Why should I buy a font?

It’s a valid question — especially nowadays, in a climate where great, free type is readily available from places like Google.

But those fonts… many of them are used a lot. Some of them are experiencing overuse on a level that’s detrimental to their viability. In short, you should pick the type family that represents your project best, whether it’s a free or a paid license. Always make sure that you’ve licensed ANY font you use.

Remember: type is really one of the only design elements that we use every single day that was created by someone else. A person. A person like Mark Simonson, Erik Spiekermann, Tobias Frere Jones…. and little ol’ me!

I may not be a type titan like those guys, but licensing the type you use is simply the right — and legal — thing to do!

Of note: you don’t actually “buy” fonts. You LICENSE them for whatever use you’re putting them to — in exactly the same way you license photo rights or graphics rights.

NEVER SHARE FONTS. IT HURTS ACTUAL PEOPLE.

What you can and can’t do
under an AF font license:

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO…

…install font files on one to three (1–3) devices only.

…temporarily provide font files to an output producer (e.g., a printer) who agrees to use them exclusively for your work, agrees to the terms of this license, and deletes all copies when the job is done. 

…embed the fonts into a PDF or ebook and send the resulting file to third parties. 

…upload the unchanged, licensed fonts for use on one (1) website only. The server must be secured against direct file access. Any additional websites require additional licenses.

…install the font/s on a server, but only if it does not make them accessible to any third parties.

…create products or designs using the unaltered font/s, and sell or distribute those products, as long as the font files themselves are not accessible.

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO…

…make the font/s accessible in any way to any third parties except as described in the section above.

…alter, convert, redistribute, or share the files in any way except as described above.

Okay, so how do I install a font?

Fonts need to be installed in order for them to appear in your Fonts menu, accessible to all applications. Happily, this is a very easy thing to do!

First off, your AF fonts will have downloaded as a ZIP archive. Doubleclick the ZIP file to uncompress it, and find the folder where the resultant font files live. (You’ll also find a license PDF there — read it!)

Now, you can install them!

On both Windows and Mac, installing fonts is as easy as rightclicking on the font file and selecting Install. That’s it!