Design

15 Typographers Introduce Us to Their Favorite Letterforms

Typographers not only enjoy drawing certain letters more than others, they are also, it turns out, more than happy to discuss their predilections.
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Typeface: Mallory, available from <a href="http://frerejones.com">frerejones.com</a>
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Tobias Frere Jones, founder and design director of the eponymous foundry, designed the popular Interstate and Garage Gothic typefaces. “The lowercase ‘a,’ is a perpetual oddball,” he says. “Most letters of the alphabet have deep alliances with each other, sharing bowls, serifs and terminals.” On the other hand, he notes, “the ‘a’ stands apart from those tight cliques with a collection of one-off shapes. It also appears over and over, potentially arguing with its neighbors in a word. For the type designer, the lack of precedent and the frequent use make it a test of confidence and fluency in the design at hand. Standing up, sweeping over, springing out, looping back, always with its feet on the ground — a designer has to be deep into the substance and spirit of a typeface to be able to draw this."

The most banal question asked of artists after What is your favorite color? is What pencil/pen/brush do you use? I expected type designers to be equally bored by inquiries into their favorite letterforms.

Boy was I wrong.

Typeface and lettering artists not only enjoy drawing certain letters more than others, they also, it turns out, enjoy discussing their predilections. We asked 15 type, lettering, and calligraphic designers to describe their favorite letterform (be it their own creation or that of another designer), and their affinity for that selection. Their answers offer delightful insights into the subtle art of making letters, and confirm that typophiles do, in fact, love talking type.