FontFont: 2 releases each year, each with about 2-4 new families and many more OT updates – so, 4-8
Alejandro Paul (Umbrella): I don't even want to count

Five a month, pretty much like clockwork (although the clock is a little rusty), so 60 a year.

Wow - that's a lot!

(I'd also welcome any estimates for foundries other than one's own, if people happen to know.)

T

Are you interested in any distinction between the number of originals and scans/digitizations?

I'd suggest asking Lorp how many faces and families get added to MyFonts each year. Of course MyFonts doesn't carry everything, but that would be countered by the old stuff they add as other designers join their ranks - so I'd guess that the yearly total would be pretty accurate.

Another idea might be to ping the ATypI country delegates - but being one myself I don't have a number for the country I represent.

Stephen: an interesting side question, but not something I needed to figure out.

T

MyFonts has a what's new section in which you can look at recent releases month by month. If someone has patience to go through it, and check on the sources for each font you could get a pretty good handle on your question.

FontBureau has a news section that lists their releases by date for the past few years.

For me, about one commercial release a year with all the trimings in at least four weights seems to be the schedule these days. For whatever reason, custom work seems to go much faster.

"For whatever reason, custom work seems to go much faster."

LOL!!! :-)

ChrisL

I agree with Eric that custom work does go much faster. I guess it has something to do with getting paid when the work is delivered!

I have no real statistics, but in the custom realm I worked on about 200 fonts last year. Not all complete designs, but I think I touched on that number.

James

"...getting paid when the work is delivered!"

That is exactly what brought a smile to my face too :-)

ChrisL

The payment is nice, even if it is 90 days later :)
For me with custom work, the deadline seems to speak the loudest. On my self iniated work, I'm prone to let time work out the problems, maybe let a font simmer on the back burner for awhile. I can only paraphrase, but about 5 years ago Eye magazine featured a Gerard Unger interview in which he mentioned having to build in time for reflection as a way to counteract the sometimes speedy process of drawing glyphs.

200 fonts a year? So you average less than 2 days work per font? You are one smokin' dude James!

ChrisL

I said I touched 200 fonts last year. I touched them for different reasons. Sometimes its hinting, sometimes its changing font formats, sometimes its adding extra glyphs, sometimes its designing new weights, and sometimes its designing new fonts. The work could take several minutes to several weeks. I have on occasion drawn a complete Type1 character set over the weekend, and kerned it on Monday, but I agree with Eric, that it is important for reflection. So you do wind up saving the reflection for your own work. Your custom clients are not paying you to reflect.

James