Chris Skillern is a type designer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation from Tulsa, Oklahoma. A 15-year-long obsession with drawing type led Chris to Type West, the Letterform Archive in San Francisco’s type design certificate program, in 2021, where he designed Meli, a type family inspired by his daughter, which supports the Latin alphabet and the Cherokee syllabary. Since graduating from Type West, Chris has had the opportunity to work with foundries on custom type projects for brands big and small. When not assisting other designers, he stays busy with his own foundry, Tulsey Type, which features his lively and detailed designs for Latin and Cherokee. He is currently collaborating with Typotheque and the Cherokee Nation Language Program on new fonts for the syllabary.