Jim Parkinson is a Type Designer in Oakland.

Life

Parkinson studied advertising design and painting at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, graduating in 1963. In 1964, he worked as a lettering artist for Hallmark Cards

Hallmark Cards

Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....

 under Myron McVay with some consultation from Hermann Zapf

Hermann Zapf

Hermann Zapf is a German typeface designer who lives in Darmstadt, Germany. He is married to calligrapher and typeface designer Gudrun Zapf von Hesse....

. Afterwards, Parkinson moved back to Oakland, CA and freelanced as a lettering artist doing work for rock bands (including Creedence Clearwater, Taj Mahal, The Doobie Brothers, Kansas, et al.), sign painting, advertisements, packaging.

In the mid-1970s Dan X. Solo introduced Parkinson to Roger Black who was, at that time, the newly appointed Art Director for Rolling Stone magazine in San Francisco. Black hired Parkinson to design a series of typefaces and redesign the logo for Rolling Stone magazine.

Although Parkinson's lettering sensibility is rooted in old wood type and signage from the 19th century and during the first part of his career he used pen and ink for finished pieces, in 1990 Parkinson put away his pen and ink and embraced digital technology while working for the San Francisco Chronicle, designing fonts.

Parkinson now operates his independent type foundry in Oakland, CA. Some of his more high-profile clients include: Fast Company

Fast Company (magazine)

Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...

, Esquire

Esquire (magazine)

Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

, Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

, Newsweek

Newsweek

Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

, the San Francisco Examiner, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...

.

Typefaces

Typefaces designed by Jim Parkinson include:

• Amador, 2004
• Amboy, 2001
• Antique Condensed No.2, 1995
• Avebury, 2005
• Azuza, 2001
• Balboa, 2001–2003
• Benecia, 2003
• ITC Bodoni (with Janice Prescott Fishman, Holly Goldsmith, and Sumner Stone
  Sumner Stone
  Sumner Stone is a typeface designer and graphic artist. He notably designed ITC Stone while working for Adobe. A specimen of ITC Stone exists at his personal website.-Career:...
  
  ), 1994
• Bonita, 1996
• Cabazon, 2005
• FF Catchwords, 1996
• Chuck, 2004
• Commerce Gothic, 1998
• Comrade, 1998
• Diablo, 2002
• Dreamland, 1999
• El Grande, 1998
• Fresno, 2001
• Generica, 1996
• FF Golden Gate Initials, 1996
• Hotel, 2001
• Industrial Gothic,
• Jimbo, 1995
• Keester
• FF Matinee, 1996
• Modesto, 2001–2003
• Mojo, 1960
• Montara, 2002
• FF Motel, 1996
• Parkinson, 1994
• , 2011
• Poster, 1993
• Pueblo, 1998
• Richmond, 2003
• ITC Roswell, 1998
• Showcard Gothic, 1993
• Showcard Moderne, 1995
• Sutro, 2003
• Wigwag, 2001

Publications

• “Creative Characters” Edited by Jan Middendorp, MyFonts. The Netherlands: BIS Publishers, 2010
• “Indie Fonts 2” Edited by Richard Kegler, James Greishaber and Tamye Riggs. Buffalo, NY: P-Type Publications, 2003