Fonts usually go unnoticed, but they can make or break a project depending on their quality and application. Some fonts create such an impact that they basically become role models, while others cause absolute rejection. Operator was designed with developers in mind, seeking to establish clearer differences in critical aspects like parentheses, brackets, punctuation, and the classic conflict between the “i”, the “l”, and the “1” that exists in certain fonts.
While there are different tools to detect errors in our work (whether writing text or writing code), the truth is that on many occasions we are simply tired, and we can't even read clearly the text in front of us. Is that an uppercase “I” or the number “1”? A good rest should leave that problem behind, but the point is that some fonts are harder to read than others. In the past we have suggested tools like WhatTheFont! to identify specific fonts or find equivalents. I believe I'm not exaggerating when I say there are tens of thousands of fonts (many of them open source) that can be downloaded at this very moment, so it's very likely we will find suitable replacements. Now, what happens when someone designs a typeface especially aimed at those who spend hours and hours in front of a piece of code?
More Than Function Over Style
The result is something like Operator, a new typeface created by the team at Hoefler & Co., a type foundry that has been in the market for almost 30 years. Operator comes in two forms: a “natural” width and monospaced (Operator Mono), followed by nine variants (Thin, Extra Light, Light, Book, Medium, Bold, Black, Extra Black, and Ultra). One of the goals of this typeface is to help developers differentiate letters that under other monospaced fonts can cause problems, while on the other hand it seeks to break the classic stance of “function over style”, combining the classic benefits of typewriter-inspired fonts with a much more refined aesthetic.
The question every developer should ask is whether Operator is really necessary. From what I've seen so far, most opinions lean toward no. At the same time, I admit that Hoefler & Co. isn't making it easy. The price of Operator Mono for a single computer is $199 (no, it's not a mistake), and this “simple” detail makes us think that a programmer is not really the audience they are trying to convince with this typeface. Furthermore, it's likely that within a few weeks an open source typeface with a very similar style will appear...
