Is it possible to "pick and choose" a different font for a certain symbol?

Question

I have been deciding on a font to use for a document, and compared the outputs for both \usepackage{kpfonts} and \usepackage[utopia]{mathdesign}.

I have decided to use the utopia package, but I am not too fond on the square-ish appearance of the parentheses. I much preferred the look of the parentheses with the kpfonts package. My question is this: is it possible to use a different font for a certain symbol? I would've liked to use utopia for everything else, and kpfonts or something similar for the parentheses.

Answer 1

You can use a different symbol font for the parenthese. Be aware that the number of math fonts is restricted so one shouldn't overdo it. The example changes only the right parenthese to demonstrate the difference:

\documentclass{report}

\usepackage[utopia]{mathdesign}

\DeclareSymbolFont{kpoperators}{OT1}{jkp}{m}{n}
\DeclareSymbolFont{kplargesymbols}{OMX}{jkp}{m}{n}

%\DeclareMathDelimiter{(}{\mathopen} {kpoperators}{"28}{kplargesymbols}{"00}
\DeclareMathDelimiter{)}{\mathclose}{kpoperators}{"29}{kplargesymbols}{"01}

\begin{document}
$2(a+b) \left(\rule{0pt}{1cm}\right)$
\end{document}