The Stories Font: Sorts Mill Goudy

If you’re a type enthusiast like myself, you know a good type is hard to find.

When redesigning the website, I really wanted a special font just for The Stories that was easier to read than the Trebuchet font we used on the old site. I wanted something that had personality, flair, but was still clean and elegant.

After scouring several type sites and the stock ones that came with Squarespace (which hosts the site) I found the one: Sorts Mill Goudy.

I tend to obsess about things, so after discovering Sorts Mill Goudy I set out to learn more about its origins and came across this informative post in a PC World blog about the font and its creator, Barry Schwartz, who designed it from a standard classic: Goudy Old Style. The more I read, the more I knew this was the font for Carve’s stories.

Goudy Old Style was created by expert calligrapher Frederick Goudy. The font has been in mainstream use since 1915, and Barry Schwartz gave the classic a modern flourish, with more decorated tips and a fuller look that’s easier to read. The result is a vibrant font that pays tribute to the old-school styles of calligraphy. Below you can see the difference between the two:

This is the original Goudy Old Style font.

This is the new Sorts Mill Goudy font.

I thought that a classic font with a modern refresh was exactly the kind of font for Carve, because we’re a modern magazine honoring the legacy of a classic writer. (That classic writer is Raymond Carver, in case you’re new to our magazine.)

While many websites opt for sans-serif fonts because of their clean look, we enjoy the tips and flair of the serif Sorts Mill Goudy. (And this article makes an argument that serif or sans-serif simply doesn’t matter, but that’s a whole other discussion.)

Ultimately, I selected Sorts Mill Goudy because even though we’re an online publication, the font takes you back to the days when print was prime - a dichotomy I relish as we move further into the digital age.