Cloud service lets graphic designers test and rent fonts by the day

SkyFonts is a cloud-based font rental service that gives users the flexibility to try out and license quality fonts for only as long as they need them.

Pop-up retail may have already come to the world of graphic design through a temporary font store in Copenhagen a few years back, but the fact remains that typefaces can be pricey investments for designers, particularly when they’re not sure they’ll use the fonts in question again. Enter SkyFonts, a cloud-based font rental service that gives users the flexibility to try out and license quality fonts for only as long as they need them. Users begin by signing up for a free SkyFonts account and installing its software, which is available for Mac or Windows. That, in turn, gives them 10 credits to try out the service, or enough to rent 10 fonts for a single day or three fonts for 30 days. More than 8,000 designs are already available to choose from on SkyFonts, including the work of leading foundries such as Linotype, ITC, Bitstream, and Massachusetts-based Monotype, which is behind the SkyFonts venture itself. SkyFonts offerings can be trialled for five minutes with no distracting watermarks or technical restrictions. When users find the typeface they’re looking for, renting it means that selections will be automatically synced to all of their workstations, without the worry or hassle of trying to manually install individual fonts. SkyFonts credits are priced starting at USD 45 for 15 credits, with numerous flexible options as well. The video below explains the premise in more detail: It’s a transumer world, as we’ve noted numerous times before, and it seems safe to assume professionals don’t relish the bonds of ownership any more than consumers do. What else could be rented out on a short-term schedule? Spotted by: Lily Dixon