How to Identify a Font in Adobe Illustrator [3 Ways]

Fonts are exceptional works of graphic art that we use to build books and websites. Lettering is so diverse, and designers pride themselves on designing fonts that are crisp and catchy to readers. So how can you identify a font in Adobe Illustrator?

Illustrator has a high level of functionality and detail that allows you to choose from an extensive library of fonts and find the names of other fonts while installing them. However, there are pitfalls, and being unable to find a font can be maddening. Don’t let it get to you! Read on and learn how to identify a font in Adobe Illustrator.

How to Identify a Font in Adobe Illustrator

Adobe has a whole world of applications and software that work heavily in the arts industry. Their Creative Cloud applications can help create art and designs for several types of businesses, and they even have an application geared toward fonts. If fonts are hard to find, some applications and extensions can be used to find the font you want.

1. Using the Windows is an Easy Way to Identify a Font

One of the best things about Illustrator is that there’s always a window that meticulously tracks your work. For instance, when you open a window for text, a box will appear, usually on the left-hand side, that shows lots of information about the font you are using.

A few things you can learn from the Font window in Illustrator are:

  • Font Name – One of the first windows you see on the Font menu is the name of the Font. It will be a drop-down menu that will have hundreds of options to choose from. The name of the font will be prominently displayed in the window.
  • Font Size – Another thing you will see in the window is the font size. Size is important because if you are working on a design with different sizes of text in it, you must know if you are using the correct size.
  • Font Color – The color of the font that you are using will also be present in the Font menu window. Colors can add emotion and feel to your projects or as a layer for other colored fonts.

The basics about the font will be available in the Font menu window. For example, you can identify the name and size of a font and the color. Other options here allow you to change the font’s shape and even import a font you designed.

2. Adobe Fonts is Another Excellent Resource for Identifying Fonts

Adobe Fonts is an application that provides a platform for creating and identifying fonts you find in the world. One of the best things about it is that there’s a way to upload photos from your phone and computer that links up with the search to create a powerful engine that allows you to track down any font you can get a clear picture of.

Some ways that Adobe Fonts helps you Identify Font in Illustrator are as follows:

  • Uploading – The most impressive way that Fonts helps you identify other font usage is by uploading pictures of it. You must have clear, unobscured images to get results, but no matter what font you upload, the app will return the name and a link to download it.
  • Font Packs – Adobe works to ensure that all their fonts can be used as seconds to other more popular fonts. They have a font pack that allows you to mimic some of the most used fonts on the internet. If you want to ID a font, using packs is an excellent idea.
  • Font Search – A search allows you to do an advanced investigation of the font, down to the designer and stroke width. The search is fantastic because while it might not return an exact copy of the font you want, it gets you in the neighborhood and could even provide substitutions.

Illustrator and Font can be linked to work simultaneously like an extension. Getting the programs working together is essential, as their Type kits will allow you to create your fonts and shadow the ones you look to identify.

3. Illustrator has the Additional Capability to Identify Fonts.

There are a couple of other ways to lean on the Illustrator application to determine the type of font you want to identify. Like the earlier options, some windows and menus can be accessed to show you all the information you need about fonts. The downside is that there is no way to determine a font’s name if it has been changed to lines.

A few ways that you can use the menus in Illustrator to identify fonts are:

  • Character Menu – One of the impressive menus that will allow you to find a font is the Character menu. It is along the top of the screen and has several options inside that will enable you to edit and work fonts until they meet the standard or effect you are trying to meet.
  • Glyph Menu – The Glyph menu isn’t somewhere that jumps to the top of your list when looking to identify a font. It is a valuable resource because it has a gigantic library of shapes and letters that could provide the key you need to unlock your font identification.

The menus in Illustrator are worth exploring. There are ways to change the shape and texture of fonts that will allow you to create unique works. By playing and exploring, you begin to recognize fonts on sight by how they are made and not by how they are labeled.

Conclusion

Identifying a font in Adobe Illustrator can be done using a few menus or one of Adobe’s many extensions. The best place to start is by checking the font menu on the left-hand side of your screen. It has all sorts of information, from the size to the color.

Adobe has functionality in its menus that will allow you to check the names and sizes of fonts without using the Font menu. You can find ways to name your font by going into Glyphs or Character. If none of those work, you should use Adobe Fonts to upload a photo of the lettering, and it will populate the correct name.