Jonathan Sacha Maghen (b.1977) is a British-Iranian designer living and working in Los Angeles, California.¹ They are the founder and Design Director of Primary Foundry (2019–present), and their studio practice. Jonathan has organized workshops and lectures with Index, including Louise Paradis: Typografische Monatsblätter Research Archive (2022), Dinamo: All Fonts Are Bastards (2022) at Other Means, New York, and Michael Worthington: Kick Over The Statues (2022); Typography Summer School LA (2019) with Fraser Muggeridge; and the Dinamo California Tour (2019) with Johannes Breyer and Fabian Harb at CCA, CalArts, ArtCenter, and Southland Institute. They have curated several exhibitions, including No More Reality (2011) with artists Phil Chang, Arthur Ou, Eduardo Sarabia, and Anna Sew Hoy; and the USC Roski School of Art MFA Exhibition (2009) with artists Keith Bormuth, Christian Cummings, Michael Hayden, Lee Lynch, Emily Mast, Nicole Miller, Dianna Molzan, and Michael Parker. Their work has been included in exhibitions at Quarters (Hoarders); ALAC (Court Space); LA Art Book Fair (WAKA WAKA); Art Share (Inventory Form & Content); CC Project Space (New York); Various Small Fires (Book Affair); Oslo Kunstforening (Charlie White); ICA Philadelphia (Beyond Kiosk); Architectural Association (Forms of Inquiry), Casco (FOI), Archizoom (FOI); As-Found (Worldwide Web); and MU Eindhoven (Neen Today). Their work has appeared in Artforum (500 Words), The New York Times (T Magazine), Graphic Magazine (IFS Futures Newsletter), Double Pages (Ecole des Beaux-arts), 175:D (Delvaux), and Forms of Inquiry. Their publications include Municipal de Fútbol, a clothbound edition on amateur soccer as it is played throughout Los Angeles, published by Christoph Keller Editions, with essays by Jennifer Doyle, and distributed by DAP. Jonathan has been a visiting lecturer and instructor at Otis College of Art and Design (2024,2020–22), Frances Rich School of Fine Arts (2022), California Institute of the Arts (2012,2008), ArtCenter College of Design (2006), and was an MFA Thesis Advisor at the School of Visual Arts (2016) for artist and photographer, Peter Killeen. Their custom typeface, Captured, was used by Forth+Back for the Nike Football campaign, which received the TDC70 award (2024) in Communication Design/Brand Identity Systems. Jonathan has collaborated with artists Phil Chang, Zoe Crosher, Shannon Ebner, Christoph Keller, Emily Mast, Ivan Morley, Ezequiel Olvera, Arthur Ou, Rafaël Rozendaal, Eduardo Sarabia, and Charlie White. They are on the Advisory Board of Court Space, which is devoted to dialogue between public and private institutions through art. Jonathan is the cofounder of TAGBANGER (2004–13) with artist Rafaël Rozendaal; a contributing editor on As-Found (2006–19); and a contributor on Library Stack (2020–present). They have attended workshops at the Southland Institute (2020,2019) with Joe Potts, and Typography Summer School LA (2019) with Fraser Muggeridge. Jonathan immigrated to the US from England at age two and was raised in Los Angeles, attending 32nd Street Elementary in South LA and John Burroughs Middle School in Hancock Park. They are an alumnus of SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, and attended LACHSA in East LA. Jonathan holds dual American and British citizenship, and is of Northern European and West Asian ancestry.² Currently Design Director at Primary.

Jonathan Sacha Maghen
Los Angeles, CA
jonathan.maghen@gmail.com

Are.na
Foundation 
Primary
Library Stack
Court Space

Art Direction, Artists’ Books, Branding, Catalogues, Design Research, Digital Design, Ephemera, Identities, Lectures, Printed Matter, Publications, Type Design, Websites, Workshops

adidas, Arthur Ou, Charlie White, Christoph Keller Editions, Court Space, Dinamo, Index, Ivan Morley, LACMA, Nike, patagonia, Phil Chang, Shannon Ebner, Southland Institute, Stählemühle, Studio Pocho, Typography Summer School, USC Roski School of Art

Arthur Ou, Adam Michaels, Authentic, Benjamin Critton, Berton Hasebe, Carlos Avila, Charlie White, Charlotte Cotton, David Karwan, Dorian Nagy, Eduardo Sarabia, Elie Andersen, Esai Ramirez, Eun Jung Bahng, Evan Chang, Ezequiel Olvera, Fabian Harb, Forth+Back, Fraser Muggeridge, Gary Fogelson, Gunnar Harrison, Hailey Loman, Hector Torres, Ian Griffin, Iguana, Impresos Mexico, Inventory Form & Content, Jennifer Doyle, Joe Potts, Johannes Breyer, Kaming Lee, Kasper Pyndt, Ken Seeno, Library Stack, Lorraine Li, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Louise Paradis, Maria José Balvanera, Matteo Bettini, Michael Wells, Michael Worthington, Mike Calvert, Nathan Ward, Nolan Paparelli, Other Means, Phil Chang, Rafaël Rozendaal, Sam Wagner, Sandy Yang, Shannon Ebner, Shannon Harvey, Shin Okuda, Stephen Serrato, Steven Rodriguez, Tiffanie Tran, Tom Kracauer 

• Jonathan Maghen ed., Municipal de Fútbol, Christoph Keller Editions, with essays by Jennifer Doyle
• Phil Chang, Four Over One, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in association with Jonathan Maghen

• No More Reality, CC Project Space, New York, NY
• MFA Exhibition, USC Roski School of Art, Los Angeles, CA

• Los Angeles Contemporary Archive
• Printed Matter
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art
• Oslo Kunstforening
• Christoph Keller Editions
• Library Stack
• Central Library Special Collections
• Philip E Aarons
• USC Roski School of Art

Design and development 
Jonathan Maghen
Syncro Mono typeface
Out of the Dark

1. Jonathan lives and works in Toluca Lake, a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles which sits along the LA River (Río Porciúncula) between the Northwest end of Griffith Park and Southwest end of The Verdugos.

2. Barbara Fields and Karen Fields, Racecraft (Verso, 2012). Barbara Fields and Ta-Nehisi Coates in conversation (Graduate Center CUNY).