3 reasons to buy typefaces
Often, when starting a branding or logo design project with a new client, we find ourselves having to really underscore the importance of purchasing a license of a typeface. There are many more reasons to purchase typefaces, but below are three reasons we feel are most important.
“Typography is two dimensional architecture., based on experience and imagination, and guided by rules and readability.”
Ethics and Morals. A digital typeface is a very small piece of software. As such, like any piece software, there was a very talented individual(s) behind it designing and programming hundreds of letterforms, numerals and countless other glyphs that make up the entirety of a typeface. Buying a typeface to use in a commercial piece of work is akin to buying that movie on Amazon Prime instead of downloading a pirated version, or purchasing a stock photograph instead of stealing an image from Google Image Search. You are rewarding a designer and programmer for their hard work and shielding you and your business from unnecessary legal risks. Buy stock photos, and buy fonts - your marketing and advertising will be better, and at the end of the day you’re keeping your business on the up-and-up.
Variety. Your computer came boxed with a handful of typefaces for you to use, but so did everyone else’s computer. There are millions of typefaces available for purchase and use in commercial work - the possibilities are endless. The look, the feeling, the aesthetic of each one nuanced for your needs. Why not invest in your business, and stand out from your competitors by the taking the time to find a typeface no one else is using?
Because “Free” could mean incomplete. Maybe it’s just me, because I am passionate for typography and typefaces, but often, when I’m searching for the right typeface I’ll find something that’s great for what I’m trying to communicate and, “Oh my goodness, it’s free for commercial use too?! Fantastic!” But then I drop in my message and… “What do you mean there’s no apostrophe? No zero? No accent circonflexe over the lowercase ‘a’?” That’s right. Free can often mean designed by an amateur, who didn’t have the patience to design every glyph. By making a small investment (Yes, small! Sometimes as little as $5.00!) you insure you’ll have what you need when you need it. And, “What’s this?” You may even find that the type designer when above and beyond and provided 5-10 alternate designs of the uppercase ‘G’!
