Interview by Ilya Ruderman

Contents:

• About the creation of the CSTM Fonts font studio
• About the history of the type.today store
• About the tomorrow catalog
• About the type.today and tomorrow fonts
• About the type.today magazine
• About the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets
• About the peculiarities of the font business in Russia
• About the future of the studio, store, and magazine
• About trends in world typography

Ilya Ruderman is a renowned typeface and graphic designer with a deep understanding of the Cyrillic alphabet. He co-founded the CSTM Fonts studio and the type.today online font store in partnership with Yuri Ostromentsky. Ilya's specialization includes the development of unique typefaces and graphic solutions, making him an expert in his field. Thanks to his work, many designers and companies have gained access to high-quality fonts suitable for various projects.

During the interview, you will receive information about:

• why designers needed their own font store;
• why font designers are educators;
• why Cyrillic is a "strange little animal";
• is it profitable to do font business in Russia.

About the creation of the font studio CSTM Fonts

Eight years ago, Yuri Ostromentsky and I decided to leave all current projects and found our own font studio. In 2014, we created CSTM Fonts. Previously, for many years, we were engaged in the development of custom fonts, created Cyrillic for Western studios and provided consultations on Cyrillic matters. Our goal was to offer high-quality and unique fonts that meet modern design and typography standards.

Initially, Yura and I were the sole team in the studio, but over the past couple of years, our team has expanded significantly. We are now pleased to invite young and talented authors who bring fresh ideas and creative solutions. Among them are designers Anya Danilova, Misha Strukov, Nikita Kanarev, Tolya Dudko, Dasha Zorkina, and Olga Pankova. Our studio strives to create high-quality content, and collaborating with new specialists allows us to achieve the best results.

Font creation is a complex and labor-intensive process that can take up to a year. Our goal is not mass production of fonts; we focus on their quality and originality. Each font we create undergoes careful development, which allows us to achieve a unique style and high legibility. We strive to offer our users not just fonts, but true works of art that stand out from the crowd.

About the history of the type.today store

The first font developed at CSTM Fonts was Kazimir. We initially released it on the MyFonts platform, but soon realized that this platform did not meet our expectations. Despite high royalties, MyFonts offers virtually no support in promoting the font, providing only access to its audience. The lack of expertise means that the quality of the fonts does not stand out from the crowd. As a result, our high-quality projects end up alongside less polished works created in a short time. With such a large number of different fonts, users have difficulty navigating, and truly high-quality designs are lost among the abundance of new releases. We strive to distinguish our fonts and ensure their proper presentation so that users can easily find and evaluate our work.

The Cyrillic font market lacks a high-quality marketplace and expertise capable of ensuring reliability and selection of relevant fonts. In response to this need, we created our own unique collection. In 2016, we launched the type.today store, which offers a wide range of fonts, selecting only the best and most relevant options. Our goal is to provide designers and developers with access to high-quality fonts that meet modern requirements and aesthetics.

Christian Schwartz, a renowned type designer and one of the founders of Commercial Type, provided us with invaluable assistance at the very beginning of our project. He granted us permission to distribute his fonts in the Cyrillic market, which allowed our idea of ​​opening a small storefront to grow into something more significant and large-scale. Thanks to this collaboration, we were able to offer high-quality fonts and expand our capabilities in the field of graphic design.

At the beginning, we faced many difficulties, as we had to master absolutely every aspect of the business. Fortunately, our team included professionals in their field. Irina Ivanova developed an original hole-shaped logo, and the Perushev & Khmelev studio provided high-quality website development. Petr Sutupov created a stylish and concise design that emphasized the uniqueness of our project. Irina and Daniil Ruderman handled the legal aspects, preparing license agreements and the necessary documents. This start-up period lasted about a year, during which we were able to lay the foundations of a successful business.

About the tomorrow catalog

Tomorrow is a subproject of type.today and the second collection of experimental fonts. This project opens a new world with unique features. The showcase has been around for just a year and a half and focuses on vibrant, fast-paced, and original fonts. While they may not have a large scope or complex features, they possess an expressive graphic concept. This approach allows us to attract talented young designers.

Our project uses an experimental licensing system based on a package principle. This system allows buyers to obtain full rights to use a font with maximum convenience and speed. All the necessary information is presented in one concise table, which simplifies the process of selecting and purchasing a license.

The Tomorrow Instagram page is a unique platform where users can learn about the latest trends and news in the world of technology and innovation. Here you will find up-to-date information about startups, new products, and ideas that are shaping the future. By subscribing to our page, you will get access to exclusive materials, interviews with experts, and analytical articles. We strive to create a community of like-minded people interested in new opportunities and solutions. Join us to stay up-to-date with important updates and the most significant developments in tech.

Tomorrow has an official Instagram account, run by the third member of the project, designer Timur Zima. On this account, Timur publishes interviews and shares the work of emerging typographers and designers, as well as reposts their work. He collaborates with musicians to create special playlists. Timur also regularly showcases beautiful visualizations of fonts from his collection. This account is an excellent platform for inspiration and the exchange of ideas in design and typography.

