TypeKit is probably going to radically change Web Design. Yesterday, Jeffrey Veen announced it on the TypeKit blog.
Using Jeffrey’s own words:
Every major browser is about to support the ability to link to a font. This is a massive upgrade for the web. But there’s a problem. While it’s technically quite easy to link to fonts, it’s legally more nuanced. Almost all fonts are protected by copyright — even those available for free — and very few of them allow for linking via CSS or redistribution on the web.
That’s where Typekit comes in. We’ve been working with foundries to develop a consistent web-only font linking license. We’ve built a technology platform that lets us to host both free and commercial fonts in a way that is incredibly fast, smoothes out differences in how browsers handle type, and offers the level of protection that type designers need without resorting to annoying and ineffective DRM.
When CSS3 comes around, designers will once again have (almost) full control over their typography, and this time without having to resort to Flash. TypeKit’s easy one-line hosting solution is setting itself up to be as game-changing for the typography industry as iTunes was to the music industry.
To keep a close eye on the development of TypeKit, you can subscribe to their blog or follow them on Twitter.