So these fonts were being sold retail, but then were bought out and pulled out? That's pretty interesting (and equally rare). Doesn't the client mind that it's too late to make it exclusive, at least not totally?

> what should a type designer charge

It depends on your personal circumstances (like where you live, and what reputation you have), but I'd say around $1500, plus-minus $500, for a typical three-font family, for one or two years. No fancy hinting or character sets.

hhp

...

> $1500 is low-ball hobbyist pricing.

Well, few of us already have a foothold in the custom type design business...
You gotta start somewhere, especially in this economy.

Also note that a lot of times fonts that sell in retail aren't as polished as a big client would need.
For one thing, they might pay a bit more for bringing their version up to par.

> The fact that the fonts have already been sold eliminates the exclusivity.

But in the case of Revolution for example, that apparently didn't stop them! Were they deceived?

If the font in question is selling briskly:
1) Nobody would want any imaginary exclusivity on it.
2) Yes, you wouldn't give it up cheaply!

But most of us don't make $1500 per font per year. And this is exactly why the client can get de facto exclusivity even after sales have been made. It's just another phenomenon of what might in fact be called "hobbyist" type design, where a person has another day job, but still has the talent/skill/determination to make fonts that some clients love. This client might see a nice font that hasn't been distributed very much and decide to buy it off the market, to halt (more like reduce*) distribution. It makes sense, no?

* Plus it's not like a "real" exclusive font never leaves the company's computers... For example the British Airways font that Monotype custom-made isn't exceptionally hard to come by, and they paid an arm and a leg for it.

hhp

...

Hrant, James, thanks for the input so far.

bj

From my experience working as Art Director for two fashion magazines I can say that the exclusivity is not such a big issue most of the time. It is more common in advertising or branding.

If you are one of the trend-setters -