The ABC has revealed it spent $32,750 on creating its own font. The question of the cost of the OneABC typeface was first raised in Senate estimates in May to new managing director Michelle Guthrie by then-new Liberal Senator James Paterson.

ABC font

Guthrie estimated the cost to be less than $50,000, but the true cost had not yet been revealed. The ABC has released the response to the question this week, and the cost associated with the design and development of the OneABC font was $32,750, excluding GST.

The designer of the typeface, Peter Lofgren, said in April it was designed to “unify” the ABC’s digital presence and to save annual licensing costs associated with the various fonts used across the ABC.

Lofgren describes the font as “uniquely Australian” with a “connection to the land with a coastal and outback feel”:

“It shows influences of a number of other sans serif treatments, such as humanist and grotesque, a nod to the eclectic melting pot of modern Australia. Individual characters also have some quirky details which are slightly larrikin but always purposeful.”

Earlier this month, the ABC’s digital network director, the person behind the typeface decision, Angela Clark, left the ABC to pursue opportunities in the commercial sector.