A self-described type geek, Charles Gibbons learned the basics of lettering from a childhood spent in the colonial graveyards of eastern Massachusetts. He received a BA in English literature from Boston University, spent three years studying design at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and received an MFA in graphic design from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Gibbons spent much of the nineties as a designer for the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and later as assistant professor of Graphic Design at the University of Wisconsin. In 2001, he joined the Library of Congress as the chief designer for the United States Copyright Office.
