Typeface Designers Mix Art, Engineering

(From The USA Today -- By Erin McClam)

HOEFLER AND FRERE-JONES, a foundry that churns out typefaces from an airy office six floors up, just off the SoHo district of Manhattan had just taken on a commission for THE NATURE CONSERVANCY -- a decorative typeface it could use for various purposes -- letterhead, fax cover sheets, its quarterly magazine for donors.

It was the beginning of a three-month development process, although years sometimes pass between inspiration for a font and the completed work.

In the history of typography, this is a time of great visibility -- not in the sense of legibility but what you might think of as type democracy.

More people are more aware of more fonts than at any time before.

Some type analysts say this has to do with the proliferation of computers and the Internet, and perhaps also with our saturated awareness of brands and thirst for personalization.

Typeface Designers Mix Art, Engineering