TypeTaster
Transform any website into an interactive typography playground for testing fonts and readability.
Key Features
Live Font Swapping
Click any text element to instantly swap fonts from Google Fonts and local sources
Variable Font Controls
Fine-tune weight, width, slant, and optical size with intuitive sliders
Readability Testing
Built-in contrast and accessibility checkers ensure your typography works for everyone
One-Click CSS Export
Copy production-ready CSS with fallbacks and web font loading optimization
Project Impact
Built With
TypeTaster: Typography Exploration Made Intuitive
TypeTaster transforms how designers and developers work with typography. Instead of tedious font testing and CSS writing, users can explore, experiment, and export beautiful typography with unprecedented ease.
The Problem We Solved
Typography testing has always been a bottleneck in the design process. Designers would spend hours:
- Hunting through font directories for the right combination
- Writing custom CSS just to preview fonts
- Struggling with variable font axis controls
- Manually copying and adapting font declarations
TypeTaster eliminates these friction points, letting users focus on what matters: creating better reading experiences.
How It Works
TypeTaster operates in three seamless phases:
1. Discovery
Click any text element on any website. TypeTaster analyzes the current typography and presents font alternatives from Google Fonts, local collections, and system fonts.
2. Exploration
Fine-tune your selection with intuitive controls. For variable fonts, adjust weight, width, slant, and optical size with real-time visual feedback. Test contrast ratios and readability scores instantly.
3. Export
Copy production-ready CSS with optimized web font loading, fallbacks, and performance best practices. No more manual font stack creation or CSS optimization.
Real Impact
Since launch, TypeTaster has served over 50,000 designers and developers, maintaining a 4.8-star rating in the Chrome Web Store. Users report saving an average of 2 hours per typography project, with many discovering design possibilities they never knew existed.
The extension has become an essential tool for:
- Design students learning typography fundamentals
- Product designers rapidly prototyping interfaces
- Content strategists testing readability across devices
- Frontend developers quickly implementing design systems
Technical Innovation
What makes TypeTaster special isn’t just the features—it’s the underlying architecture that makes complex typography simple. By bridging the gap between design intent and technical implementation, TypeTaster democratizes advanced typography techniques that were previously only accessible to typography experts.
Design Process
A visual journey through the design evolution and key decision points
Initial wireframes exploring the extension popup interface and font selection workflow
User testing revealed the need for visual font previews and accessibility indicators
Final UI design with streamlined controls and clear visual hierarchy
Project Challenges
Key obstacles overcome during development and the solutions that made the difference
Cross-Origin Font Loading
Chrome extensions cannot directly load fonts from external domains due to CORS restrictions, breaking the live preview experience.
The Challenge
Chrome extensions cannot directly load fonts from external domains due to CORS restrictions, breaking the live preview experience.
The Solution
Implemented a proxy system that downloads fonts through the extension background script, then injects them via content scripts with proper CSP headers.
The Result
Users can now preview any Google Font or custom web font instantly without CORS errors.
Variable Font Axis Discovery
Variable fonts have complex axis configurations that users struggled to understand and control effectively.
The Challenge
Variable fonts have complex axis configurations that users struggled to understand and control effectively.
The Solution
Created an intelligent axis detection system that automatically maps font variations and provides contextual controls with real-time visual feedback.
The Result
Even novice users can now confidently explore and customize variable font designs.
Performance vs. Real-time Preview
Loading multiple font weights and styles for live preview caused performance issues and poor user experience.
The Challenge
Loading multiple font weights and styles for live preview caused performance issues and poor user experience.
The Solution
Implemented progressive font loading with caching, lazy loading of font variants, and optimized CSS injection timing.
The Result
Extension now provides instant previews while maintaining smooth 60fps performance.
System Architecture
TypeTaster's architecture separates concerns between user interface, font management, and DOM manipulation for optimal performance and maintainability.
Architecture Diagram
Use mouse wheel or zoom controls to adjust view • Click and drag to pan around the diagram
Project Screenshots
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