Letterpaths: Or how LLMs can be good even when they're bad
9 hours ago
- Letterpaths is a library for generating cursive handwriting, built with LLM assistance despite LLMs being incapable of the core visual task.
- LLMs helped build a GUI for a letter editor, allowing manual creation of letter geometry while automating the process.
- A join algorithm was developed with LLM-generated parametrized algorithms and interactive visualizations for tweaking.
- A kerning and join editor was built to review and edit pairwise combinations, focusing on common letter pairs in English.
- The library uses a monorepo structure with live reloading, and GUI state is URL-encoded to preserve state during reloads.
- Key insight: LLMs work best when a feedback loop is established, often by creating disposable high-information-density GUIs to accelerate human work.