Way Beyond The Basic ABCs

By Susan Casey

You probably haven't heard of Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones (unless you're an art director, in which case you've got their number on speed dial). But if you've picked up Rolling Stone, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, the New York Times Magazine or the hip new business magazine Fast Company, if you've strolled through the Guggenheim or Whitney museum, if you've dutifully filled out the 2000 Census form or watched ESPN, you've seen a sampling of the 500 original typefaces they've designed.

From Hoefler Type Foundry, their studio in Manhattan's SoHo district, the duo (they're both 29 years old and began designing in their teens) create fonts that stand out with the clarity, elegance and durability of a well-cut diamond. Though no two designs are alike, a Hoefler typeface--very few right angles, very few straight lines--is always exquisitely legible without sacrificing high style, somehow managing to synthesize classical elements with the churning pop culture. "Typefaces have a viral quality," says Hoefler. "It's always amazing to see where they wind up and how they transform the things they inhabit." Adds Frere-Jones: "When you're designing a typeface, you're not really making a product. You're building a machine that will go and make other products."

As modern as its approach is, the firm's aesthetic is rooted in the past. "A conversation with Hoefler and Frere-Jones is an instant education, not only in letter design but also in history, fine art, literature and music," says Michael Bierut, a partner at the global design agency Pentagram and a frequent client. Such context is important. Whether it is Sumerian hieroglyphs on clay tablets or cybertext on the Internet, the written word is made up of assembled shapes, and the tiniest details--the contour of a serif, the slope of a curve--can evoke mood and emotion as concisely as the message itself does. Thus each of Hoefler and Frere-Jones' creations has a history--and a future. Says Hoefler: "These fonts will be around, not as artifacts but in use, for centuries after we're gone."

--By Susan Casey