I've decided to release all my unfinished fonts. After years of pushing them in front of me, I realized that if I want to give each a proper release, they might never see the light of day. So, instead, I'm making 25 font families available as beta versions on my website. This is both a way of making peace with the realities of running a solo type foundry while freelancing as well as a practical move — although not 100% finished, these fonts are already highly usable and ready for the real world.

Why?

Turning forty in 2024 has brought some realizations: I’m not particularly entrepreneurial and have never felt the urge to scale beyond a one-man studio. I’ve worked this way since my graduation from Type & Media in 2009 and have never felt any external or internal pressure to expand my operations. I’ve drawn a lot of fonts over the years — some were commissioned by clients, others were just ideas I wanted to try — only to stop development when reaching the MVP stage, resulting in functional fonts that lack just the final push.

Although I’m happy with my setup — running a solo type foundry while freelancing — one thing has become very clear: I might never have the time to fully finish each font and give it an individual release. With a growing backlog, there’s a real chance the fonts will just sit hidden on my computer forever. So instead, I’m releasing them all at once, in their current form, as beta versions.

This approach isn’t new — many foundries today release unfinished fonts, offering early access while refining them based on real-world use and feedback. Some foundries might find different ways to move forward in a similar situation; I’ve decided to carry on, keeping things as simple and self-sustaining as possible while preserving room for my freelance activities (of which there are many). I’ll see whether this proves to be a long-term solution or just a step toward something else. But for now, it got me thinking — perhaps this can also be a valid way to run a type foundry?

How?

Given that it’s really not within my power to design a custom presentation for each font individually, I’ve developed a system that automates almost every part of the font presentation — specimens, testers, descriptions, technical details, and static images are all generated with little to no intervention, while hopefully still being attractive and doing the fonts justice.

Although I am not a coder, the system serves me well for now. Additionally, having the freedom to control every bit of the website is absolutely priceless. Speaking of price, there’s also some automation at work there. The fonts are versioned from 0.1 to 0.9 (1.0 being a finished release) and the price is calculated as a multiplier of the version number and the base price: the lower the version number, the lower the price. Yet another reason to finish the fonts as soon as possible, am I right?

The Lab

These fonts will form the Setup Type Lab, a space for pre-release typefaces, unfinished fonts, unreleased custom fonts, sketches, and experiments.

For years, these fonts were accessible only to my friends and long-time clients who have already used them in books, identities, and campaigns, with each project helping to shape the fonts further along. Now, I’m making them available for licensing to everyone — this is my way of making peace with the reality of running a solo type foundry — and maybe, with help from real-world users, I can push these fonts across the finish line.

Important note: Please always check the character set and features carefully before purchasing. If something is missing, let me know — I’d be happy to make updates!