[iblo66]

I find it profoundly stupid for Airbnb to have their own typeface. It's like they have lots of designers around and have to keep them busy with something.

Well at least they did not give them the usual entertainment for bored designers: redesigning stuff that does not need a redesign.

[m_ke]

It probably took a week just to put together this post.

I bet it's great for recruiting though. Kind of like google letting researchers waste half their time writing papers and going to conferences.

[manigandham]

Recruiting who though? More designers?

[m_ke]

Yes

[mortenjorck]

It's a prestige thing. The current wave can probably be traced to Microsoft in the early 2010s, with its bespoke Segoe type family. Google followed with Roboto, then Apple with SF, and now you've got everyone from Coca-Cola to CNN commissioning their own type families.

[janc_]

(Large) companies & publishers have had their own typefaces designed since long (centuries) before that.

It got cheaper since the same electronic font can be used for (almost) all sizes, design purposes, etc. though, so it's also happening more often now.

[huac]

Creating a typeface which you own is cheaper than licensing a third-party typeface, at scale.

[6cd6beb]

If they just said that I'd respect it more than I do after 1500 words of self aggrandizing nonsense about how no other typeface reflects "their brand's personality".

This is why people make fun of silicon valley. Your new font isn't changing the world and it's not adding value to anything. Certainly not adding value equal to its cost.

[phkahler]

>> Creating a typeface which you own is cheaper than licensing a third-party typeface, at scale.

The cheapest fonts are the ones installed on a users system. Web sites and apps do not need to include fonts at all. In fact it's easy to argue that the users should be selecting the fonts on their devices in most cases.

[mozumder]

Never let the user control your brand. System fonts should always be thrown away.

Every company web site & app needs to include their own font. Otherwise, you become a commodity, and you can be replaced by your competitors.

Business is about being different from competitors, not the same. And people buy things that look good.

Companies that have crappy branding lose money, because they lose customers to other companies.

[jadedhacker]

If your major differentiating factor is mainly branding, you are already a commodity. Customers will often use shitty looking products if there's something in it for them.

[ggg9990]

Not for a network effect business. A network effect business doesn’t need a strong advantage or even any advantage if the network is strong enough. Note that eBay has barely changed in 20 years yet is still the only place to go to get Hamburglar sunglasses or whatever.

[jadedhacker]

Good point.

[CharlesW]

There are lots of really great open source typefaces. In my experience, these choice tend to be more about branding than cost savings (not that cost savings isn't a nice potential benefit).

[kossae]

This is likely the reason. I forget the article/post, but I recall reading about this on HN a while back. Basically the licensing for fonts across all platforms can become very costly, so developing a typeface in house becomes an appealing choice once your designs are in front of X number of people (commercial/web/print/etc).

[amptorn]

This is definitely the reason IBM invented Plex -- they have designers aplenty after the IBM Design initiative a few years back and they discovered that unfortunately Helvetica Neue costs money.

[phailhaus]

Why do you think it's stupid? Having your own typeface makes your brand subconsciously recognizable at a glance.

[jrs95]

Given how similar it is to Netflix Sans (and probably many other Sans fonts) I highly doubt that this is something you would prove if you were to test it.

[phailhaus]

Yes, which is why I said subconsciously.