Type foundry Frost enters the digital world with launch of new website

Harrison Marshall has been busy. As well as spending the last few years working on commissions for brands such as Next and Basic Space, he's also founded his own independent type foundry, Frost, which recently launched its website.

This impressive resume comes from designing and releasing his own collection of typefaces and collaborating with top agencies such as Pentagram and Six. However, it's the launch of the Frost website which looks set to take his innovative type work to the next level.

Setting out its mission statement on its frankly beautifully designed site - which defaults to a sort of screensaver of the foundry's logo blinking in and out in a display of amazingly crafted letter forms - Frost aims to work collaboratively with designers and industry-leading brands. "We design, publish and distribute retail and custom typefaces," it explains. "Our type combines historical references and contemporary design."

Speaking to Creative Boom, Harrison says: "A combination of things led to starting the foundry back in 2018. Ultimately, the biggest influence on my appetite for design was growing up with designers in the family.

"My late grandfather was a compositor for a local newspaper, and over time he gathered a collection of letterpress printing blocks. Seeing those letter blocks around the house was what first interested me in type. I first started drawing type in 2015, when I studied the anatomy of typography for a uni module.

"From there, I've continuously been drawing typefaces, and it naturally progressed into forming the foundry, which I named after my grandfather, Colin Frost."

Offering a range of design services, from modifying one of its existing typefaces to designing additional glyphs, alphabets, drawing logotypes and marques, Frost appears to have gone all-in to deliver to the needs of its clients.

As if that wasn't enough, Frost also offers to produce entirely custom families to meet the specific needs of designers. "We work on a wide range of type-focussed projects, tailored to our clients' requirements," the site specifies.

The headache of licensing is simplified too. "Our licenses are solely based on the number of people working for the license-holders company. Prices are a one-time fee, so once you've purchased a license, you can use the font indefinitely. If you require a license for a company with over 100 people or require additional coverage, such as use in TV or movies, software embedding or other situations, please contact us."

And if you're not quite ready to pay, Frost also offers trial deals on all its retail typefaces to save you forking out for a license straight away. "The trial fonts only provide a limited character set and come without any OpenType features," it explains. So make sure these typefaces a limited to personal use only.

Beautifully laid out and with a business approach just as elegant and well-considered as its product, Frost promises to be a type foundry that agencies and designers will love. Check it out now.

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