Good Type Design Resources

Tools, tutorials and resources to make your type design process more efficient

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101 Type Design Tips

Download your free guidebook with lots of tips for each letter of the alphabet, in both upper- and lowercase. Roman and italic.

It also comes with a guide where to place your nodes and components for serifs. Super helpful and downloaded by 5000+ designers.

FREE DOWNLOAD →

The Weekly Glyph

Join The Weekly Glyph and receive a free type design lesson in your inbox every Thursday morning.

SUBSCRIBE HERE →

Viktor Baltus 2/16/22 Viktor Baltus 2/16/22

Color Fonts with Fontself

New to font making, want to try out if this is something for you but don’t want to invest in learning complex font software? Fontself is an extension for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. It allows you to create (color) fonts without leaving your Adobe design software

Website’s you’ll love. Search a topic and click.

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→ FontTools
https://github.com/fonttools/fonttools
A Python library to manipulate font files, used in many font build systems.
→ FontBakery
http://fontbakery.com/
A Quality Assurance Tool for checking font projects against Google Fonts and other standards.
→ FontMake
https://github.com/googlefonts/fontmake
A command-line tool to compile fonts from source (UFO + designspace).
→ Gftools
https://github.com/googlefonts/gftools
A collection of tools for preparing and testing fonts for Google Fonts and beyond.
→ Psautohint
https://github.com/adobe-type-tools/psautohint
An auto-hinter for CFF outlines, often used in professional workflows.
→ Wakamai Fondue
https://wakamaifondue.com
A browser-based tool for inspecting the features and capabilities of OpenType fonts.
→ FontGoggles
https://github.com/justvanrossum/fontgoggles
A font previewing app for testing and comparing fonts with advanced OpenType and variable font support.
→ Waterfall Generator
https://workshop.mass-driver.com/waterfall
Generate customizable waterfall specimen images for showcasing your typefaces.
→ Stack & Justify
Generate a waterfall with your own fonts.
https://max-esnee.com/stack-and-justify/
→ Opentypecookbook.com
https://opentypecookbook.com
A practical reference for writing OpenType feature code using the fea syntax.
→ The OpenType Specification
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/
The technical documentation for OpenType font features, layout tables, and more.
→ Font Namecheck
https://namecheck.fontdata.com/
A tool to check font names against system-reserved names and platform conflicts.
→ Fontdue
Online platform dedicated to selling fonts on your own website.
https://www.fontdue.com
→ Glyphs App
https://glyphsapp.com
A popular macOS font editor focused on ease of use and modern font technologies.
→ RoboFont
https://robofont.com
A flexible macOS UFO-based font editor geared toward scripting and custom workflows.
→ FontLab
https://www.fontlab.com
A full-featured font editor for both macOS and Windows with advanced interpolation and OpenType support.
→ FontForge
https://fontforge.org
A free and open-source font editor available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
→ Trufont
https://trufont.github.io
A cross-platform UFO-based typeface editor with a clean UI (no longer under active development, but still useful).
→ Font Gauntlet
https://fontgauntlet.com/
Test and explore variable fonts directly in the browser with real-time sliders and previews.
→ opentype.js
https://github.com/opentypejs/opentype.js
A JavaScript library for parsing and writing OpenType fonts, useful for web-based tools and experiments.

→ Google Fonts Knowledge: Fonts
https://fonts.google.com/knowledge
A growing library of articles about typography, variable fonts, and font tech by Google Fonts.
→ Typedrawers Forum
https://typedrawers.com
An active forum for discussing type design, production, and business.
→ On Diacritics
Blogpost by I Love Typography
→ Hyperglot by Rosetta
Checks your font’s language support across dozens of writing systems and scripts.
→ Context of Diacritics
Analysis of diacritics made to help you with refining the character sets of their fonts.
→ PDF Problems of Diacritic Design for Latin script text faces
→ PDF Problems of diacritic design for Latin-script typefaces
Watch:
→ How not to draw accents
David Jonathan Ross - ATypI 2017
→ Diacritics as a Means of Self-Identification
Aleksandra Samulenkova - ATypI 2016
→ Vietnamese Tone Marks
On vietnamese Latin based accents
→ On the Æ
Short Medium article on the letter Æ. More research needed on this letter
→ On the Eszett ẞ
https://www.typografie.info/3/wiki.html/v/grosses-eszett/
https://medium.com/@typefacts/the-german-capital-letter-eszett-e0936c1388f8
https://typefoundry.blogspot.com/2008/01/esszett-or.html
https://typography.guru/journal/capital-sharp-s-designs/
https://typography.guru/journal/germanys-new-character/
→ Kreska (Polish acute)
https://glyphsapp.com/learn/localize-your-font-polish-kreska
https://www.twardoch.com/download/polishhowto/kreska.html
Kropka (Polish dot accent)
https://www.twardoch.com/download/polishhowto/kropka.html
Ogonek
https://www.twardoch.com/download/polishhowto/ogonek.html
Stroke
https://www.twardoch.com/download/polishhowto/stroke.html
→ DrawBot
https://www.drawbot.com
A Python-based drawing tool for macOS, ideal for automating type specimens and generative type work.
→ PageBot
https://github.com/PageBot/PageBot
A framework built on DrawBot for creating typographic publications and generative layouts.
→ TypeTools by Just van Rossum
https://github.com/justvanrossum
A collection of useful DrawBot and type-related Python tools from a pioneer in generative type.
→ Open Font License (OFL)
https://scripts.sil.org/OFL
A widely used open-source font license, explained and downloadable from SIL.
→ Variable font Matrix Tool
http://vmt.dize n.cz/
Generates metrics based on an image you upload. Simply drag the lines to their position and copy past the values in your master.
→ Future Fonts
https://www.futurefonts.xyz
A platform to sell in-progress fonts with community feedback and early access support.
→ Creative Market Font Licensing
https://creativemarket.com/licenses/fonts
Explanation of licensing and selling fonts on Creative Market.
→ MyFonts Foundry Program
https://foundry.myfonts.com
The onboarding resource for submitting and selling fonts on MyFonts (Monotype).
→ Fontself Blog – Selling Fonts
https://www.fontself.com/blog
Practical tips on how to sell and promote your fonts online.
→ Pricing a custom Font
How to price and schedule a custom typeface.
https://www.leinstertype.com/articles/how-to-price-a-custom-typeface

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