Font Swap Guide & Common Swaps

 

When a submission includes a font that we have already determined we cannot license, it causes delays in our production process. In the event that winning files are submitted using a font on the Cannot License list, we require artists to replace it with a Minted font of their choice before we can move forward with production.

Additionally, if you submit winning files using a font that is not on our Minted Font List at all (meaning we haven't yet explored licensing for the font), we require that you provide us with an alternative Minted font of your choice that you would be comfortable using should we not be able to acquire the licensing for your font.

This guide is an overview of our Comprehensive Font List that will walk you through a high-level overview of the font swap process, including tips and tricks for finding a good swap.

The purpose of this guide is not to dissuade you from using non-Minted fonts in your submissions! We look to you to help us identify trends and stay on the cutting edge of design. We do, however, want to provide the resources necessary for you to feel confident when choosing a font swap.

 OVERVIEW

1. The Comprehensive Font List 
2. Identify what makes the font unique/Typography 101
3. Compare and Swap fonts
4. Tips and tricks
5. Further reading
6. Common Swaps
   
   

THE COMPREHENSIVE FONT LIST 

Brief overview of the list

• Our fonts team has put together a new Comprehensive Font List that they update on a regular basis. This list includes all fonts that Minted has licensed for editable and outlined use, as well as fonts that we cannot license. 
• Editable: We have around 3,600 fonts that we have licensed to use for editable text. These fonts can be used in printed orders and well as on our site in our customizer. 
• Outlined: We have around 450 additional fonts that we have licensed for outlined use only. These fonts can never be editable by the customer on our site, and can only be used in printed orders. 
• Cannot License: For a number of reasons, we are not always able to purchase a font. We have compiled a list of all of the fonts we know we are unable to license (approximately 1100) on the Cannot License list. Minted is not able to purchase fonts on this list. Out of consideration of fairness to the artist community, once a font has been added to this list, our team will not consider it for purchase again.

Identify where the non-Minted font is on this list

• Outline Only vs Cannot License vs not on List
  • At a minimum, we need the name of the Minted font (preferably with additional details such as tracking, etc.). You do not need to purchase the font to submit your files! 
• Outline Only: If the non-Minted font you want to use is on the Outline Only list, we cannot use it for editable text. When submitting using these fonts, please include an outlined version of the font in your files. If you don’t, there is a chance our team will be unable to outline internally and may reach out for new files, which can extend the production time and delay the launch of your design. 
• Cannot License: If the non-Minted font you want to use is on the Cannot License list, please replace the font with a Minted font. If files are submitted using a font from our Cannot License list, our team will reach out to you for new files, which may extend the production time. Please see our Compare and Swap Fonts section below for more details. 
• Not on the List: If the non-Minted font you’d like to use is not currently on our Comprehensive List, it might mean that our team has never looked into it before! If this is the case, our team will research the font and determine if it will be possible to purchase it for your design. Please provide an approved Minted font as a potential backup in case we are not able to purchase this font. This will help us speed up this step of the production process, getting your design onsite faster! You can either include the name of the Minted font in the provided artboard, or an additional layer using the Minted font.  If our team is unable to purchase the font they will have to choose a swap, so suggesting one can help speed up this step of the production process. 

IDENTIFY WHAT MAKES THE FONT UNIQUE/TYPOGRAPHY 101

The first step in finding a good swap for your non-Minted font is to analyze the font itself. There are a few things that our Fonts team always looks at when choosing swaps: the font’s contrast, the font’s stress, the font’s metrics, and unique characters of the font, all of which contribute to the overall feeling of the font. These elements each contribute to making a typeface feel and look unique. 

Font Contrast 

• Font Contrast is a technical term used to describe the difference between the thickest and thinnest parts of a letter, or character. 
• Typefaces with a larger difference are described as High Contrast, while typefaces with less difference are described as Low Contrast. Typefaces with no contrast are sometimes referred to as Monoline (though this is usually applied to scripts) 

Font Stress

• Font Stress is a technical term used to describe the way a font changes stroke weight due to (or in imitation of) the pen with which it was written. If you look at a round character in a typeface such as an “o” the direction that an imaginary line connecting the thinnest portions of the character leans is referred to as the Stress. This is most commonly discussed as horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Font Metrics

• Font Metrics include a wide range of metadata about a typeface, including character’s widths, heights, position of the baseline, as well as kerning adjustments built into the font. For font swaps, we are mostly interested in the height of the font, the ascenders, descenders, Cap Height, and X Height.

• This is especially important when swapping script fonts, which are highly variable between typefaces. 

Unique Characteristics

• When looking at a set of characters in a typeface, there are usually a small group that are entirely unique to that typeface, and are easily identifiable as belonging to that typeface. 
• These are particularly important when choosing a Minted font as a swap when your design is typography-heavy.

All of these contribute to the overall feeling of a font, which we can refer to as its personality. 

• For example, Brandon Grotesque and Bodoni Sans are both Sans Serif fonts. They both have a vertical stress, are geometric in design, and are a bit more formal-feeling. But Brandon Grotesque is a no contrast font, while Bodoni Sans is a high contrast font. These would not make a good match for a swap. 

• Blackstone is on our Outline Only list. Let’s say you wanted to use it for the bride’s name on a Bridal Shower Invitation, which has to be editable. Blackstone is a signature-feeling script font with a slight forward stress, lower contrast, and a fairly low cap and descender height for a script font. A good match, and a swap we often use is Segatha, which shares all of these features. 

COMPARE AND SWAP FONTS

Using the info from your analysis, identify which tab of the Comprehensive Font List the non-Minted font you need to replace best falls into. Go through that tab and review the font images. 

If you don’t have the Minted font you’d like to swap with, no need to purchase! Many fonts will be listed on external sites such as Adobe, MyFonts, or Creative Market that will allow you to view all glyphs in a typeface, or type out wherever line of text you’re trying to match. You can often save these preview images as a .png with a transparent background and drop them directly into your Illustrator document to get a sense of how the swap looks beside your original font. 

Our team often finds a 1:1 comparison of fonts to be the most effective tool when choosing a swap. You can make the original text slightly transparent and overlay other fonts on top to get the closest match. 

TIPS AND TRICKS

• If text doesn’t need to be editable, slight modifications can go a long way to matching your original design with a Minted font.
• Don’t delete possible swaps from your artboard until you're certain you know which font you’d like to swap with! It’s much easier to keep alternative swaps around than it is to try and remember the names of all of the fonts that you’re considering.
• Provide outlined versions for display fonts where kerning or special characters are very important to the design. These can sometimes get lost in translation between non-Minted and Minted versions of the same font! 
• Special characters are not allowed in our customizer, so provide an outlined version if the ligature, swash, or special character is really important to your design.
• If you’re stuck between a few different options, try creating just the front of your card with each swap option and print them out. Viewing them off the screen can sometimes help you see how they will look on your finished product. 
• Think outside the box! Sometimes it’s easier to choose two swaps to use in tandem than find one perfect swap. This can especially be true when you need numerals or other special characters as well as standard glyphs.

FURTHER READING

Have more questions or want more examples? The following Minted resources might be helpful: 

• New Cannot License Policy
• FAQs: (NEW) Fonts 101

For external resources:

• Adobe’s Typography 101: A crash course of terms to know
• Kern Type: learn more about visual kerning through a fun interactive game! 

You can always contact us at [e-mail] or via our Community Slack for more specific questions. 

COMMON SWAPS