Typefaces you can't live without.

[OTEM]

I am sorting out my Font Library and I have disabled/deleted around 60-70%. I am looking for free typefaces that aren't gimmicky, but are slick. So dafont is barely useful, although, I just got Yanone Kaffeesatz which looks nice. The majority of the time I use Sans Serif.

If anybody could suggest specific typefaces they cannot live without, along with the source, that would be a great help... I need some direction.

Also, what do you think about paying for typefaces?

I am just curious, I don't have any money.

Thanks.

OTEM (...I am compiling a list of the typefaces I have kept, so I might post and ask for some advice later).

[morea]

You have to spend money to make money. Free fonts are generally worth what you pay for them.

Maybe this thread will help you:
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30850

actually, that one is a bit silly. Try this one:

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24690

[PrintDriver]

Even most 'free' fonts require payment if used for commercial purposes.
You expect to be paid for your design work, right?
So does a font developer. Or most of them anyway.
Read your click-wrap agreement carefully.

[OTEM]

You also have to have money to spend money.

[morea]

No you don't; that's what credit cards are for. :p

It's a question of priorities. When funds are short, you have to make sacrifices - don't go out to dinner. Bring a sack lunch instead of ordering with everybody else in the office. Make your coffee at home instead of stopping for a cappuccino on the way into work. Personally, as much as I'd LIKE to have one, I don't have a cell phone or an iPod or many other "luxury" items.

PD is totally right... we expect to be paid for design work. Font developers should be paid for theirs.

You should look at your fonts as investments, or tools. You don't need a million of them... if you have to, you can make due with a good sans serif or two, a good serif font, and a script font. Your software probably came with some, for that matter.

If you need to have a specific font for a certain project, add the cost into the bill for your design services.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Good (truly) free fonts are very hard to find, especially non-gimmicky ones. Many free fonts are literally only samples – they will be missing important characters, like vowels.

One option is cheap fonts, but just like with the free ones, you get what you pay for. You can get font collections in the software sections of computer or electronics superstores; I bought one a while ago that had 1,000 fonts for $10. The collection was for a PC though, I don't know if they make these cheap collections for Macs, though I'm sure they're out there. These fonts tend to be old, easily corrupted and also missing parts (not characters, but file information that make it usable). You may get a gem or two out of a cheap collection, but you should be wary.

[PrintDriver]

Freeware and some Shareware fonts have poorly drawn outlines. We are still running about 25% bad on Freeware TrueType fonts when trying to get them through a rip for print. If your design depends on a freeware or shareware TT font, have it rip checked before committing.

We're also coming up against a large number of fonts, usually in the Grunge category but also in the Groovy and the Outlandish categories (my own descriptives), that we're not able to cut on a vinyl plotter. Some of them won't convert to outline properly either. Designers should be aware of final output usage.

[Bob]

What do you think about paying for typeface design?

What happens to old typographers these days? I wonder.

[MD]

Buying a CD/DVD clip art collection is a pretty cheap way to pad your standard font collection. Some of the collections that I have here at work came with a pretty decent starter set of fonts from companies like agfa and letraset. Most of the 1000 fonts included in these collections are classics like Optima, Bodoni, Goudy, Algerian, Caslon, News Gothic, Cooper Black and Egyptian.

Of course sometimes you get a knockoff fonts - Still of pretty decent quality
Garamand instead of Garamond
Eurasia instead of Eurostyle
Francis Gothic instead of Franklin Gothic

[mfn]

If I was building a type library, I'd pay particular attention to "pro" fonts like Myriad Pro and Minion Pro. They have Open Type features and alternate character sets as well as several different weights and condensed versions that give you the most for your money.

[Buda]

What do you think about paying for typeface design?

What happens to old typographers these days? I wonder.

Have you seen Helvetica the film? They're all on there. They are busy being exotic and ancient. Lots of them are really cute. Am I the only one that finds old people cute? They are soooooo passionate about fonts and their gestures and tone of voice and expression show that fonts are what keep them going.

[vxhorusxv]

You could also look at small, one-person operations like exljbris and Smeltery. exljbris is the website of a wonderful gentlemen named Jos who licenses almost all of his fonts for free [for commercial and personal]. If you make some money off of using one of his free designs it would be nice to make a donation to his site, but he doesn't ask for it.

http://www.josbuivenga.demon.nl/

License:
Font license information

• This font is free for personal and commercial use
• This font may not be modified
• This font may not be distributed -not online nor on any media- without my permission
• Embedding (in PDF's, Flash files and programs) is allowed
• This font may not be sold
• This font is the intellecual property of Jos Buivenga
• Exljbris (Jos Buivenga) is not liable for any damage resulting from the use of this font


That said, I agree with everyone else on here when they said that fonts are an investment and are more critical to your work than any other assets you can procure. MyFonts.com is a legitimate reseller that offers a lot of faces from both well known and some more under-the-radar foundries ... often the prices start under $25 per face [not family]. Buy smart and you will only need several for a long time. Get yourself a good serif text face, a geometric sans in at least 2 weights, and possibly a serif tilting like Trajan, depending on your client mix.

And - I don't remember who said it earlier in this thread - but if your client demands a specific face, then bill them for it. You wouldn't buy their photography or illustration for them.

[GraphixNPrint]

One thing I noticed, if you go with an open face library from "name a website here" prices can be up to US $9000 ... then you go to Adobe's website and can get it for < $2500 .. so shop around.

[jamodu]

Splash out - font's are your friends. :) I might save my pennies and treat myself to something from FontSmith. www.fontsmith.com Not too sure what my girlfriend will have to say about the matter though :/

[pantonedream]

Splash out - font's are your friends. :) I might save my pennies and treat myself to something from FontSmith. www.fontsmith.com (http://www.fontsmith.com) Not too sure what my girlfriend will have to say about the matter though :/

Oooh. Lola is looking mighty nice.