Documentation to include with fonts

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.?

Comments

  • For my fonts I include the fonts themselves, the SIL License text, the SIL OFL FAQ document, the fontlog.txt file and sometimes a small text file giving a description of the font and/or how it came to be made.
    Sometimes I also include some promotional material (a poster of the font).
    I assume people who download a font file know how to install a font.
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,195
    I used to include a specimen PDF in the packages, but now those are downloadable separately from my distributors.
  • JoyceKetterer
    JoyceKetterer Posts: 805
    edited October 2019
    Much of how I conduct myself in business is based on the expectation people skim if they read at all and an overwhelmed person doesn't read.  So we try to keep everything to a minimum.  EULA only in the download file and all features and FAQ matter are on our website.  It probably helps that the only users who see font files got them directly from us - so we don't need to tell them how to find us.

    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.   
  • For all my releases I make an extra specimen with a bit of story about the concept and creation, accompanied by pages filled with the full character set. Some of my fonts use a lot of private use area unicodes, so if the user doesn't have the software to access those, the manual serves as a good copy-paste source.

    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).
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited October 2019
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Anybody including CSS snippets and instructions for web use?
  • Matthew Smith
    Matthew Smith Posts: 89
    edited October 2019
    Anybody including CSS snippets and instructions for web use?
    When I purchased Blanco, Dave Foster not only included css files, but also included additional subset web fonts which was extremely helpful.
  • k.l.
    k.l. Posts: 109
    Anybody including CSS snippets and instructions for web use?
    Yes.
  • @James Montalbano   I understand the impulse to remove analytics but the only way I had the courage of my conviction to stop making pdf specimens was that I saw only 2% of visitors download them. I forget the percentage that uses the typer but it's one of the more popular features on the site and I think that has replaced specimens for most of our customers.  
  • Kent Lew
    Kent Lew Posts: 930
    Being one of the 2%, I’m very sorry that the analytics have led you (and others) to forego PDF specimens. :-(
  • Theunis de Jong
    Theunis de Jong Posts: 112
    edited October 2019
    A well-made specimen sheet is a showcase of what the font is capable of, and often it is a piece of art on its own.

    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?)
  • @James Montalbano   I understand the impulse to remove analytics but the only way I had the courage of my conviction to stop making pdf specimens was that I saw only 2% of visitors download them. I forget the percentage that uses the typer but it's one of the more popular features on the site and I think that has replaced specimens for most of our customers.  
    Personally, I find the typer not much useful. Unless there is a PDF, I am pretty much put off from purchasing a license. I need to see the typeface in actual typesetting, even if it’s not a design specifically meant for extensive textsetting.
  • A well-made specimen sheet is a showcase of what the font is capable of, and often it is a piece of art on its own.

    Check out Sebastian Nagel's "Tierra Nueva" 24-page long specimen: https://fdi-type.de/download/typespecimen-tierranueva.pdf

    and then especially this spread:


    This reminds me of Gábor Kóthay’s Incognito, which was absolutely original with the idea of associating specific swashes behavior to Ovest, West, North and South (Occidens, Oriens, etc.)
  • JoyceKetterer
    JoyceKetterer Posts: 805
    edited October 2019
    @Theunis de Jong  It's not like we make no visuals.  Have you seen the halyard micro site?  It was our first release without what I would call a specimen sheet and, perhaps, more like what you mean.  I just no longer make a downloadable printer friendly pdf thingy showing what the fonts do.  Still feeling neglected?
  • OT: Who feels the need to put "disagree" each time they see a sentence they do noto agree with? I think I never used it. Ugh.
  • Claudio Piccinini
    Claudio Piccinini Posts: 681
    edited October 2019
    Now, what is the point of putting "disagree" when I just raised a question (and not even a statement)?

    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?
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  • @Claudio Piccinini the disagree button replaced the flag button at some point.  It deducts points and the moderators can identify trolls.  Whoever disagreed with you question was probably trying to be cute since you're not a troll.
  • @Claudio Piccinini the disagree button replaced the flag button at some point.  It deducts points and the moderators can identify trolls.  Whoever disagreed with you question was probably trying to be cute since you're not a troll.
    Thanks for the explanation. So a strange way to be cute, I guess. :)
    I can’t wait until I get troll status for whimsical reasons! :-D
  • I've sent this out and sometimes people are interested in it. 
    Your specimen book looks very beautiful, I mean this as “useful” as well. :)
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