Type Foundry of the Month: The League of Moveable Type
This month’s type foundry is The League of Moveable Type, an open-source collaboration among designers on the web. The League’s manifesto urges designers to use the best standards for type on the web. Anyone can request to add a font to The League’s collection, but the founders will hand pick the best typefaces to add to their open, licensed collection. Some of the type designers are well known, and The League of Moveable Type has made their own versions of these designers’ typefaces for its Open Type Movement. Other fonts are new creations that meet the standards the founders require.
The Open Type Movement
The Open Type Movement is The League’s attempt to encourage sharing and collaboration in the web design community. The founders note that this movement is not about asking designers to lose/give up money or profits. The designers behind The League of Moveable Type absolutely think that their fellow designers should make money off their work. However, they also believe they should change their thinking about business to reflect the idea that “maybe there’s nothing wrong with giving things away sometimes.” The hope behind The Open Type Movement is that more and more designers will feel compelled to add typefaces and make contributions to the design community at large, fostering collaboration.
The Fonts
Here are just a few of my favorite fonts from this unique foundry:
All images by The League of Moveable Type.
League Gothic
This predecessor to this typeface was made in 1903 by Morris Fuller Benton, and the original, Alternate Gothic No. 1, is now in the public domain. The League created its own version of this font to be used on the web. League Gothic gives a nice structural feel to any headline with its tall x-height and bold strokes.
Raleway
This is one of my personal favorites. Raleway is used all over the web and for good reason. It’s light, easily readable, and pairs well with many display typefaces when used as body copy. Raleway was created as a display font in 2010 by Mat Mclnerney but has since has been expanded to nine different weights for all kinds of uses.
Sorts Mill Goudy
An updated take on the classic Goudy Old Style, this font shows subtle calligraphic qualities. Goudy Old Style is known for its readability in print, and this typeface brings that readability to the Open Type Movement.
Open to Everyone
One of the best things about The League of Moveable Type is that it’s open to everyone. Anyone can download and use their collection of fonts, and even better, it’s all free. I think The League’s mission to increase collaboration and elevate the standards of type design is admirable. Next time I need a free font for a project, I’m sure I’ll be pulling one from their collection.
