About the Role
AUGUST 2025
Job Clarendon Wide
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Job Clarendon is getting to be such a big family that I now think of it in two chunks: the central core and the outer ring. The central core sets the “rules” of the type system, and is more-or-less predictable as it traverses the moderate weights and widths. In the outer ring, these rules are forced to bend as the typeface contorts to meet the demands of extreme weight and proportion.
I think because this style hits such a sweet spot, I struggled to produce a Wide cut for Job Clarendon that I was happy with. Bethany and I knew that we wanted to follow the tradition set by typefaces like Craw Clarendon and Volta. And we knew that I wanted to keep it low-contrast and slabby, and avoid letting it slip from Slab Serif into Modern territory (as Clarendons occasionally do). But early versions felt too clean and generic, and I’ve been working to pepper in more of the 19th-century grit that Job Clarendon attempts to capture.
There is something kinda perfect about a wide-set Clarendon. I wish I could explain exactly why I feel this way, but I think it has to do with it sitting at this fascinating intersection between wood type clunkiness and midcentury modern elegance. It somehow manages to convey grace and sturdiness, workaday charm, and forthright boldness all at once…and it can be disarmingly cute as well!