If you’ve ever looked at a brand and thought this feels right, there's every chance a type foundry was involved. F37 Foundry (F37) is one such foundry, with roots in Manchester and a fully remote team spread across the UK and Europe. F37 designs and licenses fonts, while its sister studio, Anti Average, handles client work and champions the foundry's typefaces out in the world. It's a tight, collaborative setup whose work speaks for itself.
Just look at F37's client list: Premier League clubs Spurs and Chelsea, MotoGP, and some of the most respected studios in the business, including Nomad Studio, Wolff Olins and Pentagram. When a rebrand needs a typeface that's as recognisable and ownable as a logo, they know exactly who to call.
Brand manager at F37 and graphic designer at Anti Average, Keelin Wright, says, “Custom type is having a moment, and it makes sense. When every brand is fighting for attention, why not make your font the most distinctive thing you own?”
Here’s what else she had to say…
F37 X Northern Design Festival: A Northern connection
“F37's connection to the festival isn't tick-box; it's personal. Our founder and creative director, Rick Banks, and commercial director, Danny Rodgerson, are both Northern, and the foundry has always felt a pull to support what's happening creatively up here.
"Events supporting the design world north of Birmingham are in short supply, so we're completely behind Northern Design Festival (NDF). There's clearly less budget up in the North, which is a shame because there are so many good designers and creative courses up here. It would be amazing to see the North catch up with London. And the fact that NDF was started by students and run by volunteers, taking time out to make it happen? We find that quite admirable."
That enthusiasm comes through in the way F37 has shown up this year, not just as a name on a sponsor list but as a proper creative collaborator.
Lancer: A typeface built for the festival
Working with the festival team, F37 designed Lancer, a bespoke typeface now woven into the heart of NDF's 2025 visual identity.
"The brief came in around Christmas, when the studio typically quietens off before the January rush. The next thing you know, our Slack channel started going off, and suddenly everyone wanted in. Designers from both the foundry and the studio side were throwing ideas around, people who don't usually cross over into that early creative stage were contributing, which was lovely to be a part of," adds Keelin.
"Working within this year's theme of heritage, and with the kind of creative freedom you tend to get on cultural projects, our team, who come from backgrounds as diverse as Iran and Venezuela, found themselves thinking seriously about what heritage in type looks like to them. The result is a typeface with real character, and we've loved seeing how it came to life across the festival, from Open Media’s billboards to Foilco’s workshops.”
It's the kind of project that takes on a life of its own. When NDF held an event celebrating the Lancer launch, the whole remote F37 team found themselves in the same room for the first time in a while, alongside the NDF and Creative Boom teams.
"It was genuinely hard to get any work done," laughs Keelin. "We'd love to do more projects like this, where we get to collaborate as a cross-disciplinary team and see the work out in the wild."
Continuing the collaboration at NDF
“Our type designers, Ryan Hellyer Williamson and Shaqa Bovand, put together a keynote for the festival discussing the intersection between type and heritage, and we also took part in some really cool interactive workshops in collaboration with Foilco.
“The workshops were built around Lancer. Attendees got to work with the typeface, picking glyphs and characters and printing their own designs in the room. It was hands-on, tactile, and completely open to play, demystifying type as a ‘dark art’. It was brilliant to see people walking away with posters they’d created.”
Advice for young creatives, straight from F37
The team is active in supporting people entering the industry. A lot of the team carry out portfolio reviews, and F37 has run workshops at Swansea College of Art and the University of Manchester. They take placements, too, though being a remote studio means it takes a bit of coordination.
If type design is something you're drawn to, here's the honest take from Keelin and the people who do it every day:
"Type design is one you need to go and study for. It's technical, it's mathematical, it's skills-based. But if you put the work in, the route is there."
Portfolio reviews are a real way in, and NDF is exactly the kind of place to start those conversations. Get yourself to the festival, go to the workshop, and ask your questions. The F37 team is approachable and wants to see more Northern talent thrive.
What’s coming next for F37?
“Keep an eye on F37 over the next few months. A significant rebrand is on the way… The studio is stepping out of the foundry’s shadow with a new name and identity, and things are about to change. Watch this space!”
Learn more at f37foundry.com and antiaverage.studio
