I draw letters, and I only do one thing at a time
Custom typefaces and the identities built on them. One project at once, which means a waiting list, and every typeface is licensed to you outright rather than rented back to you every year.
Specimens and work
What I do
See everythingA typeface you rent annually is a typeface you do not have
Everything I make is licensed to you outright, in perpetuity, for any use, with the source files.
The industry has moved to annual licences with seat counts and usage audits, which turns a piece of design you commissioned into a subscription you can be priced out of. Everything here is bought once and owned, including the editable drawings, so that in ten years your brand does not depend on my continued existence or my continued goodwill.
How a typeface happens
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1
What it is for
Where it will be set, at what sizes, in what languages. A face for a sign and a face for a footnote are different animals and the brief has to say which.
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2
Twenty-six letters
A first cut of the lowercase only, which is where a typeface is decided. If it is wrong here, everything after it is expensive.
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3
The whole character set
Uppercase, figures, punctuation and the accents your languages need. This is most of the time and almost none of the interest.
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4
Files, and the drawings
Every format, the source drawings, and a licence you own. No renewals, no seat counts, no audits.
- 1
- Outright
- ~6 wks
- 9
Notes
Everything
What clients say
Licensed outright with the drawings. We have extended it twice ourselves.
Drawn rather than set. You can see it at small sizes.
He said nine weeks and it was nine weeks.
One project at a time means waiting. Worth it, but plan for it.
Told us our existing face was fine and we needed spacing. Cost him the job.
No renewals, no seat counts, no audits. In this industry that is remarkable.
Expensive. Also the last typeface we will ever have to buy.
Asked the original designer for permission before touching their face.
Before you write
Search the site-
Why only one project at a time?
Because type design is slow and doing two at once produces two mediocre typefaces. It costs me money and it is the only way I know to keep the work at a standard I will sign. -
What does outright licensing mean?
You buy it once and own it in perpetuity, for any use, in any medium, with the editable source drawings. No renewals, no seat counts, no audits and no way for me to price you out later. -
How long is the wait?
About six weeks at the moment, and the number on this site is the real one. If your date does not work I will say so immediately rather than taking a deposit and hoping. -
Can you match an existing brand?
Usually, and sometimes I will tell you that what you have is fine and you need spacing rather than a new face. That has happened three times and cost me three commissions. -
Which languages can you cover?
Latin including the full range of European accents as standard. Greek and Cyrillic are quoted separately because they are genuinely different work, not a checkbox. -
Will you work on somebody else’s typeface?
With the original designer’s permission, yes, and I will ask them myself. Without it, no, regardless of what the licence technically allows.
The wait is about six weeks and I will tell you honestly
Tell me what it is for and when you need it. If the date does not work I will say so immediately rather than taking a deposit and hoping.
Start a project
What it is for, where it will be set, and when you need it. I answer within three days.
Kingston, Saint Andrew