Born in the USSR‭, ‬Yanek Iontef moved to Israel at the age of 16‭ ‬and studied graphic design at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design‭,‬‭ ‬Jerusalem‭. ‬He worked as a graphic designer in London and Tel Aviv‭. ‬Since 1995‭ ‬he has taught typography and type design at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem and Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan‭. ‬He currently works in Tel Aviv as a freelance designer specializing in type design‭, ‬corporate identity and editorial design‭. ‬An award-winning type designer‭, ‬he also has‭ ‬his own type foundry‭ (‬FONTEF‭), ‬producing a range of Hebrew and Latin fonts‭.