Ryota Doi.
Senior Type Designer.
In his words.
Ryota Doi is a Senior Type Designer for Monotype. Ryota first became interested in type as a design student while at university in Japan. After receiving his BA in design from Tokyo University of the Arts, he enrolled in the MA typeface design program at the prestigious University of Reading, where he studied the differences between Japanese and Latin type.
Ryota specializes in designing Japanese typefaces that correspond to Latin counterparts and vice versa. Ryota helped design the popular Tazugane Gothic and Tazugane Info typefaces, which have been used by dozens of brands to express brand messages in Japanese and Latin languages. He also worked on a custom project for Bridgestone Type, and his work on Shorai Sans won multiple awards, including the Red Dot 2022, Good Design Award 2022, and Japan Typography Annual 2023 Best Work.
Studio releases.
Shorai™ Sans
Shorai Sans balances the subtlety of traditional hand-drawn brushstrokes with clean, geometric outlines. An intellectual-looking sans serif, Shorai’s simplified letterforms and vast weight ranges provide creatives with a holistic branding solution, opening new horizons in Japanese typography.
Tazugane Gothic
The Tazugane Gothic typeface family is the first original Japanese typeface created by Monotype. Designed by Akira Kobayashi, Kazuhiro Yamada and Ryota Doi of the Monotype Studio, the Tazugane Gothic typeface offers ten weights and was developed to complement the classic Latin typeface, Neue Frutiger. The design of the Tazugane Gothic typeface balances an original, humanistic style with elements of traditional Japanese handwriting.
Tazugane Info
Tazugane Info is a screen-ready Japanese font family, that follows on the debut of Monotype’s first original Japanese typeface – Tazugane Gothic. It offers a more restrained personality, with calligraphic design details pared back to create a geometric letterform – a good alternative for designers looking for a matter-of-fact alternative to the warmer Tazugane Gothic tone of voice.
Related content.
Shorai Sans.
New from the Monotype Studio, Shorai Sans is a contemporary Japanese sans serif designed by Creative Type Director, Akira Kobayashi; type Designer, Ryota Doi; and typography legend, Yukihiro Nakamura.
Tencent expands global presence.
If you’re using a messaging app in China, chances are it’s owned by Tencent. See the brand identity and typeface that is helping Tencent expand to new markets.