Instant Font Identification Gratification

Theresa Stone

Font_ID is a new Twitter account created by Stephen Coles of the website Typographica.org and, until recently, a key member of the FontShop team.
The concept behind @Font_ID is simple: Send Stephen an image of a typeface, and he will reply with the font name and a relevant URL. He’ll even suggest alternatives faces.
I plan on reading the Font_ID Twitter feed often. Even when (or maybe especially when) Stephen’s stumped, it’s fun to see the typeface that foiled him. For example, Nick Sherman submitted this 1841 newspaper headline:

Stephen replied that while the face was unknown to him, he’s called in a specialist, @Woodtyper, and he can suggest an alternate: Sutro. How’s that for a satisfying 30-second swing through type history?
You can reach Stephen by sending a tweet to @Font_ID (note the underscore) or by including the hashtag “#FontID” in your tweet.