Blaze Type: How to Design Fonts

How to Design Fonts is a structured, process-focused guide from Blaze Type that lays out the full workflow of designing a typeface from the ground up. It covers everything from sketching early forms to final production, with a clear emphasis on precision, rhythm, and system thinking. The writing is straightforward and smart without overexplaining, and the structure allows you to follow it step by step or dip in as needed.

The book begins with uppercase forms and moves in logical progression — setting proportions, establishing contrast, spacing, and working through common structural problems. From there, it shifts into lowercase construction, punctuation, numerals, and accent characters, reinforcing how each part fits within the overall system. There’s a strong focus on consistency and refinement throughout, especially in the spacing and kerning chapters, which are thorough without being overly technical.

Production is also covered in detail. You’ll find practical advice on setting metrics, testing readability, preparing files for export, and handling version control. There’s also a section on licensing and intellectual property, written from the perspective of a foundry that deals with real-world usage every day. If you already work in type or want to move beyond just drawing letters and into producing finished, usable fonts, this book gives you a solid framework to work from.