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What happens when a journalist from Venezuela becomes a self-taught designer, typeface foundry founder, and curator of one of the most ambitious graphic design exhibitions in recent memory? You get Lope Gutiérrez-Ruiz, and our conversation with him does not disappoint. 

Lope is a partner and project lead at In-House International, a design studio and typeface foundry. He’s also a TED Fellow, a Knight Fellow at Stanford, and the curator behind One Hundred Points.

In this episode, we dig into what it actually looks like to build a creative practice rooted in curiosity and systems–not just style. Lope shares his take on design rules (and whether you should bother learning them) and how his journalism background still shapes every creative decision he makes. We also get into the realities of working with nonprofits, font piracy, and how he pulled off a massive exhibition without taking a sabbatical. 

All that and more when you listen to this episode: 

  • How Lope went from journalist to publisher to self-taught designer and typeface founder
  • Why being self-taught may actually be a creative advantage 
  • His philosophy on design rules, systems, and building a practice around curiosity 
  • The studio structure at In-House International 
  • The truth about font piracy and typeface licensing
  • How One Hundred Points came to be and why he thinks every designer should participate in an exhibition
  • Tips for funding a creative exhibition through sponsorships
  • The “Alphabet of Tomorrow” talk at South by Southwest 


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