Hacking AI for Typography — Creative Workarounds for AI’s Limitations
Watch Full Video on Youtube ▶️
As someone who uses AI for various tasks like coding and writing emails, I’ve noticed some extreme challenges when it comes to AI and typography — that it just doesn’t work!
When you ask AI to create an image with words, the text is often misspelled or the font looks wonky. It’s usually easier to start from scratch the old way without AI than to fix these AI-generated texts. To work around these limitations, I share three ways to incorporate AI in typography work:
First Idea: Swap Letter Parts with AI-Generated Icons
Watch Full Video on Youtube ▶️
One way to incorporate AI in typography is to use font as a base but replace parts of letters with AI-generated icons to enhance meaning. For example, you could change the dot of the “i” in “Tinder” with a little fire icon. If you give AI a clear command, it can generate an icon specifically shaped to replace part of a letter, like a circular dragon icon to replace an “o”.
Second Idea: AI-Generated Background Images for Typography
Watch Full Video on Youtube ▶️
Another approach is to use AI to generate images that complement your typography. Give AI instructions to create non-photo-realistic images in specific styles, like Art Deco or flat graphics. Make sure to specify that you don’t want any text included in the image. This way, you can create backgrounds or illustrations that work well with your typography without the AI attempting to generate text.
Third Idea: AI-Textured Letterforms
Watch Full Video on Youtube ▶️
The third method involves morphing AI-generated images with letter forms. There’s no host-guest relationship here; instead, you give AI a letter shape as input and ask it to transform it, like making it look like a bubble or fire. The result is a new stylized letter that combines the generated image and the letter form, which you can then compose into your design.
Open Plea
I believe the root of the problem lies in how AI approaches typography. Currently, AI works with pixels directly instead of the raw materials of typography: fonts and text styles. AI companies should license fonts and incorporate typesetting principles into their algorithms. This would allow AI to choose appropriate fonts, apply text styles, and consider factors like tracking, kerning, size, color, and texture when generating typographic images.
You can find this episode and future installments on the Typogram YouTube channel. I’d be thrilled if you’d subscribe and join me on this typographic journey:
