“It’s like designing air”. Without much thought this was my initial perspective of typeface design as well. I always think how hard this must be or that you have to be an illustrator to complete the task well. Hoefler introduced an interesting idea that I hadn’t that correlated with creating typeface: historical inspiration. But of course, typeface design is just as much an art as paintings or films and is often from derived from inspiration also. I loved the phrase that Hoefler’s friends described him: “he [Hoefler] is the scientist that finds the bone and uncovers the entire dinosaur”. His attention to detail when studying these old and antique designs is really interesting because he almost reverse-engineers these forgotten fonts. Speaking of forgotten fonts, I love his passion for rediscovering nearly ancient fonts that contain so much beauty and elegance that people overlook everyday.
At the very least, Hoefler expressing his passion for typeface design makes me appreciate the details not just in typeface but in design as a whole. The designer’s eye is extremely fascinating and I think that shows when you watch Hoefler investigate the same font over and over again. It’s interesting that he not only has to pay attention to the styles he likes but also to styles that will be well read.He is an artist that creates for his audience.
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