Font guides

Anyone can be a type designer. These cover the parts nobody explains: how a font gets made, which file goes where, and what you’re allowed to do with it.

• How to make your own fontStart from a working typeface, push it with sliders until it’s yours, check every glyph and download a real font file.
• OTF vs TTF vs WOFF2Which font file to install on your computer, which one goes on your website, and how to install a font on Mac and Windows.
• Font licenses explainedDesktop, web and app licenses, commercial use, client work, logos and open licenses, in plain words.
• How to install fontsInstall a font on Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android, add it to the apps you design in, and fix a font that won’t show up.
• How to sell a font you madeGet a font ready to sell, write its license, price it, and choose where to sell it, from your own site to the big marketplaces.
• How to choose a font for your brandWhat a brand font has to do, how to test one, how many you need, and when to stop shopping and make your own.
• The best font making softwareEleven font editors compared on price, platform, learning curve and what they export, from free open source tools to pro apps.
• An easier FontForge alternativeWhat FontForge is great at, where it loses beginners, and the easier ways to make a font when you don’t want to draw every curve.

Ready to try it? Open the editor or browse the fonts.