[September 16, 2014]

Monotype Joins Forces with the Arrels Foundation to Raise Awareness and Funds for its Homelessfonts Initiative

Monotype Imaging (News - Alert) Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: TYPE), a leading provider of typefaces, technology and expertise for creative applications and consumer devices, today announced support for the Arrels Foundation of Barcelona and its Homelessfonts fundraising initiative, a project centered around the licensing of fonts crafted from the handwriting of people touched directly by homelessness. Monotype is offering the initial five fonts through its e-commerce sites, with all proceeds going to the foundation to help approximately 1,400 local people affected by homelessness.

Loraine inspects her typeface design, now used in the branding of certain lines of Valonga extra virgin olive oil, sold in Spain. Monotype is now offering fonts designed by people impacted by homelessness in support of the Arrels Foundation's Homelessfonts initiative. All proceeds go to the foundation to help the people it supports. Image credit: Juan Lemis, Arrels Foundation

The Arrels Foundation, founded in 1987 and dedicated to helping the homeless people of Barcelona, began the Homelessfonts initiative in partnership with the advertising agency, The Cyranos McCann. The initiative aims to bring some dignity to the lives of homeless people and raise awareness of their plight by licensing the fonts to brands and agencies for use in branding, advertising, corporate messaging and social networks. Monotype is now distributing the fonts with the goal of broadening their availability worldwide - and bringing additional visibility to the cause.

"For homeless people, their own lettering which they rely upon to make signs can serve as a powerful awareness-raising tool to shed light on their difficult situation. All the participants of the Homelessfonts project were homeless, and they know the importance of being seen like persons and not like bundles. What we like most about this project is that people see there is a person behind each typeface," said Ferran Busquets, director of the Arrels Foundation.

The fonts are based on the handwriting of five individuals who experienced homelessness and agreed to participate in the initiative. Their unique styles were captured after completing a series of writing exercises using various sheets of paper and markers of varying thicknesses. The letters were then digitized and made into fonts, which are best suited for display or headline purposes.

Doug Shaw, president and CEO of Monotype, said, "We believe that typeface designs reflect not only a unique look and feel but also stories behind their creation - and in ths case, bring a level of hope and help to homeless people. We applaud the Arrels Foundation for putting a human face on this issue, and we're proud to support it."

Biographies and videos of the project's participants and their work, along with further information about the initiative, are available at www.homelessfonts.org.

Each of the five fonts is available from Monotype at $49.00/ €49.00, with all proceeds going to the Arrels Foundation to support homeless people in Barcelona. The fonts may be licensed from MyFonts, Fonts.com or Linotype.com.

About the Arrels Foundation
Arrels is an organization which since 1987 has been devoted to the attention of homeless people in the city of Barcelona. We have accompanied through all these years more than 8.000 homeless people in their path towards autonomy, offering them housing, meals, social attention and health care. To do our work, we need confidence, time and a lot of support. Professionals, volunteers and people attended become part of a team that shares a claim: Nobody sleeping on the street!
http://www.arrelsfundacio.org/en/

About Monotype
Monotype is a leading global provider of typefaces, technology and expertise that enable the best user experience and ensure brand integrity. Headquartered in Woburn, Mass., Monotype provides customers worldwide with typeface solutions for a broad range of creative applications and consumer devices. The company's libraries and e-commerce sites are home to many of the most widely used typefaces - including the Helvetica^®, Frutiger^® and Univers^® families - as well as the next generation of type designs. Further information is available at www.monotype.com. Follow Monotype on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Monotype's Type Case blog.

Monotype, Helvetica and Frutiger are trademarks of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Univers is a trademark of Monotype GmbH registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2014 Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.

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