Commissioned Retail Font: questions/seeking advice

Brian Dove
Brian Dove Posts: 17
in Type Business
Hey y'all,

First, if there is an existing thread on this topic, feel free to point me in that direction, but I couldn't find anything that helped with the exact scenario I'm curious about.

I've been contacted by someone interested in commissioning a typeface that they will use for their brand as well as sell on a few different platforms. Their budget is fairly low ($3-5k, scope is 7-8 weights with matching italics) so they are pitching this as a sort of "retail font collab" project (i.e. I get paid some $ for making the typeface, and also get some sort of royalty split and/or distribution rights). This is not a type foundry, but they do have one other typeface they distribute on a few platforms (another brand font, so I'd imagine it was a similarly structured project).

We haven't discussed details about rights, distribution, or royalties yet so I am here to see if anyone else has tackled a similar project. Curious about your thoughts on what royalty share and/or distribution rights seems reasonable for that budget, and any other advice on structuring this kind of project.

Thanks in advance! 
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Comments

  • Brian Dove
    Brian Dove Posts: 17
    @Thomas Phinney @John Hudson thanks, yeah I am definitely aware that the budget is extremely low for a custom typeface, which is why the ownership and royalty side of things will be crucial to me deciding if this feels worth it.
    At this price (or even 3× this price!), you should own it, and they get a license for their branding usage, and a non-exclusive license for retail distribution, with them taking no more than 50% of the retail.
    This is roughly what my gut was telling me too, @Thomas Phinney. Feels like the only way this would feel worthwhile to me. If it's something I own the rights to and fits well in my own library, it could possibly be worth it in my particular situation (I have a full time job outside of type, I'm aware the budget doesn't remotely cover the labor for something of this scope).

    Thank you both for your thoughts!
  • James Montalbano
    James Montalbano Posts: 137
    edited March 31
    @Thomas Phinney @John Hudson have both offered excellent advice. My advice would be to"Run Away, Run Away". I cannot imagine future retail sales getting you close to what such a large project would be worth.
  • Brian Dove
    Brian Dove Posts: 17
    @James Montalbano haha, thank you. Yeah I suppose that was really my main question—I'm aware that the budget is ludicrously low for custom type, but would it be worth it with ownership and distribution rights. Sounds like the answer is probably no!
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,341
    edited March 31
    Add a zero and consider a time-sensitive licence.
    If you offer your client two (or more) options, they can choose between, say, a higher cost and full exclusivity, and a lower cost with full rights to resell accruing to you after a few years.
  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 3,125
    edited March 31
    Fundamentally, I would expect a commissioned gig from somebody with your background, that is done to their requirements that they would own or have temporary exclusivity, to pay something like 10 times what they are offering. Just as a ballpark.

    So then you have to ask yourself if the likelihood of this paying off in terms of retail sales and your ownership and own sales... makes up for that. Also, is their art direction something you actively want as a positive, or is it a negative? Are you excited for the partnership aspects?

    Still, yeah, not exciting.
  • Johannes Neumeier
    Johannes Neumeier Posts: 402
    Nick Shinn said:
    Add a zero and consider a time-sensitive licence.
    If you offer your client two (or more) options, they can choose between, say, a higher cost and full exclusivity, and a lower cost with full rights to resell accruing to you after a few years.

    My comment exactly. The budget is a magnitude too small, regardless of retail projections.

    I don't blame buyers, either, because there's a lot of this "36 days of type", "you can draw a typeface in a day", vibe going around, and it's near impossible for even most graphic designers to gauge the scope and quality of what they wish for.

    At a minimum you are looking at 4 masters, and let's just generously say, only à 200 glyphs, that's 800 glyphs and a coherent total design, iterations, metrics, engineering. $5k / 800: you are getting paid about one fancy coffee per glyph. Or, if you say you want to earn $100 hourly, you'd need to draw approx 15 glyphs per hour. Don't even think about drawing two Medium masters :p

    Since they are not a type foundry actively promoting and distributing (my guess) I wouldn't bet much on the added retail value of the collaboration. They are just another middle man taking another cut. You can still license a bespoke version to them for their client, and retail entirely yourself.

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