Leo Villareal. Coding Light
Contributed by Jesse Johanning
on Mar 19th, 2026. Artwork published in
November 2025
.
Mid-career monograph for Leo Villareal published by Phaidon Press (formerly Monacelli).
The choice to lead with Aether Mono came from a quote from Leo about how he approaches his own work: “[It is] about creating one unit and creating a system based on that unit, taking that form and replicating it… manipulating each individual unit but also the system as a whole”.
The rest of the book is typeset by a combination of Suisse Neue and Suisse Int’l Mono which both provide a highly legible reading experience while referencing the backbone of all of Leo’s work: code.
The monograph is Swiss bound with a metallic corduroy textile, screen printed with metallic puffer ink and the cover photo is CMYK printed on iridescent paper.
