Akira Kobayashi (typographer)

{{Distinguish|Akira Kobayashi|text=the actor of the same name, Akira Kobayashi}}

Akira Kobayashi (小林 章, born 1960) is a Japanese font designer living in Germany. As type director for Monotype, he oversees typeface design and reprints of classic typefaces such as Optima. He has also served as a judge in several international typeface contests. He previously worked at {{Ill|Shaken (company)|lt=写研|jp|4=zh}} (Shaken), and later designed the European characters for Hiragino Mincho and AXIS Font. He is a leading person in designing Western typefaces in Japan, and has co-developed fonts with Hermann Zapf and Adrian Frutiger.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-04 |title=小林章 Type Director Asia Pacific. |url=https://www.monotype.com/jp/people/akira-kobayashi |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Monotype. |language=ja}} Kobayashi grew up in Japan and has written a Japanese-language book about Western fonts, titled "{{Lang|ja|西文字体}}" ("Western font").{{Cite web |title=001 {{!}} 小林章的西文字体 |url=https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/19764193 |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=知乎专栏 |language=zh}}

His work has been profiled in Communication Arts magazine,{{cite journal |last1=Haley |first1=Allan |title=Akira Kobayashi |journal=Communication Arts |date=29 December 2011 |url=https://www.commarts.com/columns/akira-kobayashi |access-date=8 September 2022}} Print Magazine featured him in an interview,{{cite journal |title=Akira Kobayashi, Akko Pro, and Akko Rounded Pro |journal=Print Magazine |date=July 2011 |url=https://www.printmag.com/designer-interviews/akira-kobayashi-akko-pro-and-akko-rounded-pro/ |access-date=8 September 2022}} as did Sony Design.{{cite web |last1=Fukuhara |first1=Hiroshige |last2=Kobayashi |first2=Akira |title=SST Type Project Special Interview With Type Director Akira Kobayashi |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/design/stories/sst-font/interview01.html |website=Sony Design |access-date=8 September 2022}}