Type Maker
A curated set of tools, books, and platforms that cover everything you need to sketch, design, build, test, and refine your own typefaces.
This one’s for the type-obsessed. The ones who zoom in at 6400% just to nudge a curve. The ones who’ve always wanted to create a typeface from scratch, or finally need something custom and are ready to take the leap.
Designing type isn’t just a technical skill. It’s an obsession. A long game of spacing, structure, and “why does that lowercase ‘g’ feel off by half a pixel?” But it’s also wildly satisfying. Whether you’re building a full family from scratch or tweaking a few glyphs for a brand system, the tools here have your back.
We’ve pulled together the essentials: books and educational courses that break down the thinking behind great type design and walk you through the craft, editors to shape your letterforms, testers to preview them in context, and utilities to clean up the messy stuff under the hood.
Even if you never release your own font, playing with type at this level will make you a sharper, more intentional designer. You’ll see fonts differently. Use them better. Respect the craft. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll finally fix that “g.”
Blaze Type: How to Design Fonts
A practical, designer-written guide to building type from scratch, packed with smart process steps and none of the theory overload.
Domestika
Expand your creative capabilities with a wide range of online courses, embracing everything from traditional painting to digital illustration, led by industry experts.
Type West Online
Yearlong online postgraduate certificate in type design with weekly instructor-led classes, weekend workshops, and access to an extensive typographic archive.
Type Design Class
Online font making courses and workshops that teach type design fundamentals, practical production, and hands on exercises with community access.
Calligraphr
Turns your handwriting into a real, usable font with a simple template, a pen, and just enough editing tools to keep things clean.
RoboFont
A stripped-back font editor with deep customization, built for working without distractions or rigid systems.
FontForge
Free font editor with pro-level tools and an old-school interface that takes patience but gets the job done.
FontLab
Full-featured font editor for building, spacing, and refining professional typefaces across formats and families.
FontStruct
Browser font builder that uses a grid editor to craft modular, display and pixel fonts, exports TrueType files, and hosts a huge community gallery and download hub.
Glyphs
Mac-only font editor with a clean interface, smart tools, and the best balance of control and usability in day-to-day type design.
Font Proofer
Font testing setup for type designers who want live previews, clean proofs, and no back-and-forth between apps slowing down their workflow.
FontGoggles
Free desktop tool for previewing, testing and comparing fonts with full support for OpenType features and variable axes.
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