Whitman Text is the answer to my own prompt: “What if W.A. Dwiggins set out to design Eric Gill’s Joanna instead of Caledonia?” The result is unabashedly digital, yet instilled with the traditional values of classic American book typefaces.

Originally published through Font Bureau in 2003, Whitman resonated with the zeitgeist of the time and met with immediate acclaim, ending up in a wide range of settings — from books and magazines to product packaging and exhibit signage. It found a ready home in the health & wellness, beauty, and crafting sectors. It was also seen in popular nonfiction, literary journals, and beautiful coffee table books.

The 2024 revision added significantly-expanded language support and incorporated many small improvements and refinements that I had made over the years for my own use. The addition of tabular figures, fractions, extensive superiors & inferiors, as well as some less common symbols, came from specific needs that arose in books that various colleagues and I designed.

Whitman Text is designed to behave well in running text. At smaller sizes, the facets and corners add a crispness to the characters without drawing undue attention. At larger sizes, these same details emerge and lend a distinctive quality to the letterforms. Over the years, Whitman has earned a place in the palette of discriminating typographers.