Edward Fella

Who is Edward Fella?

Edward Fella is an American graphic designer, artist and educator. He created the OutWest type in 1993. His work is held in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Brauer Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. He is the recipient of the 2007 AIGA Medal. He is also the recipient of the Chrysler Award in 1997. Curt Cloninger called Fella as "the contemporary master of hand-drawn typography."

Fella was born in Detroit, Michigan. He learned about commercial art while a student at Cass Technical High School. He received his Master of Fine Arts in design at Cranbrook Academy of Art, which he started when he was 47. He quit his commercial art job to create his own art. He teaches at the California Institute for the Arts.

He created the OutWest typeface. He designed it by hand. It has a 15-degree ellipse. His hand design style has been described as "American folk art typography". His style and work has influenced designers like Lorraine Wild, P. Scott Makela, Jeffrey Keedy, Elliott Earls and Barry Deck.