Something about me.
(a very subjective view on my life and work)

Alessio Leonardi is type and graphic designer living in Berlin since 1990. After graduating in visual communication at the ISIA in Urbino, he worked first at MetaDesign with Erik Spiekermann and then ran the design studio Leonardi.Wollein in Berlin (with Priska Wollein). Today Imme and Alessio Leonardi work together as Lion&Bee. He is professor for visual communication at the University of Applied Science and Art in Hildesheim (HAWK).

Since 1992 many of his typefaces are published by the FontShop International and Linotype Library. He was co-founder of the fontlabels Face2Face (with Alexander Branczyk, Heike Nehl, Sybille Schlaich and Thomas Nagel) and Fontology (with Fabrizio Schiavi). Since 2001 he is the country delegate for Italy at the ATypI (Association Typographique International). In 2002 he founded the Company BuyMyFonts.com that produces typefaces for corporate applications and also for standard use (the latter are sold on the internet shop at www.BuyMyFonts.com). 2008 he realized the BMF Change, the Corporate typeface family for the city Berlin.

Alessio Leonardi writes articles for type and design magazines worldwide and gives lectures at international conferences. In 2004 he wrote, drew and published the book “From the Cow to the Typewriter: the (true) History of Writing”. In 2006 Mergenthaler Editions realized (together with Jan Middendorp) his second book, “A Line of Type. 120 years typographic history”. This book went also translated in korean and published by Ahn Graphics Ltd. in 2010.
In 2008 he published his first Comic Book “Mr. Typo and the lost letters” (also together with Jan Middendorp), followed 2010 by “Wie die Leidenschaft unser Leben ruiniert” (How passion ruins our life). In 2013 Hermann Schmidt Mainz published his Typo-Graphic Nobel “Mr. Typo und der Schatz der Typografie”.

Before starting teaching at the HAWK in Hildesheim, he was visiting professor for Corporate and Information Design at the University of Art and Design Burg Giebichenstein in Halle and for Typography at the University of Arts in Saarbrücken.

Some corporate design references: WDR and Springer Verlag (at MetaDesign), Schering AG, Linotype Library, CECIL. Some typefaces: Schering Sans, Schering Serif, Schering Letter, FF Letterine, FF Matto, FF Priska Little Creatures, BMF Elettriche (the largest font family in the world, so far), BMF Change, FF Handwriter, BMF Deffke.

Imme and Alessio Leonardi are married and have three daughters.