Chances are, if you’re a creative person, this has happened to you: You pass a sign or open a book and think, Wow, I love that font. But that’s as far as it goes. Identifying a font is near impossible, so using it on a project of your own doesn't even seem worth considering. Until now.
Fiona O’Leary, a student at the Royal College of Art in London, created a tool called Spector for her graduation project. With it, you can capture a font or even a color, then transfer it to InDesign, Word, and other programs. O’Leary calls Spector a “physical eyedropper,” which is a perfect way to describe it.
It’s pretty hard to believe this crazy high-tech gadget is so easy to use. According to Wired, you simply hold Spector over a real-world object, press its top button, and an interior camera captures the sample. The device syncs to your computer via Bluetooth and shows you instant results. You can also store colors and fonts in the device, so you can take your creativity on the road.
Let's see Spector in action.
Spector from Fiona O'Leary on Vimeo.
Unfortunately, Spector is still in a prototype phase and unavailable for purchase. Wired also reported that O'Leary is interested in commercializing the tool eventually. We look forward to the day when our creative juices will never be stifled again.