Make Word Clouds from Photographs with Typoeffects

Typoeffects is another Word Cloud maker website that lets you create cool looking images based on a photo that you upload.

It requires Microsoft Silverlight, so you’ll need to be able to install that onto the computer you’re using (Check with your network admin)

It allows you to upload a photograph then create a word cloud image from a few keywords, like this:

Unlike other word cloud generators like Wordle there’s no link between word size and how frequent it is. It also seems to work best with only a few keywords (15/16) so you can’t really use it on a long chunk of text. It would be an interesting way to present a set of keywords for a topic or as a lesson starter/plenary.

Or you can create a “row text” image. This does let you use large paragraphs of text, and it overlays the colours of the photograph to create efects like this:

Both tools create some interesting images which could be useful as part of presentations or display work.

You can try TypoEffects here http://www.typoeffects.com. According to the website, it is currently in beta for a limited time. You can use all the features in the product for the time being. After the beta period, they will decide if some free functions will possibly be restricted in its use. So do be prepared for the site to change in the future. Keep an eye on the site for more information.

For more Wordcloud makers, take a look at my 8 Word Cloud Makers for Teachers post.