Mary Faber Could AI be the future of font design? Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated fonts and typography outputs have emerged as a double-edged sword in the design and typeface industry. While the current productions are undeniably crude, it seems foolhardy to ignore the potential of AI to rival traditional type foundries, and how these developments might impact font designers and typographers into the future. At present, AI-driven typography offers a plethora of interesting and unique outputs, especially when it comes to expressive, singular letterforms, almost as sculptural art forms. It can generate these forms very quickly, with endless options and opportunities to rework to the prompter’s content. This efficiency and accessibility lowers the barrier to entry for typographic endeavours, enabling users to experiment with new typographic expressions that may have been too time-consuming or simply not feasible to explore before.
If we look beyond single letterforms, and turn our attention towards font design and fully-fledged families, the current status of what’s achievable with AI is fatally flawed and overtly obscene if we’re to compare with the bonafide beauty of the best modern, pain-stakingly-crafted, fonts. Yet, with considerations of the advancements made in both artistic and wordsmith realms (even within the last year), the potential of what AI-generated fonts might be in the future can’t be ignored. It’s high time to explore the current realm of AI typography and font design, consider its potential, and relish in the possibilities.