How would you like it if you could instantly detect the fonts and colors of a design you like in the streets? I’m pretty positive that any designer would enjoy this type of feature. For her graduation project at the Royal College of Art, Fiona O’Leary designed a tool that could eventually make this a reality.
She built Spector out of frustration, she didn’t like the fact that she never knew what things were going to look like when printing, because it’s hard to get a sense of scale on the screen.
For now, Spector is just a prototype. It can recognize seven typefaces, which is already pretty good but doesn’t make it a functional device for real-life work. It can also identity the font size, as well as the leading and spacing.
Design-wise, the device seems very well thought and easy to use. All you need to do is to place Spector over the media you want to sample, then press the button on the top. The image taken by the camera inside the device is then analyzed through an algorythm, then compared with the fonts available in the database. Up to 20 samples can be stored on the device, waiting to be loaded on your computer, where it is made incredibly easy to import text and colors in InDesign.
About the Author
Mirko Humbert
Mirko Humbert is the editor-in-chief and main author of Designer Daily and Typography Daily. He is also a graphic designer and the founder of WP Expert.