959, she left in 1960 to raise a family. Unlike most of her contemporaries, she returned to Monotype in 1982. Her return coincided with a major industry shift to digital typesetting, and Saunders was tasked with adapting Monotype's legacy typefaces, such as “Van Dijck“ and “Centaur“, for digital output on the Monotype Lasercomp, the first digital laser phototypesetting system.
One of Saunders' most lasting contributions to modern typography was her work on Arial, a typeface co-developed with Robin Nicholas and based on Monotype Grotesque, which became a default font in Microsoft’s software packages.
Patricia Saunders passed away on June 25, 2019, leaving behind a legacy that influenced both traditional and digital typography, celebrated in typographic history and remembered fondly by colleagues and family. She spent her retirement in Wales with her husband, David, reflecting her lifelong passion for design and family. (hs)
