Jonathan Hoefler
@jonathanhoefler.bsky.social
Man of letters.
🔤 Hoefler&Co Founder & Director Emeritus
🎬 Netflix “Abstract,” S02 E06
jonathanhoefler.com
🔤 Hoefler&Co Founder & Director Emeritus
🎬 Netflix “Abstract,” S02 E06
jonathanhoefler.com
There’s going to be a printed 12th Edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary! Even if you’re living that digital life, you should order one, for the splendid and thought-provoking delight of opening to a random page and seeing something unexpected. → hflr.io/mw12
September 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
There’s going to be a printed 12th Edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary! Even if you’re living that digital life, you should order one, for the splendid and thought-provoking delight of opening to a random page and seeing something unexpected. → hflr.io/mw12
I wish I could say it was my real one! It's about twenty takes in Notability on the iPad, vivisected and picked over, stitched together, and redrawn from scratch in Illustrator. :)
August 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I wish I could say it was my real one! It's about twenty takes in Notability on the iPad, vivisected and picked over, stitched together, and redrawn from scratch in Illustrator. :)
The greatest gift I have ever received has been the introduction to the *millions* of people around the world who’ve sharpened their love of letterforms through my episode of “Abstract” on Netflix. This morning, a lovely email from a complete stranger in Krefeld, Germany — thanks, Melissa!
June 8, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The greatest gift I have ever received has been the introduction to the *millions* of people around the world who’ve sharpened their love of letterforms through my episode of “Abstract” on Netflix. This morning, a lovely email from a complete stranger in Krefeld, Germany — thanks, Melissa!
To the Honorable Judge @darthbluesky.bsky.social: Budino has discovered that his longtime favorite, the slipper, sometimes has (when worn) a hard crunchy center (the human toe.) The literature advises that I’m supposed to discourage this, but I am weak to deny him this apex happiness. Advise?
May 7, 2025 at 1:35 AM
To the Honorable Judge @darthbluesky.bsky.social: Budino has discovered that his longtime favorite, the slipper, sometimes has (when worn) a hard crunchy center (the human toe.) The literature advises that I’m supposed to discourage this, but I am weak to deny him this apex happiness. Advise?
I don't think we'll ever know why scientists act like that.
March 26, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I don't think we'll ever know why scientists act like that.
It’s presumably an algorithmically generated image, for a book that’s print-on-demand (and 150dpi, or halftoned, and in any case containing god knows what.) eBay has a lot of “type specimen books” like this…
March 25, 2025 at 8:32 PM
It’s presumably an algorithmically generated image, for a book that’s print-on-demand (and 150dpi, or halftoned, and in any case containing god knows what.) eBay has a lot of “type specimen books” like this…
A vet once interrupted our meeting with *another* vet, having peeped our dog’s face through the glass. “Is this Oscar?” It was; do I know you? “I saw a slide of him at a conference,” he explained, which is how we learned that our puppy had been Patient Zero for canine flu on Long Island.
March 5, 2025 at 9:10 PM
A vet once interrupted our meeting with *another* vet, having peeped our dog’s face through the glass. “Is this Oscar?” It was; do I know you? “I saw a slide of him at a conference,” he explained, which is how we learned that our puppy had been Patient Zero for canine flu on Long Island.
What do we think “half mast” looks like at McDonalds? Are both flags run down? Just the Stars and Stripes? Do they move the McDonalds flag to half mast if Mayor McCheese dies?
March 3, 2025 at 10:26 PM
What do we think “half mast” looks like at McDonalds? Are both flags run down? Just the Stars and Stripes? Do they move the McDonalds flag to half mast if Mayor McCheese dies?
Apple Intelligence has truly achieved the caliber of insane gibberish unseen since the days of the Newton MessagePad. Below, my phone's alarming summary of a voicemail, which in fact dealt with scheduling a time to meet with an electrician to compare halogen and LED light fixtures.
February 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Apple Intelligence has truly achieved the caliber of insane gibberish unseen since the days of the Newton MessagePad. Below, my phone's alarming summary of a voicemail, which in fact dealt with scheduling a time to meet with an electrician to compare halogen and LED light fixtures.
When next you need a break from all the doomscrolling, may I suggest a few minutes with CutAndPasteMovies:
www.instagram.com/cutandpastem...
www.instagram.com/cutandpastem...
February 27, 2025 at 4:49 PM
When next you need a break from all the doomscrolling, may I suggest a few minutes with CutAndPasteMovies:
www.instagram.com/cutandpastem...
www.instagram.com/cutandpastem...
That’s considerably better than what I keep getting, which are either (a) not actually letters, or (b) insanely baroque, but on inspection, also not actually letters.
