Show HN: Likeface, make typefaces you like (0i0.app)
(likeface.net redirects there too)
tldr: Make a downloadable & installable font from a text description, a photo with 5+ letters of a font you want, or by uploading a TTF/OTF file.
$6 max per base font generation, cheaper if you buy GET tokens in bulk. For 2 GET total, get 500+ glyphs and bold/italic versions.
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3 comments
[ 0.22 ms ] story [ 9.2 ms ] threadI'll be transparent: I mainly want to know if this, the whole site, counts as slop at this point.[^2] It should, I guess, but I don't think it does. Maybe Likeface pushes it back over the fence in one direction or the other?
I backed into this font creation tool -- though I've been obsessed with making fonts for 30 years -- the mechanics of which have become ... pretty elaborate. It started as a skill with token-hungry subagents arguing over individual glyphs they'd built as SVGs; now it's largely about a few efficient Gemini image API calls and a lot of chopping and vector conversion.
The outputs cost money to generate, so I set up a simple credits system: the Generational Electronic Token (GET).[^3]
You get 1 GET every day you sign in (bookmark it!) -- click the Queue button or try to do something that costs me money and you'll find the Sign In With Google prompt. No subscription model or anything.
I believe the quality will get even better over time[^4] because I have a pretty decent training loop set up; you can kind of make out a progression via the reverse chronological sort on the accompanying typeface marketplace, http://glyfs.store. You can sell the fonts you make there and get paid in tokens if people buy them. I need to figure out classifiers, especially since a lot of the test fonts (the only fonts listed there as of now) have misleading names.
In the end, the site and this module likely appear to be "co-coded," and they probably ought to.
But I dunno, it still feels pretty "me" (and I am chock full of humanity). It also doesn't feel like I am pretending to be some web wizard or business genius, I guess that helps (?).
I suppose I believe it's complicated, useful (arguably), and commercially merciful enough to not come across as slop.
If I am mistaken, let me hear it. I know you will.[^5]
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