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Archer: another bullseye

The boys over at Typography.com — Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones — have released another superb typeface. This one’s named Archer. And it’s a “colorful slab serif.” The complete family has a mere 40 styles which offer a helpful — if not overwhelming — range of options.

Hoefler and Frere-Jones match their hyper-detailed approach to designing typefaces with an equally detailed explanation of their work in the typeface overviews. In Archer’s overview, I learned that the typeface was originally commissioned for Martha Stewart Living magazine. While not a reader of Living, I am a fan of Blueprint — another Martha Stewart publication — for its design and particularly its approach to typography.

Hoefler and Frere-Jones’ attention to detail and thoughtfulness doesn’t stop at the design of their products. The H&FJ Suggests… section at the bottom of their site’s pages is a brilliant idea. It is the first time I’ve encountered a type foundry that allows you to see what other typefaces might pair well with the one you’re considering. In my opinion, the H&FJ Suggests… feature is a brilliant way of addressing one of the perennial things that runs through a designer’s mind at the beginning of a project: “I like this typeface. Now what goes with it?”