February 4, 2025 at 12:22 PM
That’s considerably better than what I keep getting, which are either (a) not actually letters, or (b) insanely baroque, but on inspection, also not actually letters.
“One-tenth of a line” of what? Type? Cocaine? Riflemen? Chorus girls? Sorry to be demanding, but such is my nitpickingry.
January 28, 2025 at 7:52 PM
“One-tenth of a line” of what? Type? Cocaine? Riflemen? Chorus girls? Sorry to be demanding, but such is my nitpickingry.
Hemingway 2.0
January 25, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Hemingway 2.0
For anyone who felt that Bishop Budde’s words were a surprise, here are the first four pages of her book, published two years ago. She remains the very same person of principle, who takes seriously her obligations to the public.
January 24, 2025 at 6:27 PM
For anyone who felt that Bishop Budde’s words were a surprise, here are the first four pages of her book, published two years ago. She remains the very same person of principle, who takes seriously her obligations to the public.
An opportunity to improve legibility, at no cost! For @nysdmv, and others.
Originally, license plates had bubbly letters because of how they were fabricated: characters were stamped in relief, and their faces were painted by a roller. But today, → (1/4)
Originally, license plates had bubbly letters because of how they were fabricated: characters were stamped in relief, and their faces were painted by a roller. But today, → (1/4)
January 5, 2025 at 8:57 PM
An opportunity to improve legibility, at no cost! For @nysdmv, and others.
Originally, license plates had bubbly letters because of how they were fabricated: characters were stamped in relief, and their faces were painted by a roller. But today, → (1/4)
Originally, license plates had bubbly letters because of how they were fabricated: characters were stamped in relief, and their faces were painted by a roller. But today, → (1/4)
A *significant* portion of my brain was shaped by these two books, some of my most cherished childhood possessions.
December 23, 2024 at 5:01 PM
A *significant* portion of my brain was shaped by these two books, some of my most cherished childhood possessions.
A word I learned today, which goes straight into the kerning proofs.
December 12, 2024 at 8:45 AM
A word I learned today, which goes straight into the kerning proofs.
It's hard to believe there isn't a greeting card for this
December 3, 2024 at 1:59 PM
It's hard to believe there isn't a greeting card for this
How @nymag.com deftly speaks to the importance of editors:
November 25, 2024 at 9:28 PM
How @nymag.com deftly speaks to the importance of editors:
8½/ In the Threads paragraph on the bottom, the combination of a slightly tighter fit, slightly looser leading, and a slightly wider measure, all collaborate to encourage us to *read* rather than to *look.* →
November 17, 2024 at 6:42 PM
8½/ In the Threads paragraph on the bottom, the combination of a slightly tighter fit, slightly looser leading, and a slightly wider measure, all collaborate to encourage us to *read* rather than to *look.* →
7½/ But below, we have both browsers at the same 1440px width, and the cyan line is the Bluesky's smaller measyure. On Threads (below), it's about 5% longer, lengthening the line, and further heightening the momentum that carries us from word to word, and then line to line: →
November 17, 2024 at 6:42 PM
7½/ But below, we have both browsers at the same 1440px width, and the cyan line is the Bluesky's smaller measyure. On Threads (below), it's about 5% longer, lengthening the line, and further heightening the momentum that carries us from word to word, and then line to line: →
6/ Also, the leading used on Bluesky (left) is a pixel shorter than what’s used on Threads (right). The combination of these effects on Bluesky — a larger lowercase, a more generous fit, and tighter leading — all serve to invert the natural relationship one wants…
November 17, 2024 at 6:42 PM
6/ Also, the leading used on Bluesky (left) is a pixel shorter than what’s used on Threads (right). The combination of these effects on Bluesky — a larger lowercase, a more generous fit, and tighter leading — all serve to invert the natural relationship one wants…
5/ Of course this has a compounding effect, making entire lines run longer. Here’s the same text on both platforms, again with Bluesky on top, and Threads below. Threads manages to fit a whole extra word on the line, and this really does add up: →
November 17, 2024 at 6:42 PM
5/ Of course this has a compounding effect, making entire lines run longer. Here’s the same text on both platforms, again with Bluesky on top, and Threads below. Threads manages to fit a whole extra word on the line, and this really does add up: →
4½/ This is Bluesky (above) and Threads (below), and you can see the cumulative effect: the same word is slightly wider as rendered on Bluesky. →
November 17, 2024 at 6:42 PM
4½/ This is Bluesky (above) and Threads (below), and you can see the cumulative effect: the same word is slightly wider as rendered on Bluesky. →