Type Design

Vertical Text and Alternate Reading Directions Beyond Simple Right-to-Left

Right-to-left is the most commonly discussed alternate reading direction, and it isn't the only one - some scripts support genuine vertical text layout as a real, conventional reading direction with its own typographic requirements.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Multi-Script Brand Identity Systems in Depth: Keeping the Same Brand Feeling Across Genuinely Different Writing Systems

Extending a single logotype into multiple scripts isn't a one-time translation exercise - it's an ongoing system that needs the same rigor and maintenance as any other part of a brand's core visual identity.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Legibility Research That Doesn't Transfer Cleanly From Latin-Script Studies

Well-established typographic legibility findings - optimal line length, ideal contrast ratios - come overwhelmingly from research conducted on Latin-script reading, and they don't automatically hold for genuinely different scripts.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Testing a Typeface at Every Size and Weight It Will Actually Be Used at, Not Just the Hero Size

A typeface reviewed only at large, hero display size can look completely different, and sometimes fail outright, once it's actually used at small body-text sizes or in a much lighter or bolder weight.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Studying Type History Without Just Copying a Specific Historical Typeface's Letterforms

Studying historical letterforms is genuinely useful type design research - until a specific historical typeface's actual letterforms end up traced closely enough that the new work is really just a variation on it.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Sketching Letterforms by Hand Before Ever Opening Type Design Software

Type design software makes precise curves easy from the very first click - which can lock in a structural decision before it's actually been explored, rather than after genuine exploration has happened.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Maintaining a Brand's Type System as New Weights, Scripts, or Languages Get Added Over Time

A brand's typeface, designed and finalized for one initial launch, rarely stays that simple for long - new weights, new scripts for international markets, and new use cases keep getting requested afterward.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Licensing a Custom Typeface: Retainer, One-Time Fee, or Ongoing Royalty, and What Each Means

Custom typeface work can be structured under genuinely different business models, and choosing the wrong one for a specific project's actual circumstances can leave real value on the table for either side.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Legibility Testing for a New Typeface: What Actually Needs Checking Beyond "Does It Look Nice"

A typeface can look genuinely appealing in a portfolio presentation and still perform poorly on real legibility - and those are two different qualities that need two different kinds of evaluation.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Kerning and Spacing a Full Typeface: The Invisible Work That Takes Longer Than Drawing the Letters

Drawing a typeface's letterforms is visible, creative work anyone can appreciate. Spacing and kerning it correctly is invisible, unglamorous work - and it routinely takes longer than designing the letters themselves.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Getting Useful Feedback on Custom Letterforms From People Who Can't Articulate What Feels Off

A client can often sense that a letterform feels slightly wrong without being able to say why - and "I don't know, something's off about the g" is genuinely difficult feedback to act on directly.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Freelance Type Design vs. an In-House Type System Role: What the Day-to-Day Actually Differs On

Freelance type design projects and an in-house role maintaining a brand's type system involve genuinely different daily work, not just a difference in employment structure or income stability.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Delivering Font Files and Licensing Terms Clients Actually Understand

A finished typeface handed over as a file with a dense licensing document attached leaves most clients genuinely unsure what they're actually allowed to do with it - which becomes a real problem later.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Building a Type Specimen That Shows a Typeface's Range, Not Just Its Best Three Letters

A type specimen built around whichever letters happen to look most striking gives a viewer a distorted, incomplete impression of a typeface's actual real-world usability and range.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Briefing a Custom Typeface or Lettering Project When "Make It Feel Premium" Is the Entire Spec

Letterform work is briefed in feeling words more than almost any other design discipline - and "premium" alone gives no indication of which of a dozen genuinely different letterform decisions it actually calls for.

Updated Sep 25, 2026