Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Mobile Design Tools

Ok, so it is just one tool so far.

Back in the day, when you didn't know what a font was, you just slogged through font books for hours. Then email helped us sub this little job out to our network of design friends.

Then, finally, someone got computers to do their job: make our lives easier. whatthefont.com enabled you to upload a graphic and get a pretty educated guess as to what font it actually was... with of course the hope that you would then purchase it from your AI font benefactors.

Well, now the internet is in your pocket, and the time when you are most likely to see a cool font you want to use is when you are no-where near a computer.

Ta Da: WhatTheFont for iPhone !

Snap a pic, upload it, get your answer, all from right where you are standing, whether it be in a bookstore or walking down the street.

My tests with it had mixed results. Basically, if your image is not black font on white background you are in trouble and need to clean things up back at the lab with Photoshop - just like the web app. I was however able to shoot some Blue Shield letterhead and get Avant Garde Medium returned as the result... Correct!



Thursday, March 19, 2009

Mid-Century Digital

A wonderful example of someone who goes deeply down the rabbit hole of popular geekdom and invites us all along for the ride is on display at the Hal Project.

Joe Mackenzie created a simple Hal screensaver back in 1999, and has since grown his obsession in a very clean little site that has various fun downloads, including - my introduction to the concept - a great new screensaver that replicates the screen design of the computer screens seen through out the film, mostly in the background.

Sadly, I dont think the screen saver has an audio component, which seems like it would a naural progression from it's current state.

The screens themselves are decidedly modern - as in contemporary - design, which shows how well basic design principals hold up in the face of the current aesthetic of digital conversion.

h/t Coyote!