Rustam Gabbasov

Rustam Gabbasov (b. 1985) is a graphic designer, publisher, and author. In 2011, he graduated from the Maxim Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow, having studied prose under Samid Agayev. Following this, Rustam pursued further education at the British Higher School of Art and Design, completing the “Type and Typography” course in 2012 under the curating of Ilya Ruderman.

Since 2013, Rustam has been active as a researcher, editor, and co-publisher of Type Journal—an online publication focused on type, typography, language, and visual culture, which he co-founded with Eugene Yukechev. He is also a co-founder of Shrift Publishers, a publishing house with a global audience of typographers, art directors, and designers. Among their notable publications are monographs on Solomon Telingater, Vladimir Favorsky, Adrian Frutiger, Villu Toots, and the Russian translation of Eric Gill’s “An Essay on Typography”.

Rustam is also a researcher of Vkhutemas typography, an avant-garde design school often considered the sibling of Bauhaus. In 2021, he curated the typographical section of the exhibition “Vkhutemas 100: School of the Avant-Garde.” His work includes numerous studies and articles that explore the history and impact of Vkhutemas typography.