Colophon just got swallowed up by Monotype. Again.

It’s happened again. Another beloved indie foundry has been absorbed into the Monotype machine, and this time, it’s Colophon.

The official press release reads like any other corporate acquisition announcement—words like “joining the Monotype family,” “new opportunities,” and “collaboration and innovation” get thrown around, but the reality is always the same.

An independent foundry with a strong design identity gets swallowed up, their fonts folded into Monotype’s bloated ecosystem, and any semblance of creative independence slowly erodes.

What This Means for Designers

Colophon has been one of the most exciting foundries in recent years, known for work that felt distinct, modern, and not like something churned out by a corporate design assembly line.

They’ve worked with major brands—Burger King, Canva, Cadillac—but always on their own terms.

Now?

Their fonts will sit alongside every other Monotype-acquired foundry on MyFonts, a website that feels less like a curated type marketplace and more like a cheap catalog.

If past acquisitions tell us anything, we can expect:

• A decline in accessibility. Monotype loves paywalls and subscription models, making it harder for independent designers to access fonts without committing to a full-blown subscription.
• Bland corporate packaging. The unique identity that made Colophon stand out will fade, becoming just another cog in Monotype’s ever-growing machine.
• The slow death of innovation. It’s rare for an acquired foundry to continue pushing the same boundaries. Monotype doesn’t buy foundries to encourage risk-taking—it buys them to consolidate the market.

The Bigger Problem

Monotype has been on an acquisition spree for years, slowly but surely making itself the dominant force in typography.

It’s the Adobe of fonts, except without the same level of begrudging industry acceptance.

FontExplorer users already know how frustrating Monotype’s ecosystem can be. Monotype’s subscription model feels clunky and disruptive, sometimes breaking existing workflows in bizarre ways.

Designers who have used their services don’t exactly rave about the experience.

And then there’s MyFonts. If you’ve ever looked at its design and thought, “Why does this look like something built for small business owners making wedding invitations?”—you’re not alone.

For a company that supposedly champions great typography, their own brand presence is painfully uninspiring.

What’s Next?

Colophon’s founders, Anthony Sheret and Edd Harrington, insist that this isn’t the end, just a “continuation of our journey together.” But let’s be honest—independent foundries don’t join Monotype and stay the same.

We’ve seen this story play out before. What starts as a “strategic partnership” usually turns into yet another case of a unique foundry being absorbed, homogenized, and tucked away behind a paywall.

Colophon was one of the last remaining truly indie foundries operating at a high level. With their acquisition, the list of independent type foundries shrinks even further.

So, designers, get ready.

If you loved Colophon’s work, now’s the time to grab what you can. Because in a few years, their typefaces will be just another line item on Monotype’s ever-growing monopoly.