Typography

Member lesson

Custom type for brands

Lesson 32 of 34 in Typography.

Letters with Voices: Bespoke Typefaces for Brands, Technology and People | Noopur Datye · DesignUp Team
Lesson

Commissioning a typeface is a serious undertaking and the reason is usually economic rather than aesthetic. A large organisation paying per-seat and per-traffic licences across many markets can find that a custom family costs less over several years, with distinctiveness as a side effect.

every gap set by eyetwo letters redrawna logotype is drawing, not typing
A wordmark with letterspacing opened and two letters redrawn to fit.
Two rows of coin stacks along a timeline, one rising each year and one level after a single large first stack, with the crossing point circled.
Licence fees pile up every year across offices and websites, while a custom typeface is paid for mostly once. For a large company the custom family can end up cheaper.
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  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “A family commissioned for one organisation.”

    • Script harmonisation
    • Abugida
    • Custom typeface
    • Kana and Hangul
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “How long it stays theirs alone. Frequently a term rather than forever.”

    • Tell
    • Identification
    • Exclusivity period
    • Ghost sign
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The commission plus the maintenance, testing and extension it will need.”

    • Type scale
    • Pica
    • En
    • Total cost of ownership

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