Christopher Rouleau is a freelance graphic designer, letterer, & visual artist in Toronto. He attended the Alberta College of Art & Design, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Calgary. Between client work, he dedicates much of his time planning events & teaching workshops for Ligatures, a Toronto-based typography club that he co-founded in November 2013. When he’s not designing new prints for his online shop, Christopher is out searching for antique lettering around the city or hanging out with his two cats, Milo and Cheddar. He’s got a thing for hand-lettering, sign painting, geometric sans serifs, and draws inspiration from commercial arts of the 1950s, lettering guides, eye charts, maps, packaging, and ephemera.
When I was young, I was enamoured by my grandmother's impeccable cursive handwriting. Crossword puzzles, recipe cards, dates on the bottom of Polaroid photos — there were beautiful typographic specimens all around her house. In my tiny 5-year-old brain, I always aspired to have handwriting as graceful as hers. I found great joy in cursive writing, especially writing my name and the alphabet over and over again. This was probably the beginning of my love for lettering. Now as an adult, I am even more passionate about typography in all of its varied forms.
I think there is great value in group interaction, and I am proud to help create a collaborative space for like-minded folks to learn & grow from their peers. As I teach, I feel a great sense of satisfaction when I help people discover their own unique lettering style, and see people fall in love with lettering as I did when I was a child. I am thrilled to join the Type Camp roster and share this passion.
food
I never turn down almond croissants, bacon, or french onion soup.
book
The Hunger Games!
drink
morning: Espresso (on weekends) or green tea
afternoon: H20
evening: Gin & tonic
film/tv
film: Grey Gardens (1971)
TV: RuPaul's Drag Race
travel
international: Paris
for a quick getaway: Montreal
next trip: Reykjavík
collection
antique Hand-painted signs, lettering guides, wood type, marquis letters, Letraset
invention
The alphabet.
plant
I love my aloe.
sound
for energy: Saccharine pop music
for calm: The Hours soundtrack (Philip Glass)
blog
BlogTO, SwissMiss, Quipsologies
animal
Always cats.
expert
I have an uncanny sense of smell, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
when not at type camp
Exploring Toronto, eating, checking Instagram, eating, running, eating. Occasionally sleeping.