Skip to main content
Reserve
Ages 13+
Under 13
motel sign

This app allows you to find and preserve ancient typographies

Inspire

Fontly is designed to register typographical jewels.

Most people, even those who are far removed from the world of design, are familiar with some type of typography and its ability to transform any text, help out dyslexics or stretch an eight page paper into the assignment’s required ten pages.

It’s easy to forget that typography styles are not limited to the options available on the word processors’ menus we use on a regular basis. In the real world, unique and significant typography abound —from neon business signs to hand painted ones. Fontly is a free app whose goal is to treasure these styles.

There are two ways of using the application. The first is by looking over a map of typography from your area. The second is to photograph a font with your iPhone camera and add it to the Fontly map. The engagement this application bolsters in your own neighborhood as well as in many other places around the world is enough to captivate you.

Brendan Ciecko, the app’s creator, explains that the typography of signs and labels have a greater purpose than to name companies or decorate buildings. In fact, they tell us stories about the places they are naming. Ciecko’s idea is based on the historical relevance that signs have had on graphic design and urban development.

Sharing scenarios involves sharing meanings with other users around the world: is there anything better than that?

Related Articles