The Short Answer
Most brands need one or two typefaces, chosen for personality, legibility and the languages they must support. Licensing matters as much as choice: desktop, web, app and logo use are often licensed separately. Foundries now audit websites, and some businesses have received invoices of up to $25,000 for unlicensed use.
Why Typography Carries So Much of a Brand
Type appears on every brand touchpoint: the website, packaging, documents, signage, social posts and the product itself. A consistent typeface makes all of them feel related even without the logo. Defaulting to whatever is installed, or to the same free fonts as every competitor, throws away one of the cheapest distinctive assets available.
Typography also does practical work. It determines how readable your website is on a phone, how much fits on a pack, and whether the brand can speak in more than one script.
How To Choose Brand Typefaces
Choose type by testing it against real use. Decide what personality the brand must express, list the places type will appear and the languages it must support, shortlist three or four families, and set real headlines, body text and labels in each. The right choice is usually obvious once you see real content.
- Personality. Geometric, humanist, serif, slab or display: each carries a different tone.
- Range. Enough weights and styles for headings, body, captions and numbers.
- Legibility. Test at small sizes on phones and on printed labels.
- Scripts and languages. If you need Devanagari, Arabic or another script, choose a family designed for it; see bilingual logo design.
- Distinctiveness. Check whether your top competitors use the same family.
- Licensing. Confirm the licence covers every use you need, before you approve it.
Font Licensing, Explained Simply
A font is software, and using it is governed by a licence. Foundries commonly license each kind of use separately: installing on computers, embedding in websites, embedding in apps, using in broadcast or ebooks, and sometimes using in logos. A licence bought for one use rarely covers the others, which is where most surprise invoices come from.
| Licence type | Covers | Common catch |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | Installing on a set number of computers to make documents and images | Limited seats; does not cover websites or apps |
| Web | Embedding with CSS on websites | Often priced by monthly page views; may be subscription |
| App | Embedding in mobile or desktop apps | Usually priced per app or per title |
| Digital ads, ebook, broadcast | Specific media uses | Separate fees for each medium |
| Logo or trademark use | Using the letterforms in a registered mark | Some licences restrict or exclude it |
| Open Font License (OFL) | Free commercial use, embedding and modification | Cannot sell the font itself; modified versions follow naming rules |
The Mistakes That Cost Money
Most font licensing problems come from five avoidable mistakes. Some foundries, notably Monotype, have stepped up enforcement, with reports of unsolicited website audits followed by invoices of up to $25,000. Red Hat recorded a $500,000 charge to settle a licensing claim from Agfa Monotype in an earlier, well-known case.
- 'Free for personal use' fonts in a business logo. Common on free font websites, and not licensed for commercial use.
- A desktop licence used on the website. Embedding a font in a site needs a web licence.
- A designer's licence used by the client. Licences usually belong to the purchaser. The business needs its own.
- Seat limits exceeded. A five-seat licence installed across a 40-person team.
- Subscription fonts left in the brand. If you cancel a subscription service, you may lose the right to use fonts in new materials.
Free, Licensed or Custom?
Open-licensed fonts are a legitimate choice, and many are excellent, but they are also the most widely used. Licensed retail families offer more distinctiveness at moderate cost. Custom typefaces cost the most up front but become owned assets with no per-seat or per-view fees, which suits larger brands with many users and products.
- Open-licensed: Google Fonts families and Indian multi-script families such as Mukta by Ek Type. Free, safe to embed, less distinctive.
- Retail licensed: families from independent and major foundries. More distinctive; check every use is licensed.
- Custom or modified: drawn for the brand, or extended from an open-licensed base. Most distinctive; best for scale and multiple scripts.
What To Ask Your Designer For
At handover, you should receive the names of every font in the identity, where each is used, which licences are required for your planned uses, and either the licences themselves or instructions to buy them in your company's name. Your brand guidelines should list this, so future agencies do not guess.
See what you should receive from a branding project.
Where We Fit
Kalex designs typographic systems with licensing planned from the start, across websites, packaging and motion. See our brand identity service or talk to us.