Other than license agreements, do any of you include other documents in your font packages? I'm referring to things like installation instructions, promotional materials, contact information, explanations regarding the differences between the OTF, TTF and variable fonts that might be included in the package, etc.?
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I think the more complicated the font (Opentype features, variable fonts, etc.) the more documentation and visuals will benefit both customer and foundry. If a user guide is designed correctly, it can almost function as Brand Guidelines for the font.
Specifically with regards to installation guides, my guess would be that a user who doesn't know how to install a font file probably doesn't know they don't know. Everyone expects to able to double click to install all software. Most of the time for fonts that's fine. There are specific use cases where going through a font manager isn't going to work but those seem to be few and far between. I've a good feel for this because we don't even cover it in our FAQ and we identify only a few a year as technical support inquiries.
Clearly I can download it from the site, if available, but I like to keep them.
Next to that, it's also a bit of branding, giving the buyer more than just a fontfile with the transaction. (something to print, read or peek further into).
Check out Sebastian Nagel's "Tierra Nueva" 24-page long specimen: https://fdi-type.de/download/typespecimen-tierranueva.pdf
and then especially this spread:
(in case you're wondering: yes, that whale is actually a glyph in the font, and so are the pirate ship, the ornate compass rose, and the mermaid. How do others point out to buyers that a font features a Mermaid glyph?)
Well, so I’d ask: what is the point of having a "disagree" button if there is no articulation for the reasons of the disagreement?
I can’t wait until I get troll status for whimsical reasons! :-D