One of Hoefler & Co.’s longtime strengths has been an ability to fashion an original take in what often felt like a crowded genre. Most notably, their reinterpretation of the rationalist Didones as HTF Didot for Harper’s Bazaar, and the expansion of their Clarendon-inspired yet undeniably modern slab Sentinel to include italics, testify to their knack for bettering the best.
Quarto — inspired by early display types of Flemish punchcutter Hendrik van den Keere and named for the printed format in which his exemplars were distributed — is a high-contrast, humanist display serif that pairs old-world structure and confidence with contemporary flourishes. Think of it as Garamond on prom night.
Sara Soskolne and Jonathan Hoefler collaborated to expand Van den Keere’s single, 400-year-old alphabet into a family of five weights, each with a matching italic. Maybe it’s my proximity to Australia, but I was particularly drawn to the light italic weight; creative director Brian Hennings’ setting of the phrase “North Queensland” among the H&Co. specimens highlights its flawless rhythm, aggressively tucked tails, and centerpiece swashed ‘Q’ like they’ve existed for centuries.
I’m usually averse to a smaller bowl in the lowercase ‘a’, but the combination of organic curves and an abrupt, straight-line cut in the terminal more than remedies this one, which only works better the larger it’s set.
Quarto is authoritative and elegant in equal measure.
