Production Type
Production Type is a Paris- and Shanghai-based digital type design agency operating a retail catalog of 80+ typefaces with 800+ font styles and a bespoke custom typeface service for luxury, industrial, and media/publishing brands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Production Type does
Production Type (legally Production Systems SAS) is a privately held, founder-owned digital type design agency headquartered in Paris at 15 rue Barbette, 75003, with a secondary office in Shanghai. The firm is led by President and founder Jean-Baptiste Levée and has operated as a 1-10 employee entity since incorporation in 2013. Its core activity is the design, distribution, and licensing of digital typefaces through two integrated business lines.
The first business line is a retail catalog of 80+ proprietary typefaces comprising 800+ font styles, sold through a self-serve e-commerce platform at productiontype.com. The licensing architecture is granular: pricing is tiered by customer company size (from individuals through single employees up to enterprises of 200,001-400,000 employees), by use case (desktop, web, social, mobile app), and by extension (logo, audio-visual, advertising, OEM, video game, signage). Embedded tooling — a Typetester preview, a Licensing Wizard, and Variable Fonts support — streamlines buyer evaluation. Hard goods (screen prints, posters, badges) at €10-€25 each supplement catalog revenue.
The second business line is a bespoke custom typeface practice. Project-based commissions produce sui generis typefaces that become embedded in a brand's identity system across the luxury, industrial, and media/publishing segments; featured collaborators and award winners include Max Esnée (Super Castel) and Léa Bruneau and Jérémy Schneider (Ciel). Operational enablers include an experimental 'LAB' sub-brand for R&D-grade typefaces, a dedicated 'Global Font Solutions' enterprise portal at global.productiontype.com, and a trademark portfolio covering the major retail families and language markets (including Chinese). The firm is bootstrapped, with no disclosed outside funding, and distributes its output directly to end-buyers rather than through foundry marketplaces.
Production Type firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Production Type
- Legal name
- Production Systems SAS
- Website
- https://productiontype.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Production Type is a Paris- and Shanghai-based digital type design agency operating a retail catalog of 80+ typefaces with 800+ font styles and a bespoke custom typeface service for luxury, industrial, and media/publishing brands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Production Type industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Typeface Design
- NAICS
- Printing and Related Support Activities (3231)
- SIC
- Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Visual Identity & Brand Design Systems (BPAFAEAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Prepress, Plate-Making & Artwork Services (IMALAKAM)
Keywords
Where Production Type is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Production Type business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Font Licensing: Revenue from licensing fonts to design professionals and businesses. Licenses are available in various types (desktop, web, social media, mobile app) with pricing based on company size (number of employees), follower count, or app downloads.
- Custom Typeface Design: Bespoke typeface design services for brands in industrial, luxury, and media sectors. Custom projects articulate a brand's specific values and personality through sui generis design.
- Hard Goods: Sale of physical merchandise including type specimens such as 'The Didot style: a survey of the career of Firmin Didot – Trianon type specimen' (€10), 'Béziers, Hershey & Lombardics – Minotaur type specimen' (€15), and branded merchandise like t-shirts.
- License Extensions: Additional licensing options for specialized uses including logo/trademark, audio-visual/film, advertising (OOH/DOOH), digital POS, server, OEM embedding, videogame, and architecture/signage applications.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | 1 employee tier |
| Subscription | Annual | 2-5 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 6-15 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 16-45 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 46-150 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 151-300 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 301-500 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 501-1,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 1,001-5,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 5,001-10,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 10,001-25,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 25,001-50,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 50,001-100,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 100,001-200,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | 200,000-400,000 employees |
| Subscription | Annual | Student discount |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Type specimens and merchandise |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Production Type product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Production Type is a digital type design agency that sells retail typefaces through online font licensing and delivers bespoke custom typeface design services for brands. Its retail catalogue offers over 80 typefaces and 800+ font styles, while the custom studio creates sui generis typefaces for luxury, industrial, and media-sector clients to articulate brand identity. The firm is headquartered in Paris with a secondary presence in Shanghai and operates under the legal entity Production Systems SAS.
