With its debut typeface Innovator Grotesk, Yep! Type Foundry pitches its radical font licensing

Designed by Roman Shamin of Lisbon-based Yep! Type Foundry, Innovator Grotesk is a highly versatile neo-grotesque typeface tailored specifically for user interface design. As both a type and a user interface designer, Shamin has long been frustrated by the limitations and complications of using traditional fonts in screen design. “Innovator Grotesk wasn’t born from inspiration; it was born from the intent to solve specific pain points,” Shamin explains. One of the most significant pain points Shamin aimed to address was vertical metrics, a typically overlooked aspect in print design but a crucial element in screen design. “While no one cares about [vertical metrics] in print design, they can cause annoying problems on screens. The space above and below characters affects whether text labels look properly aligned with buttons, dropdowns and other UI elements,” Shamin elaborates. By setting font metrics to ensure text is centred within its bounding box, Innovator Grotesk saves countless hours in UI design and front-end development, eliminating the need for tedious manual adjustments. Aesthetically, Innovator Grotesk strikes a delicate balance between neutrality and expressiveness. “The glyphs ‘c,’ ‘e,’ ‘n,’ ‘o’ and ‘s’ are on team ‘Neutrality.’ Meanwhile, ‘f,’ ‘j,’ ‘r,’ ‘t’ and ‘y’ play for team ‘Expressiveness,’ with their diagonal cuts and slightly stressed and squared bends adding subtle techy and industrial vibes,” Shamin notes. This balance makes Innovator Grotesk ideal for both plain text in small sizes and branding work in larger sizes. Innovator Grotesk is the first typeface to be released by Yep! Type Foundry, which Shamin launched with a very special and pointed intention. “I found Yep! Type to revolutionise font licensing,” Shamin states. Traditional font licensing often comes with various constraints and potential legal pitfalls, from tracking device counts to managing web traffic metrics. Shamin’s approach is radically simple – two types of licences, trial and commercial.