12 ms·

Hey folks! I'd love to answer any questions folks might have about running the Kickstarter or Font Awesome in general! -Dave Gandy

niftylettuce 10y ago
Did you see https://github.com/crocodilejs/font-awesome-assets https://github.com/crocodilejs/font-awesome-assets? Not sure if we are OK to have the icons there - the licensing is confusing - we're not really distributing them.
- fortawesome 10y ago
  Those icons are Font Awesome 4.7, which is completely open source so you can do almost whatever you want with them. Font Awesome 5 will have a Free and Pro version. The Free version will be completely open source and you can use it however you like. The Pro version will have 2500-ish more icons and an SVG framework. Pro is the only one to worry about for distribution. :)
  - niftylettuce 10y ago
    Can you email me? niftylettuce@gmail.com <3333 keep up the kick ass work. I'm launching a crowdfunding campaign of my own thanks to your inspiration.
    - fortawesome 10y ago
      Done!
  - pc86 10y ago
    Is it accurate that if you're using Font Awesome 5 Pro in an open source project you can't include the icons in the repository?
    - fortawesome 10y ago
      Correct. It's not okay to distribute commercial software to folks who have not paid. But Font Awesome Free is completely okay to include in the repo, as it is open source software. That said, we're letting open source projects use Font Awesome Pro CDN for free so this is hopefully mitigated. We want folks to use Font Awesome Pro, just don't want it distributed. :)
      - pc86 10y ago
        That definitely makes sense :) And the CDN at least helps mitigate any deployment issues with not being able to keep the images in the repo.
      - Zarel 10y ago
        This is great news; when I emailed you guys, you said "For open source projects, we’re working something out" but I didn't know what. I backed Font Awesome Pro but I was afraid I'd only ever be able to use the Free version since all my projects are open-source. My only concern left is for offline apps (like NW.js apps). I can make do with Font Awesome Free's icon set, but it'd be nice to have those SVG icons...
      - BuuQu9hu 10y ago
        Isn't the whole point of a CDN to distribute things?
        pc86 10y ago
        Distribution is the means; the end is to load assets faster.
rawnlq 10y ago
How much did making the video cost? When I first saw it I thought that commercial itself must've cost around the ballpark of the amount you were trying to raise (30k) and can't possibly be worth it. But turns out it was a brilliant move!
- reneherse 10y ago
  I'm curious about this too. Also, how many nights of shooting in the bakery were required?
  - fortawesome 10y ago
    Just one night at the bakery from 6am to 6pm. There were a couple of shots they needed to get later, but it wasn't much at all. I think the intro and final scenes in the office were shot a couple of days later.
- wolfhumble 10y ago
  It says it in the article: So we did some research into how much a great Kickstarter video should cost (i.e. Googled “how much does a kickstarter video cost”). To work with a fantastic production company and get the quality we wanted was going to run somewhere around $15k. This sounded like a lot to spend on a video, but we were pretty sure we’d be able to make back our investment. It also talks about the company that produced it.
- fortawesome 10y ago
  So first, we got an absolute steal for what we paid for Knox Avenue (http://www.knox-avenue.com http://www.knox-avenue.com). For something similar from Sandwich Video, prices _start_ at $250k. We paid 1/10 that. But again, we got an absolute steal. Knox isn't as famous as they deserve yet. They're ridiculously talented. Edit: fixed URL
  - gcd 10y ago
    *(http://www.knox-avenue.com/ http://www.knox-avenue.com/) << working link
kybishop 10y ago
Hey David, Would you consider open-sourcing the JavaScript component apps if the $1 mil stretch goal isn't reached? Even as a pro backer, I want as many eyes (and contributions!) on said components as possible.
- fortawesome 10y ago
  That's a good thought. I'll check with the team and see if we want to add that to the $900k goal.
ars 10y ago
How are you going to spend $1 million without killing the company/project? People who previously have made icons for free will now want some of the money, and you only have enough for about 10 people for a year. I've seen too many companies get money and suddenly, instead of being extremely frugal like they used to, because they had to be, start spending money because they can afford it. And then the company dies. This happens to lottery winners too. Do you have plan to avoid it? You should plan to make the $1 million last at least 10 years without earning any additional money except interest.
- fortawesome 10y ago
  Simplest answer is we're going to use the money to build a product that people want. Now that we have more capital and really awesome committed users, we know more about what to make. We're 4 senior designers and developers that have been around. We can design beautiful, usable software and deliver it ontime. Honestly, I wake up every morning excited to go to work with such excellent and admirable folks. I could not imagine a better job. Honestly. As far as the icons, no one else contributed. Just me. We tried external submissions before, but they were more work to manage than making them myself. And I think we've kept a somewhat consistent aesthetic. Starting over lets us tighten all of that up, too.
  - ars 10y ago
    Please be extremely frugal with your money. I would be very sad to come back in a couple of years to hear that you shut down. I've seen it too many times. > Simplest answer is we're going to use the money to build a product that people want. Obviously. But will spend money on extras? A nice sign for the office? A better office? Nice chairs? Phones for the conference room? These are the kind of not-very-expensive extras companies spend on when they get money. But it adds up, and without an ongoing revenue source it's not worth it. If you can budget no more than $100K per year, you'll keep your company alive for a long time.
    - roel_v 10y ago
      Seems to me you're being very condescending, telling others how to run their businesses and lives. How many companies have you run?
tf2manu994 10y ago
Would the license not spell out trouble for anyone using the svgs on a GitHub pages site? I currently do this(tf2manu994/manmeetgill.com on github, gitlab and bitbucket), and I am a backer for pro. Does this mean I can not use the pro icons on my site without forcing a user to download the entire iconfont? [Yes I know, the markup on my site is crap, currently in the process of reworking without mdl]
- fortawesome 10y ago
  Nope. Folks will be able to use just certain icon packs on their site. For more granular control, the $350k goal was a desktop icon subsetter.
  - tf2manu994 10y ago
    Would embedding the output of the desktop app in a GitHub pages repo be allowed
    - fortawesome 10y ago
      I think we'd be fine with that. Seems removed enough and isn't the whole set. It's a good area for us to think about and be more specific about. I'll talk to the team and see what we can do.
      - tf2manu994 10y ago
        Awesome, thanks.
the_duke 10y ago
It seems like you will get really close to the 1 million goal. Please consider open sourcing the SVG framework, even if you don't fully make the million. SVG icons clearly are the future, imo. See this article for a comparison: https://css-tricks.com/icon-fonts-vs-svg/ https://css-tricks.com/icon-fonts-vs-svg/

