A whole brand in one typeface

Pairing a display face with a text face is often a way of avoiding a decision. The headline gets the personality and the body gets the safety, and the two never quite meet.

Most of our identities use one family, in two or three weights.

What it asks of the typeface

It needs to be good large and good small. It needs a medium weight that reads as confident without shouting, and figures that line up in a table. That rules out more typefaces than it allows.

What it gives back

Hierarchy has to come from size, space and position instead of contrast between styles. Layouts get calmer. Every page looks like it belongs to the same company, even the ones we never design.

For Hemingway the one face was a serif, which surprised the client. It has held up through two redesigns of the product since.