A sense of place created through typography

"a well fitted design has a consistent rhythm and strikes a perfect balance between the letters we see and the void that contains them"

This was the most poignant quote from Jonathan Hoefler, typeface designer based in New York known for creating iconic typefaces for Tiffany & Co, the Macintosh in 1991, and the Guggenheim. We often see fonts with different weights and slight iterations within it as we toggle from a bold, italic, extra bold, black styles. However what I find interesting is how within these variations of the same font, there is a consistency to them and all still embody being part of the same font family. Hoefler explains that these variations all are encompassed within a system that are constructed through kerning between individual letters and making sure fonts are scaled proportionally to achieve optimal size.

The transition from print to digital has resulted in reduced kerning as a result of increased screen resolutions providing legibility to texts but also not needing to worry about print smudging. In the documentary, you can catch glimpses of Hoefler's office and all team members are usually drawing with an apple pencil on an ipad or making minute tweaks to the line of the letters on a large iMac. These technologies help facilitate how each letter is being iterated and compiled overall for reviewing. I think it is important to acknowledge that the proliferation of technology has created opportunities to produce more permutations and stylistic features to new fonts, but also new mediums for fonts to exist.

Not only do typeface designers have to worry about how letters are going to be perceived on a shop front window, a banner or awning, but also have an expansive medium such as digital billboards and typefaces for smartphones. I find it very admirable that typeface designers take into account which contexts are their typefaces are being used and how a typeface or font can set a tone for a space or campaign. In the documentary, Hoefler does this in the Guggenheim when he compares the lettering on the building versus the lettering on the windows.

Wittingly, Hoefler mimics the roundness and elevated feel of the rotunda of the Guggenheim into the the lettering of specific letters such as the "E" and "H" of Guggenheim. With the raised crossbars making them "overly stylized" on the building but are placed proportionally in the middle for signage within the museum and guest passes.Additionally, the roundness of the G's encapsulate Guggenheim’s rotunda.

It was interesting to see in this episode how Hoefler creates a sense of place and embodies an identity through a typeface that maintains throughout several years.