On the surface, type has never been more accessible. Fonts galore are literally at the fingertips of anyone with a computer. But perhaps it’s gotten a bit too easy to select a typeface simply for how it looks, rather than for what it evokes. Every typeface has a persona, and it imbues a text—whether it’s a paragraph, a poem, or just a page number—with that personality. Letterforms carry information, but they also create a mood and confer context. They can delight the eye, but they can also reinforce (or muddle) the message they bear. Selecting the best type for the job can be painstaking, but the results can be harmonious, memorable, and seductive.

We looked at the work of three businesses that turn out very different print products. All are mildly obsessive about type: a design firm that rigorously balances strategy and execution, an author who illustrates and designs her own books, and a traditional typesetter-turned-letterpress designer.