About Marsnev

Marsnev is a Netherlands-based Indonesian type designer/artist/researcher. His work lies at the intersection between the art and science of letters — he questions, studies, and draws them.

Artistically, Marsnev was formally trained as a type designer at the University of Reading, UK, under the guidance of Gerry Leonidas, Fiona Ross, Fred Smeijers, and others. He now runs Marsnev & Co., an independent type foundry releasing original typefaces such as Lemon Milk and collaborating with designers worldwide. Examples of his work can be seen in this very text, set in his own typeface, Rafflesia.

Besides drawing letters, Marsnev is currently affiliated with KITLV and Leiden University as a PhD candidate in Linguistics. His research explores writing traditions in Indonesia within a broader anthropo-linguistic understanding of writing. His work has been presented at international conferences in the United States, Europe, and Indonesia. Prior to his current doctoral position, he spent two wonderful years in France, joining The Missing Scripts Project at the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique — with a team he is still in close contact with.

On the name

Marsnev is an alias and his preferred name. Heavily influenced by graffiti culture, Marsnev prefers not to disclose or use his real name, even though it is inevitably visible through his other professional activities.

Marsnev & Co., registered in Delaware as Marsnev, LLC, is a company established to support Marsnev’s professional type design practice, especially as more projects began to involve collaboration. The addition ‘& Co.’ indicates and credits the involvement of friends, collaborators, and contributors.

On the website

The website of Marsnev & Co. is currently under development. This separate website, on the other hand, is dedicated as a personal space for Marsnev. It separates his interests, research, and exploration as an artist from the corporate-business activities of Marsnev & Co.