About type.today and tomorrow fonts

The main type.today collection features around 60 font families, and the tomorrow catalog offers 15. We don't strive for quantity, but rather focus on quality, especially in Cyrillic, and the relevance of font design. This allows us to offer users only the best fonts that meet modern requirements and trends.

About type.today magazine

We have a magazine that has become a platform for many interesting initiatives. Every month, we invite a young designer or studio to manage our Instagram account, publishing daily images of fonts from our collection. Afterwards, we conduct interviews in which the temporary account owners share their impressions of working with our fonts and tell us about themselves. This is a great opportunity not only to promote our fonts but also to introduce our audience to talented designers and studios, which contributes to the development of the creative community.

We actively invest in education and outreach, explaining why our fonts are worth choosing and what makes them stand out. In our content, we share tips on how to distinguish a high-quality font from a low-quality one, and also examine the rules of microtypography and the nuances of licensing. We publish collections of current news from the professional community and conduct interviews with type and graphic designers, exploring what constitutes a modern and in-demand font.

The magazine plays a key role in our work, serving as a platform for Cyrillic expertise. From the very beginning, we have published materials in Russian and English, which allows us to expand our audience and provide access to information for professionals worldwide. We believe that the professional community should be free of borders – be they geographical, political, or social. Our goal is to create a space for the exchange of knowledge and experience, promoting integration and collaboration between specialists from different countries.

Our goal is to ensure that readers who use the Cyrillic alphabet are fully immersed in the international context. We strive to ensure that English-speaking readers can learn about the many interesting, fresh, and unique events taking place in the post-Soviet space.

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For us, Latin and Cyrillic are a unified system. We confidently and professionally work with both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, ensuring high-quality text in both languages.

Cyrillic has unique features that make it interesting and multifaceted. It can be compared to the gravitsapa—the fantastic device from the film "Kin-dza-dza!" This script is a mixture of various elements. The history of Cyrillic includes borrowings from other writing systems, such as Glagolitic, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. The result is a unique system, imbued with internal traditions, making it variable and adaptable. Cyrillic has its own unique voice, as well as its own capabilities and limitations, reflecting the richness and diversity of linguistic culture.

About the features of the font

Doing business in Russia

Doing business in the font industry in Russia is associated with numerous difficulties and significant costs. Bureaucratic procedures, frequent changes in laws and regulations, and rising taxes create a complex business environment. Currency restrictions add further complications, negatively impacting operational activities. For example, problems with online cash registers force customers to send multiple receipts instead of one, as is the case in most countries. As a result, time and resources that could be used to develop new and unique fonts are spent on resolving bureaucratic issues. This negatively impacts creativity and business development in the font industry.

Despite the difficulties, our font business remains our primary source of income, allowing us to continue to grow and stay afloat.

What would business be like without crises and economic decline? It could certainly develop significantly. In times of economic hardship, companies often begin to cut costs, and design is one of the first to fall victim. This explains the high demand for free fonts, which, in turn, leads to a decrease in the uniqueness and quality of projects. It's important to understand that high-quality design plays a key role in business success, and cutting corners on it can negatively impact a company's image and competitiveness. Therefore, it's important to find a balance between cost savings and quality to maintain individuality and attract the target audience.

I am confident that a bright future lies ahead for font studios, shops, and the entire font industry. We will see Cyrillic countries become economically strong, allowing them to invest in culture and implement successful projects. Investing in the font business can significantly impact the development of design and visual identity, creating new opportunities for creativity and innovation.

Companies in these countries should have access to high-quality commercial and custom fonts, rather than relying solely on the Google Fonts collection. Unfortunately, the Cyrillic portion of this collection leaves much to be desired. In our magazine, we even create a section in which we review free fonts, recommending those that can actually be used and rejecting those that do not meet standards. This approach helps designers find suitable solutions and improves the visual quality of their projects.

About the Future of the Studio, Store, and Magazine

In the future, we intend to continue our work, focusing on investing in educational projects and supporting talented designers in the font field. Our goal is to create favorable conditions for the professional growth and development of specialists, which will help improve the quality of font products on the market.

The type.today store has a dual purpose: collecting the most relevant and high-quality Cyrillic projects from around the world and introducing the public to talented Cyrillic designers. We will continue to actively develop these areas to promote Cyrillic design on the international stage.

On Trends in Global Typography

In modern font design and typography, there is a significant reduction in traditional canons and rules, which encourages experimentation and creative freedom. Designers boldly combine various graphic elements, creating unique fonts that previously seemed impossible. These innovative approaches not only attract attention but also contribute to the popularity of new fonts. A striking example of this is the Tomorrow collection, which demonstrates bold solutions and original concepts in type design.

The level of type design and competence in the market is constantly growing, which leads to Improving the quality and complexity of fonts. Modern technologies are changing approaches to typeface design. In 2016, the variable font format was introduced, allowing for the creation of animate and animated text solutions. Young designers are increasingly exploring the possibilities of fonts, which contributes to increased competition and the emergence of innovative ideas in this field.