Shantell Martin

British artist and philosopher Shantell Martin is famous for using words in her artwork in the Oculus at the World Trade Center in New York City and her music and art collaboration with Kendrick Lamar at Art Basel in Miami. Her art has taken over the screens of New York’s Times Square and the Lincoln Center stage, home of the New York City Ballet.
Growing up, Shantell Martin was scared of spelling tests. However, outside of school, she felt that words were art and provided emotional relief. A discovery in her early 20s opened her eyes to why reading and writing were so difficult for her, and this set in motion her desire to create the font. To inspire others to have fun with writing and words, she teamed up with Stephen Nixon of ArrowType to create Shantell Sans.
For more details behind the project, read The Story of Shantell Sans, in which Shantell Martin, Stephen Nixon, and Anya Danilova recount the journey of making the type family.