What to Consider Before Licensing an In-Progress Font from Future Fonts

Updated

Future Fonts is a typeface licensing platform built around a simple premise: you can license fonts while designers are still developing them. Before you buy, decide whether your project can tolerate a typeface that may change. If you need a stable, finished release for a time-sensitive deliverable, an in-progress license is usually the wrong fit. If you can work with an evolving font and want earlier access, it can make sense — provided you check the font's current state and licensing terms first.

How in-progress licensing works

On Future Fonts, designers publish typefaces before they are complete and sell licenses during development. The core mechanism is that your license covers the font as it exists now and, typically, later updates as the designer refines it. The platform's own description frames this as "a new way to license typefaces while they are still in progress."

That model creates a trade-off:

  • What you gain: access to a typeface earlier, often at an earlier stage of its life, and the ability to use it while it develops.
  • What you accept: the design may change — glyphs, spacing, weights, or character sets can be revised after you license.

Check the font's current state before licensing

Each typeface on Future Fonts is at a different stage. Before you commit, review what the listing shows about the font as it stands today:

  • Character set and language coverage — confirm the glyphs your project needs already exist, rather than assuming they will be added.
  • Weights and styles available now — if your design depends on a specific weight, verify it is included in the current version.
  • Stated development status — look for how the designer describes remaining work and what is planned.
  • Sample text and specimens — test the font with your actual copy, not just the display sample.

The practical rule: license what you can see and test today, not what you hope the font will become.

Match the font to your project's timeline

The deciding question is whether your project can absorb change.

Your situation In-progress font is…
Long-lived brand or publication that can update files later Often a reasonable fit
Campaign, packaging, or print run locked to a deadline Risky — changes may arrive after you finalize
Client work requiring a fixed, documented release Usually better served by a finished typeface
Personal or experimental project Flexible; the evolving nature is less of a problem

For anything with a hard deadline, ask whether you would be satisfied if the font never changed again after your purchase. If the answer is no, wait for a more complete release or choose a finished typeface.

Review the license terms, not just the font

A font license and a font file are separate things. Before licensing, read the terms attached to that specific typeface and confirm:

  • What the license permits — the intended uses (web, print, embedding, apps) and any limits.
  • How updates are handled — whether later versions are included and how you receive them.
  • Seat and usage scope — how many users or installations the license covers.

Terms can differ between designers on the platform, so treat each listing's license as its own document rather than assuming a platform-wide standard.

A practical pre-purchase checklist

  1. Identify the exact weights and glyphs your project needs.
  2. Confirm those exist in the current version by testing sample text.
  3. Read the font's development notes and the designer's stated plans.
  4. Read the license for permitted uses and update terms.
  5. Decide whether you would accept the font if it never changed again.
  6. Only then license — and keep a copy of the version you approved for your records.

If steps 1–2 fail or step 5 gives you pause, an in-progress license is probably not right for that project. Future Fonts works best for buyers who want early access and can plan around a typeface that keeps evolving.