niftylettuce 10y ago

Did you see https://github.com/crocodilejs/font-awesome-assets https://github.com/crocodilejs/font-awesome-assets? Not sure if we are OK to have the icons there - the licensing is confusing - we're not really distributing them.

fortawesome 10y ago
Those icons are Font Awesome 4.7, which is completely open source so you can do almost whatever you want with them. Font Awesome 5 will have a Free and Pro version. The Free version will be completely open source and you can use it however you like. The Pro version will have 2500-ish more icons and an SVG framework. Pro is the only one to worry about for distribution. :)
- niftylettuce 10y ago
  Can you email me? niftylettuce@gmail.com <3333 keep up the kick ass work. I'm launching a crowdfunding campaign of my own thanks to your inspiration.
  - fortawesome 10y ago
    Done!
- pc86 10y ago
  Is it accurate that if you're using Font Awesome 5 Pro in an open source project you can't include the icons in the repository?
  - fortawesome 10y ago
    Correct. It's not okay to distribute commercial software to folks who have not paid. But Font Awesome Free is completely okay to include in the repo, as it is open source software. That said, we're letting open source projects use Font Awesome Pro CDN for free so this is hopefully mitigated. We want folks to use Font Awesome Pro, just don't want it distributed. :)
    - pc86 10y ago
      That definitely makes sense :) And the CDN at least helps mitigate any deployment issues with not being able to keep the images in the repo.
    - Zarel 10y ago
      This is great news; when I emailed you guys, you said "For open source projects, we’re working something out" but I didn't know what. I backed Font Awesome Pro but I was afraid I'd only ever be able to use the Free version since all my projects are open-source. My only concern left is for offline apps (like NW.js apps). I can make do with Font Awesome Free's icon set, but it'd be nice to have those SVG icons...
    - BuuQu9hu 10y ago
      Isn't the whole point of a CDN to distribute things?
      - pc86 10y ago
        Distribution is the means; the end is to load assets faster.

rawnlq 10y ago

How much did making the video cost? When I first saw it I thought that commercial itself must've cost around the ballpark of the amount you were trying to raise (30k) and can't possibly be worth it. But turns out it was a brilliant move!

