Origins of the Hershey Fonts

The Hershey Fonts were created in the 1960s by Dr. Allen V. Hershey, a mathematician and cartographer working at the U.S. Naval Weapons Laboratory. In a time before modern computers had the ability to render text with sophisticated pixel grids, the challenge was to create fonts that could be efficiently rendered using vector-based systems. These early computers and plotters used simple commands to draw lines and shapes, making it impractical to use rasterized (pixel-based) fonts. Hershey’s solution was to design a series of fonts that could be drawn entirely using connected lines, making them suitable for devices like pen plotters and vector displays.

The Nature of Vector Fonts Hershey’s fonts were minimalist and geometric due to the constraints of early computing. Each character was represented as a series of connected points, allowing plotters to trace the shapes with minimal instructions. This vector-based system allowed for the efficient rendering of text in early graphics and scientific applications, where low-resolution output was standard.

However, the fonts’ simplicity also led to some visual oddities. Hershey had to balance the need for legibility with the limitations of early hardware, often resulting in characters that had unusual proportions, unexpected curves, and a quirky, hand-drawn quality. This “accidental weirdness” became a defining characteristic of the Hershey Fonts. For instance, some letters had inconsistent stroke weights or unconventional shapes that gave the fonts a technical, almost mechanical feel.

A.V. Hershey: The Innovator Behind the Fonts

Dr. A.V. Hershey was a pioneer in digital typography and computer graphics. His work on the Hershey Fonts wasn’t originally aimed at typographic beauty but rather functionality within the limits of the technology at the time. His fonts provided a solution for rendering text in early computer graphics, making them critical for applications in fields like mapping, scientific visualization, and engineering.

Hershey’s expertise as a cartographer and mathematician is evident in the precision and mathematical approach behind the fonts. However, despite their utility, the original fonts were never meant to be aesthetic masterpieces. The quirks that arose from these technical compromises, though, eventually became a source of fascination for later designers.

The Transition to Modern Type Families: Mad Sans and Mad Serif Fast forward several decades, and the Hershey Fonts have found new life through the creative reinterpretation of Dries Wiewauters, who sought to preserve the quirky, low-resolution charm of the originals while making them more usable in contemporary design contexts. Two modern type families—Mad Sans and Mad Serif—have evolved from these early experiments, maintaining the spirit of the Hershey Fonts while refining their design for more versatile applications.

Balancing the “Accidental Weirdness”

One of the key challenges in transforming the Hershey Fonts into Mad Sans and Mad Serif was to preserve the original’s unique and occasionally strange letterforms while making them more visually balanced and usable in various typographic contexts. Dries embraced the “weirdness” of the original characters—such as the oddly shaped “G” or the non-standard curves in certain letters—but smoothed out the rough edges to improve readability.

Improving Legibility and Proportions In the original Hershey Fonts, the proportions of characters were often inconsistent due to the constraints of the vector plotting system. For Mad Sans and Mad Serif, Dries carefully adjusted the proportions of each letter to improve legibility for both body text and display purposes. This meant refining the stroke weights, adjusting kerning (the spacing between letters), and ensuring that the characters were more uniform in appearance while still retaining their quirky charm.

Mad Sans preserves the clean, geometric lines of Hershey’s vector letters but introduces better balance in letterforms, making it suitable for longer text blocks where readability is key. The strokes are more consistent, and the oddities that made the originals so distinctive are tamed, but not eliminated. For instance, the eccentric shapes of some letters remain but are softened to ensure clarity, even at smaller sizes.

Mad Serif, on the other hand, adds a more traditional serif style to Hershey’s original sans-serif designs. It plays with the combination of old-style serif aesthetics and the mechanical precision of Hershey’s original forms. The result is a typeface that’s elegant yet mechanical, suitable for longer reads but with a character that feels both technical and approachable.

A Versatile Typeface Family

Mad Sans and Mad Serif are now highly versatile, used for both body copy and display type, making them relevant in today’s diverse design environments. What makes these typefaces special is their ability to balance their heritage—rooted in the primitive, low-resolution output of early plotters—with the demands of modern typography.

For display usage, their eccentricities and uniqueness make them visually striking in headings, posters, or branding applications. At large sizes, the quirks and geometric precision of the original Hershey Fonts come through clearly, creating a distinct and memorable design aesthetic.

For body text, the refined proportions, stroke weights, and kerning adjustments allow for easy reading over long passages, something the original Hershey Fonts were not designed for. The typefaces retain the mathematical elegance of Hershey’s work but are now more balanced and harmonious, making them usable in books, websites, and editorial design.

The Hershey Fonts, born from the constraints of early computing and plotter technology, have evolved into something far more versatile and visually intriguing. Through the modern adaptations of Mad Sans and Mad Serif, the peculiarities of the original vector fonts have been embraced and refined, offering a type family that can serve both as a functional workhorse and as a display font with character. This transformation honors A.V. Hershey’s pioneering work, proving that even the quirkiest solutions in technology can inspire enduring creative designs in typography.