Product overview
Production Type is a digital type design agency based in Paris and Shanghai specializing in both retail typefaces and custom typeface design. Its retail offering centers on the online catalogue of 80+ typefaces with 800+ font styles, accessible through the main website with tools like Typetester and a Curated Font Playlists feature. Custom services create bespoke typefaces for brands. The portfolio includes experimental LAB typefaces, physical merchandise (type specimens, apparel), and editorial magazine content. Additional services include Global Font Solutions and a Font Licensing Wizard. The company provides retail font distribution alongside dedicated creative services in typeface design for the industrial, luxury, and media sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- LAB: An R&D department featuring typefaces with prominent design statements, serving as a playground for experimental typefaces and previewing the future of the font library, whether artistic or technological.
Products and services
- Retail Typefaces A catalogue of over 80 typefaces offering more than 800 font styles available for licensing online, including serif, sans serif, and monospace designs such as Kreuz, Cardinal, PVC, Wigrum, and Kessler, plus Variable Fonts. Sold via annual subscriptions tiered by company size to design professionals and brand teams.
- Custom Fonts Bespoke typeface design services for brands in luxury, industrial, and media sectors. Each project articulates a brand's specific values and personality through sui generis design, consolidating organisational identity into a scalable proprietary asset. Sold via direct engagement ([email protected]).
- LAB Typefaces
- Global Font Solutions
- Merch (Type Specimens and Apparel)
Companies that use Production Type
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Production Type technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
Production Type partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- External Type DesignerscoreProduction Type collaborates with external type designers including Max Esnée (Super Castel) and Léa Bruneau (Ciel) who have won industry awards. These designers contribute to the company's font library.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Production Type competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dinamo: Independent Swiss font foundry combining custom typeface commissions with a retail catalog of distinctive Latin fonts. Closest comparable to Production Type in scale, model, and design-led positioning.
- Commercial Type: Independent foundry offering custom type design for global brands alongside a retail library of widely used commercial typefaces. Directly comparable custom + retail model and brand-tier customer base.
- Grilli Type: Swiss independent foundry with a retail catalog of modern display and text faces plus custom commissions for fashion and lifestyle brands. Comparable European boutique foundry targeting design-led brands.
- Swiss Typefaces: Independent Swiss foundry offering custom and retail typefaces with a strong design-portfolio focus. Similar size, custom + retail mix, and European design sensibility as Production Type.
- Klim Type Foundry: Independent foundry with a tightly curated retail catalog and bespoke commissions for cultural and brand clients. Comparable boutique scale and craft-led positioning.
- Pangram Pangram: Independent foundry offering modern retail typefaces popular with branding and editorial designers, plus custom commissions. Comparable boutique-to-mid-scale foundry serving the same designer buyer.
- Frere-Jones Type: Boutique type design studio offering bespoke and retail typefaces from a renowned designer. Comparable craft-led positioning and prestige-tier brand clientele, though US-based.
- Optimo: Swiss type distributor and design studio with a curated retail catalog and custom work for cultural and brand clients. Comparable retail distribution + bespoke model in the European market.
Others
Broad incumbents
- Lineto: Established Swiss type foundry with a larger and longer-running retail catalog plus custom commissions. Comparable retail + custom model but with broader distribution and longer history than Production Type.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Production Type social profiles
Digital presenceProduction Type compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Production Type financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Production Type leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Production Type funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Production Type M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Production Type
What does Production Type do?
Production Type is a digital type design agency that sells retail typefaces through online font licensing and delivers bespoke custom typeface design services for brands. Its retail catalogue offers over 80 typefaces and 800+ font styles, while the custom studio creates sui generis typefaces for luxury, industrial, and media-sector clients to articulate brand identity. The firm is headquartered in Paris with a secondary presence in Shanghai and operates under the legal entity Production Systems SAS.
Is Production Type a public or private company?
Production Type is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Production Type founded?
Production Type was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Production Type based?
Production Type is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Production Type make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Font Licensing is the primary driver. The others are custom Typeface Design, hard Goods and license Extensions.
Who are Production Type's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dinamo, Commercial Type, Grilli Type, Swiss Typefaces, Klim Type Foundry, Pangram Pangram, Frere-Jones Type and Optimo. Type Together is listed as an others. Lineto is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Production Type have an API?
No public API is recorded for Production Type.
What industry is Production Type in?
Production Type's product category is Digital Typeface Design. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAEAC, Visual Identity & Brand Design Systems, with a secondary code of IMALAKAM, Prepress, Plate-Making & Artwork Services. Its NAICS code is 3231 and its SIC code is 3950.