reneherse 10y ago
I'm curious about this too. Also, how many nights of shooting in the bakery were required?
- fortawesome 10y ago
  Just one night at the bakery from 6am to 6pm. There were a couple of shots they needed to get later, but it wasn't much at all. I think the intro and final scenes in the office were shot a couple of days later.
wolfhumble 10y ago
It says it in the article: So we did some research into how much a great Kickstarter video should cost (i.e. Googled “how much does a kickstarter video cost”). To work with a fantastic production company and get the quality we wanted was going to run somewhere around $15k. This sounded like a lot to spend on a video, but we were pretty sure we’d be able to make back our investment. It also talks about the company that produced it.
fortawesome 10y ago
So first, we got an absolute steal for what we paid for Knox Avenue (http://www.knox-avenue.com http://www.knox-avenue.com). For something similar from Sandwich Video, prices _start_ at $250k. We paid 1/10 that. But again, we got an absolute steal. Knox isn't as famous as they deserve yet. They're ridiculously talented. Edit: fixed URL
- gcd 10y ago
  *(http://www.knox-avenue.com/ http://www.knox-avenue.com/) << working link

kybishop 10y ago

Hey David, Would you consider open-sourcing the JavaScript component apps if the $1 mil stretch goal isn't reached? Even as a pro backer, I want as many eyes (and contributions!) on said components as possible.

fortawesome 10y ago
That's a good thought. I'll check with the team and see if we want to add that to the $900k goal.

ars 10y ago

How are you going to spend $1 million without killing the company/project? People who previously have made icons for free will now want some of the money, and you only have enough for about 10 people for a year. I've seen too many companies get money and suddenly, instead of being extremely frugal like they used to, because they had to be, start spending money because they can afford it. And then the company dies. This happens to lottery winners too. Do you have plan to avoid it? You should plan to make the $1 million last at least 10 years without earning any additional money except interest.

fortawesome 10y ago
Simplest answer is we're going to use the money to build a product that people want. Now that we have more capital and really awesome committed users, we know more about what to make. We're 4 senior designers and developers that have been around. We can design beautiful, usable software and deliver it ontime. Honestly, I wake up every morning excited to go to work with such excellent and admirable folks. I could not imagine a better job. Honestly. As far as the icons, no one else contributed. Just me. We tried external submissions before, but they were more work to manage than making them myself. And I think we've kept a somewhat consistent aesthetic. Starting over lets us tighten all of that up, too.
- ars 10y ago
  Please be extremely frugal with your money. I would be very sad to come back in a couple of years to hear that you shut down. I've seen it too many times. > Simplest answer is we're going to use the money to build a product that people want. Obviously. But will spend money on extras? A nice sign for the office? A better office? Nice chairs? Phones for the conference room? These are the kind of not-very-expensive extras companies spend on when they get money. But it adds up, and without an ongoing revenue source it's not worth it. If you can budget no more than $100K per year, you'll keep your company alive for a long time.
  - roel_v 10y ago
    Seems to me you're being very condescending, telling others how to run their businesses and lives. How many companies have you run?

tf2manu994 10y ago

Would the license not spell out trouble for anyone using the svgs on a GitHub pages site? I currently do this(tf2manu994/manmeetgill.com on github, gitlab and bitbucket), and I am a backer for pro. Does this mean I can not use the pro icons on my site without forcing a user to download the entire iconfont? [Yes I know, the markup on my site is crap, currently in the process of reworking without mdl]

fortawesome 10y ago
Nope. Folks will be able to use just certain icon packs on their site. For more granular control, the $350k goal was a desktop icon subsetter.
- tf2manu994 10y ago
  Would embedding the output of the desktop app in a GitHub pages repo be allowed
  - fortawesome 10y ago
    I think we'd be fine with that. Seems removed enough and isn't the whole set. It's a good area for us to think about and be more specific about. I'll talk to the team and see what we can do.
    - tf2manu994 10y ago
      Awesome, thanks.

the_duke 10y ago

It seems like you will get really close to the 1 million goal. Please consider open sourcing the SVG framework, even if you don't fully make the million. SVG icons clearly are the future, imo. See this article for a comparison: https://css-tricks.com/icon-fonts-vs-svg/ https://css-tricks.com/icon-fonts-vs-svg/