Jason Santa Maria is a designer with over 20 years of experience leading multidisciplinary teams across product, editorial, marketing, and branding.
I care about craft, collaboration, and lifelong learning. I believe that good design can make complex things fun-sized and accessible to everyone. I live and work in Philadelphia under a pile of books.
I’m currently a UX Manager at Shopify on the Storefronts team. I’m also co-founder and Creative Director of A Book Apart, a boutique book publisher for people who design, write, and code with a library of over 50 titles—including my own, On Web Typography, and industry-defining titles like Responsive Web Design and Just Enough Research.
Previously roles I’ve held include: Head of Design & Research at Netlify, Senior Product Designer for COVID-19 Response at Resolve to Save Lives, Senior Design Director of Brand & Marketing at InVision, and Design Director at Slate. I’ve also served as Vice President of AIGA/NY and faculty at the MFA Interaction Design program at SVA.
I’ve spoken at dozens of conferences to thousands of people around the world, and worked for clients such as AIGA, The Chicago Tribune, Housing Works, PBS, The United Nations, and WordPress.
I love and geek out on books, pencils, horror movies, fonts, smart quotes, photography, and games — both video and tabletop. You can usually find me watching space launch videos on repeat with my kids.
Type Design
I’ve been experimenting in type design for the last few years and am sharing in-progress typefaces. They are pretty limited to start, drop me a note if you need anything specific.
My Book
On Web Typography
Typography is your design’s voice and the most powerful tool you have to communicate with your readers. Learn how to wield type with care and wit: how to evaluate typefaces, consider technical constraints, create flexible typographic systems, and put together your own collection of favorite faces.
Select Words
Talks
- Fundamentals of Web Typography, Skillshare
- Take a Breath, CreativeMornings
- NO, CreativeMornings
- On Web Typography, Build Conference
- The Influence of Print Design, SVA IxD Dot Dot Dot Lectures
Interviews
- Offscreen Magazine, Issue 17
- The Typography Show, The Presentable Podcast
- Designing Web Interfaces, Dorm Room Tycoon
- Words, Words, Words, An Event Apart
- The Great Discontent
Articles
Past Versions
I used to blog a lot and tried to push on notions of what design on the web could be with some early experiments in online art direction. I like to preserve these past versions to keep links alive and to track my own progress as a designer.