About

I’m Fábio Duarte Martins. Type & Book Designer. Partner at 0.itemzero. I design, write, research, and teach at the intersection of type, print, code, and manufacturing. This site is my repository for essays, technical notes, and typographic experiments.

Getting in Touch

For type and book inquiries, please do it via 0.itemzero.

For talks, workshops, lectures and technical consulting, drop me an email.

If you just want to say hi, say hi!

Awards
Typefaces
Books
Talks
Interviews, Accolades
Lecturing
Workshops

Awards

2025Best-in-Show: Art/Design — Paper, Paper, PaperCommunication Arts
2025Top 20 Shortlist — Paper, Paper, PaperBook Design Award — DGLAB
2025Bronze Cube: Book Design, Text & Image-Driven Books — Paper, Paper, PaperArt Directors Club
2024Communication Design Award — The Book BoxType Directors Club
2023Best Design AwardPAPIES 2023
2023Book Design Award — ItálicaCommunication Arts
2022Top 20 Shortlist — The Book CoverBook Design Award — DGLAB
2022Book Design Award — The Book CoverCommunication Arts
2021Silver: Publication Design — The Book CoverClube da Criatividade
2021European Start Winner: Book Design — The Book CoverArt Directors Club Europe
2020Nominee: Editorial Design — The Book BlockArt Directors Club Europe
2020Silver: Editorial Design — The Book BlockClube da Criatividade
2020Gold Cube: Publication Design — The Book BlockArt Directors Club
2020Gold: Digital Art & Graphic Design — The Book BlockNovum Design Award
2019Merit Honor: Wildcard — Optician SansThe One Show, Art Directors Club
2019Merit Honor: Typeface — Optician SansThe One Show, Art Directors Club
2019Silver: Design — Optician SansGullblyanten
2019Silver — Optician SansEuropean Design Awards
2019Typographic Excellence — Optician SansType Directors Club
2019Best-in-Show: Typography — Optician SansCommunication Arts

Typefaces

2026Spaceship SansCommission (Spaceship, Inc.)
2024ColisseumCommission (Coliseu do Porto)
2022Lautier SansCommission (Symrise)
2022Lautier SerifCommission (Symrise)
2020ExetegueRetail
2020UivoRetail
2019VCRCommission (oBlikua)
2019Optician SansCommission (Optiker-K / A New Kind of Interference)
2018ElectricaRetail
2016GrafistaRetail
2015At Six NovaCommission (At Six Hotel / Identity Works!)
2015FesterCommission (FEST — New Directors | New Films Festival)
2014QuosmRetail
2014SpaceMace PlayStation MinecraftCommission (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe / Mojang)
2014LetreiroRetail
2012Illiad SansRetail
2012IsotopeRetail
2011Catorze27 Style 1Retail
2010SuperBlackRetail
2009GerusaRetail
2009SpaceMaceRetail
2009ExablockRetail

Books

Author

2024Calligraphy Manuals: Blackletter — Textura0.itemzero
2024Calligraphy Manuals: Blackletter — Textura, Practise Sheets0.itemzero
2023The Book Box0.itemzero
2023Calligraphy Manuals: Blackletter — Rotunda0.itemzero
2023Calligraphy Manuals: Blackletter — Rotunda, Practise Sheets0.itemzero
2022Design Words0.itemzero
2022Calligraphy Manuals: Blackletter — Fraktur0.itemzero
2022Calligraphy Manuals: Blackletter — Fraktur, Practise Sheets0.itemzero
2021The Book Cover0.itemzero
2020The Book Block0.itemzero

Editor, Editorial Coordination

2026How to Create Typefaces, From Sketch to Screen — by Cristóbal Henestrosa, Laura Meseguer, and José Scaglione0.itemzero
2025Paper, Paper, Paper — by Manuel Delgado, Rúben R. Dias, Miguel Sanchez e Diana Amarelo0.itemzero

