Polytype is Lewis MacDonald’s one-man type foundry, established in 2016. I design the fonts, and I’m the one answering the emails.

I perform fully bespoke custom type services and produce original, characterful typefaces for retail, with a focus on combining high technical quality with a sense of humour. I’ve licensed typefaces to, and created custom typefaces for, clients such as TED Talks, Cannes Film Festival, Kleenex, Reese’s, Miro, and Carlsberg.

There are three main license types:

I provide trial versions of all Polytype typefaces so you can test them out before going ahead with licensing. They include all the glyphs and features of the paid versions.

Trial fonts can be used for internal testing, for pitching work to clients, and for non-commercial student projects.

All font licenses are purchased for a one-time fee. Licenses are valid perpetually: no recurring costs or expiration dates.

If your requirements change and you need to move to a larger licensing tier, you only need to pay the price difference between the two tiers. Get in touch if you need to upgrade your license.

You can modify the outlines of fonts to create an image, but not to create a modified, usable font file. Get in touch if you’re interested in a custom version of a Polytype font.

A Desktop License lets you install fonts on your computer and use them to create almost any static or video content. You can make printed products, create images for the web, use the fonts in logos, and create videos for social media, YouTube, or Vimeo.

Price is based on the number of users, meaning how many people in your organisation use the fonts, or how many devices they are installed on.

Desktop fonts are delivered in OTF format.

A Web License lets you use fonts for live text on a website.

You buy a Web License for a single domain (e.g. company.com) specified at the time of purchase, which cannot be transferred.

Price is based on your site’s traffic, measured by monthly pageviews. This means the total combined number of times any page under the registered domain has been accessed in the course of any given calendar month.

Web fonts are delivered in WOFF and WOFF2 formats.

An App License lets you embed fonts into a software application (mobile, desktop, or video game).

You buy an App License for a single app name specified at the time of purchase, which cannot be transferred.

Price is based on the number of lifetime app downloads. This means the total number of times the app has been downloaded across all distribution platforms since its release.

App fonts are delivered in OTF format.

A Trial License lets you use fonts for free for testing, pitching work to clients, or doing student projects.

Polytype trial fonts include all the glyphs and features of the paid versions, so you can see exactly what you will be getting if you purchase a license. Variable fonts are not provided, though.

You can use trial fonts in work that you are pitching to clients.

Students can use trial fonts in non-commercial, student work. Feel free to share it online, too – just give me a shout-out.

Trial fonts are delivered in OTF format.

An Enterprise License lets you use fonts for anything (desktop, web, and app), with no usage limits.

Enterprise licensing is available on request, with costs based on factors such as organisation size and revenue, current font usage requirements, and potential future font usage requirements.

This is the person or organisation actually using the fonts. This is slightly different for each license type:

If you haven’t launched yet, then you don’t have any monthly pageviews or lifetime downloads yet to base your license purchase on.

In this situation, you can purchase the smallest terms available, then get in touch to upgrade at a later date when you have some traffic or download stats to guide you.

All licensing requires you to accept the terms of the Privacy Policy, the Terms of Service, and all applicable EULAs:

I use Stripe to process all major payment cards securely. Prices are listed in GBP.

I do not offer refunds for license purchases. However, if there is a technical defect that I am unable to fix, a refund will be issued.