Richard Lipton began his lettering journey in college where he was introduced to the magic of calligraphy. He continued his calligraphic studies independently and by 1974 he was freelancing as a calligrapher, sign painter, and designer. In 1983, Lipton joined Bitstream, a digital type foundry that, under guidance from Mike Parker and Matthew Carter, grew into one of the most respected retail type libraries in the industry. After leaving Bitstream in 1991, he launched his own studio, designing many original typefaces including Bickham Script Pro for Adobe and Sloop for Font Bureau. Lipton is currently on the faculty at RISD where he teaches both type design and calligraphy.