Design Domination Podcast Episode #25: Creative Brief: Figure Out That Font

Part of the Creative Briefs series of mini-episodes with quick design- and marketing-related tips, this episode covers how to find out which fonts have been used in an image or PDF.


Figuring out fonts used in images

There are several ways to try to find what font was used when you only have an image to go by. Most of these methods involve uploading a clear, high-contrast image and then specifying which letters were used.

Another one is called Identifont, and that one asks you questions based on various traits, such as serif versus sans-serif, and then you keep filtering down until you see something similar.

You can also ask other designers in graphic design groups or go to Quora and go to the Typeface Identification category.

Figuring out fonts used in a PDF

If you have a PDF file, there is a high likelihood of figuring out the fonts used. In Acrobat, simply open the file and go to File > Properties > Fonts to see a list of fonts that have been used. Now, there’s one caveat: if, prior to making the PDF, the text was converted to outlines anywhere or that text was made into a raster image, then they won’t show in that list, as they are no longer recognized as fonts.

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