New York-born, Dublin-based Max Phillips is the proprietor of the Signal Type Foundry & Drawing Office. He designs type and lettering, books and printed matter, branding systems, user interfaces, and toys. The author of five novels, including the Shamus Award-winning Fade to Blonde, he is also co-founder of the pulp revival publishing imprint Hard Case Crime, which to date has published over 120 titles by authors including James M. Cain, Stephen King, and convicted Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt. His work has been recognized by the Type Directors Club of New York, the International Society of Typographic Designers, Graphis, Communication Arts, and the Academy of American Poets.