#07 - Custom Typeface: Glassdoor Sans ft. Koto

Custom Typefaces are the end of the rainbow, is the medium really the message?

In late 2022, a designer from LA got in touch with a request for a custom typeface. They were working on a complete rebranding for Glassdoor, and wanted a custom version of Fabio XM to be built and expanded for this project. I knew these were bigger and pricey projects, so I immediately asked Amber Weaver(TYPE01) to assist me in this journey.

And boy what a journey.

Custom type is a very interesting concept, and seems like most big brands are indeed looking to customize, see TikTok, they literally just quietly got a whole typeface developed for them, even if you wouldn’t imagine font to be that important for a video app.

A few other names, just to set the scene: Discord, Youtube, ICA, LOEWE, Pinterest, Pitchfork, Wetransfer, BBC, Tate Modern, Samsonite etc…

But is it worth spending numbers as high as hundreds of thousands for a custom typeface? Is it just a tax write-off for companies? Do they just do it cus everyone does? Probably all of the above.
For companies, this is having a personal voice, a unique and recognisable identity that people can recognise.

The concept of using custom brand typefaces isn’t new: they were first introduced in the tech industry about a decade ago as a way to save on the cost of licensing existing typefaces. Today though, as brands seek ever more ways to stand out among the crowd, a custom typeface has become an identity power-up in the game of “This-Is-Me-I-Am-Special.”

Nayoung Kim for Itsnicethat

The perks of having a custom typeface developed are mostly exclusivity and no limits to usage. It avoids recurring costs, licensing updates and limitations, and allows the client to pretty much do (most of) what they want with it.

Erik Spiekermann, a German typographer, designer and writer argues that this could be a result of the personal computer:

While it was possible, financially and technically, to design and produce a typeface exclusively for the use of one company, it was not really feasible. Once, however, the same personal computer that was used to design typefaces and produce fonts was also used as the main communication tool inside companies, it became easier to convince marketing and technical people alike that fonts were meant for more than the occasional campaign headline, and easier to implement than new versions of Windows.

Traditional businesses have been doing this for decades, but there has been a fast growing trend from the late 2010s.
In the modern era where digital interfaces have replaced printed media, one could argue that typography is at the core of UI, which is at the core of most of our daily lives, realistically.

But why do I think this is really cool for designers?
To make it simple and short: money, exposure and time.

First of all, anything custom, wether is a modified version, an expansion or a from-scratch-new-face, will probably be a £10k-100k project. Yes, you read that right. And it is a lot of work, but is it really THAT much?

As Jason Harcombe (founder of FontPeople) explains:

“Nowadays, font development is all done with masters. It’s not a case of starting with Regular, putting weight on to get to Bold, and taking some off to get Thin. To plan a family, you create the Thin master and the Bold master, then automatically interpolate the versions in between. Although each master could cost between £12-15k, automating those middle stages suddenly makes a larger family much more cost effective – provided you have the necessary time built into the project schedule, of course.
In the case of a huge multinational organisation with tens of thousands of staff, multiple apps and websites and page views in the billions, licensing an existing typeface will cost a fortune. For global brands, it’s actually cheaper to commission a custom font that resembles another on the market.

for Design Week

Type foundries typically price their services starting from the custom design work and also add an additional fee for licensing.
If you’re designing a custom typeface, you will most likely end up agreeing on an exclusive and unlimited license. This can be either forever and in perpetuity, or for an agreed number of years after which you will be able to sell commercial and personal licenses for the typeface.
These types of licenses are always quite expensive, as you will not be able to make any profit from commercial licensing. In a way, it’s like they take it off the market.
Without going into detail. Happy to expand if anyone wants to know but nor sure I can legally share these informations to the whole world (aka all 25 subscribers), but the licensing for this was slightly over 3x the design work.

Unless there’s very valid reasons for selling them too, you will also retain the intellectual property and ownership of the typeface, meaning the client will have to purchase these too, if they want to resell, modify or just for the sake of it own the whole thing. Most clients will not NEED this, but they might WANT it.

The exposure point is quite obvious, only L-XL companies can justify such an investment, giving you the chance to work very likely with a bunch of top tier creatives. And it will look class in your portfolio.

And then there’s time. As a freelance, time is what I struggle with the most, not much having it, but managing it.
In the constant pattern of finding, managing and delivering projects, a long-term project is a quiet luxury. And if you’re contractually smart, you can stagger payments and not spend a lot of time without cash coming in.

IMO this type of plan is probably the best way to keep you covered:

• 30% upfront
• 30% at approved letterforms
• 40% at delivery

Working on such a big & long-term project, I also had the chance to focus on the letterforms while we outsourced Kerning (Igino @iKern), Hinting (Edgar Walthert) and a couple days of engineering (Rainer Scheichelbauer @Glyphs).

The rebranding is out now, and I can finally share with everyone and see it in its universe, finally. It feels really good. Here’s Glassdoor Sans, hope you enjoy :)

This was just a bit of a humble flex & a way to say that DMs are open if you encounter a similar project or want to pitch this to a client and need advice.

XO
G