With its debut typeface Innovator Grotesk, Yep! Type Foundry pitches its radical font licensing

Designed by Roman Shamin of Lisbon-based Yep! Type Foundry, Innovator Grotesk is a highly versatile neo-grotesque typeface tailored specifically for user interface design. As both a type and a user interface designer, Shamin has long been frustrated by the limitations and complications of using traditional fonts in screen design. “Innovator Grotesk wasn’t born from inspiration; it was born from the intent to solve specific pain points,” Shamin explains. One of the most significant pain points Shamin aimed to address was vertical metrics, a typically overlooked aspect in print design but a crucial element in screen design.

“While no one cares about [vertical metrics] in print design, they can cause annoying problems on screens. The space above and below characters affects whether text labels look properly aligned with buttons, dropdowns and other UI elements,” Shamin elaborates. By setting font metrics to ensure text is centred within its bounding box, Innovator Grotesk saves countless hours in UI design and front-end development, eliminating the need for tedious manual adjustments. Aesthetically, Innovator Grotesk strikes a delicate balance between neutrality and expressiveness. “The glyphs ‘c,’ ‘e,’ ‘n,’ ‘o’ and ‘s’ are on team ‘Neutrality.’ Meanwhile, ‘f,’ ‘j,’ ‘r,’ ‘t’ and ‘y’ play for team ‘Expressiveness,’ with their diagonal cuts and slightly stressed and squared bends adding subtle techy and industrial vibes,” Shamin notes. This balance makes Innovator Grotesk ideal for both plain text in small sizes and branding work in larger sizes.

Innovator Grotesk is the first typeface to be released by Yep! Type Foundry, which Shamin launched with a very special and pointed intention. “I found Yep! Type to revolutionise font licensing,” Shamin states. Traditional font licensing often comes with various constraints and potential legal pitfalls, from tracking device counts to managing web traffic metrics. Shamin’s approach is radically simple – two types of licences, trial and commercial.

The trial licence is tailored for designers and agencies to create work for clients, but not for their own branding. Priced at just $1 per font or $18 per type family, these trial fonts are fully functional, with no character set limitations. The commercial licence, on the other hand, comes in four tiers based on company size, ranging from $10 per font for startups to $10,000 per font for large enterprises. Crucially, there’s no need to upgrade the licence as the company grows; and in this case, the designer or agency can use the typeface in their own identity.

“For agencies, the choice is simple,” he says, “if you’re using Innovator Grotesk as a design tool, similar to Figma or Framer, the trial licence will meet your needs. If you require the font as an asset for your own branding, such as for your website or business cards, then you should opt for a commercial licence. If you need the font both as a tool and an asset, you purchase both licences.”

Shamin’s licensing model removes the stress and complexity that often accompanies font licences. “The licence ensures that neither you nor your company will accidentally violate the agreement, even if your website traffic spikes overnight,” he assures. This stress-free approach makes Innovator Grotesk a straightforward commodity – pay once, and it’s yours, with no further complications.

For clients, this radically simplifies the process of licensing a typeface, with no additional maintenance issues or legal risks, while designers enjoy the simplicity. “Ultimately, the type foundry benefits because, with no friction, designers and agencies become advocates for the foundry. It’s a genuine win-win situation,” Shamin asserts.