Google Pics

Dave Crossland

(While I am an employee at Google and work on the Google Fonts team, I am posting the below as a member of the public with no special knowledge of anything to do with the below or any involvement; personal opinion only, not a company communication, etc)

pics.google.com just launched

Sizzle video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S18L1NFTda8

I asked it to make a simple postcard, and it offered 4 responses, three of a front and one of a back – and I think this is the first time I've seen the full "post fonts typography" world that we've discussed coming over the horizon on this forum for a few years now, due to the "text editing" feature.

The 'back' of the postcard with "lots" of text is striking since the lettering looks very similar to Pablo Impallari's Caveat typeface (Google Fonts specimen of Caveat), but on close inspection each glyph is slightly unique and therefore, academically defined, is lettering, not type.



I then asked it to give me a couple of Los Angeles inspired type specimens, and this is what I immediate got, exported using the 4x scale up feature:




I wonder what Ray Larabie and John Hudson will make of it, and everyone. 

Stephen Coles

I'm interested in what you think of it, Dave, as someone who has invested a lot of energy and (Google) money into original type development. Is this what you hoped for?