Dan developed specialist knowledge, and his research enabled him to build connections within the Department, which eventually led to his new career path:
"I focused my master's research on types and typesetting for mathematics, including some extraordinary development done at Monotype in the 1950s. I had time during the following year to help Dr Fiona Ross around the Department, and started learning more about the subject.
At the same time Dan was working on his master's research, the Department was embarking on a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with Monotype that aligned perfectly with the content of his studies.
"It was during this time that the KTP project with Monotype came up. My newfound research skills, the time I’d spent at their archive already, and my growing understanding of non-Latin typographic issues were the perfect foundation for the task at hand in their business.
"What was useful about the KTP experience at Monotype was that my project required me to get to know people all over the company and understand different parts of the business, where a typical design position might not allow that much exposure to the company’s overall activity.
"After two years of the project, which itself required working closely with Monotype’s Head of Typography Robin Nicholas, my own professional background and my recent experiences at the company proved to be a good fit for the role of a Senior Type Designer. All my experiences and study at Reading – both the MA and the KTP – led me quite directly to that opportunity."