Zuzana Licko

Who is Zuzana Licko?

Zuzana Licko is a typeface designer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area who was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Licko came to the United States when she was a child along with her family. She studied architecture, photography and computer programming before earning a degree in graphic communications at the University of California at Berkeley.

Zuzana’s father was a biomathematician and at the University of California, San Francisco and through his job she became involved with computers during the summer months when she helped him with data processing work.

When she first started attending the university her goal was to earn a degree in architecture but she then changed to a visual studies major because she believed becoming an architect was in her eyes, too similar to going to business school.

While at Berkeley, Zuzana took a calligraphy class, which happened to be her least favorite due to the fact that she had to write with her right hand even though she was left handed. This experience later influenced her when she started working on type design, which was more computer-based.

In an interview featured in Eye, Licko described her creative relationship with Vanderlans: