Regulator was originally designed by Rian Hughes in 1995 and then updated in 2006. In 2018, Hughes released Regulator Nova which was a revised and extended version of Regulator. The typeface is similar to early sans serifs with an M and R more closely related to British forms (Regulator).

Hughes has worked in both the British and American comic industries designing logos (Batman and Robin, Batgirl, the X-Men, Captain America, and more), title sequences, posters, book covers, and more (Device Fonts).