Talks

2025Meaningless and Inhuman Gestures: Computational Explorations in Asemic WritingLigatures 2025
20250.itemzeroArcada 2025
20250.itemzero — Building a StudioArraial do Design 2025 (FBAUP)
2024On Making Design Education BooksPara ser Eterno, Basta ser um Livro — Casa do Design
20230.itemzeroCLIP2023
2022Image Filter Tests in Type Design, Optics: A Review12ET
2022Book Tailoring and Type CraftingArtec 32
2021The Book CoverBarbara Says’ Livro de Projecto, Livraria Barata
20210.itemzero: On Making BooksXS Design Express
2021How We Make Books at 0.itemzeroESMAD P.Porto
2021Type and LightESAD Matosinhos
2020Introduction to FontLabESMAD P.Porto
2019Optics, Calibration and Type DesignFBAUP
2018Regem9ET
2016Making TypeUniversity of Aveiro
2015Typerobics: Type design exercises. (w/ Adam Twardoch)FontLab
2015Type and BrandingCESAE
2012Type, Errors and Weird Soccer DerbiesColher Tour

Interviews, Accolades

2026From Reality to Materiality: A Book was Always Real — Just not yet Materiallab o r #1 (UGRA)
2025Best-In-Show: Paper, Paper, PaperCommunication Arts Design Annual 66
2025Todo Sobre el PapelRayitas Azules
2024Encuadernación de libros: The Book Block & The Book CoverEnfoque Gaussiano
2024Paper, Paper, PaperDo Papel #381
20240.itemzeroPROFS — Autores Contemporâneos nos 30 Anos da ESAD.CR
2024Books on BooksPaper #6, Holmen Paper
2023Design Annual, Books — Itálica CollectionCommunication Arts Design Annual 64
2023Alfaiates de livro e de tipos de letraDo Papel #377
2023The Book Box, The Book Box, The Book Cover / Itálica — INCM Book CollectionSlanted Magazine #42
2023The Tool That Explains the Complexities of BookbindingPosts English
2023The Book Box, the Professional Industrial Bookbinding Kit for Professional DesignersWhatTheyThink
2022Rúben Dias, Rui Oliveria, Fábio Martins, Ricardo Dantas: The Book Cover & The Book BlockFotoböcker, Svenska Fotografers Förbund
2022Una visió de puresaEscola de Llibreria
2021Cover to CoverFedrigoni Pulp
2021The Book Cover. Encuadernación de librosRayitas Azules
2020The Book BlockSlanted Magazine
2020The Book Block: a book to make better booksAlive and Printing
2020The Book Block: un manuale per la rilegaturaFrizzifrizzi
2020Live TakeoverThe Portuguese Design
2018Meet ‘Optician Sans,’ the Weird and Wonderful Font Inspired by Your Eye ExamsGizmodo
2018Optician Sans: A Font That Your Eye RemembersDesignmodo
2018Optician Sans is a font that completes the eye test chart alphabetDezeen
2016How to Choose the Right Font for Your ProjectYou Work For Them
2014This is the TitleTick Tock IPA
2011Type News: Talar þú íslensku?Typedia
2015Typeface Design and InspirationDesign Domination
2010Typecasting Featuring Fábio Duarte MartinsiDN v16n6

Lecturing

2025 —Composition, Post-grad in Editorial DesignIADE / Universidade Europeia
2017 — 2023Typography and Editorial Composition, Masters in Design and Visual CultureIADE / Universidade Europeia
2019 — 2020Digital Pre-production, Bachelor in DesignIADE / Universidade Europeia
2017 — 2018Typography, Bachelor in DesignESAD Matosinhos

Workshops

2022Introduction to Variable Font Design with FontLab 812ET
2021Editorial Project: Building Visual NarrativesOficinas da Luz
2020Display Type DesignESMAD P.Porto
2018Sorte de um CarácterESAD Matosinhos
2019Optical Adjustments in TypefacesFBAUP
2015Blackletter: Calligraphy and DigitizationWe Came From Space

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