How to make a rounded font

A rounded font is made by softening the corners of every letter, and you don't need to redraw anything to do it. Font by Zaweba has a Rounded preset that gets you there in one click, and a corner rounding operation with separate outer and inner radius sliders, each from 0 to 200 font units. Every change applies to the whole alphabet at once.

Below is a straightforward route from the base alphabet to a finished rounded typeface.

Choosing your starting point

Two starting points make sense. The Rounded preset is the quick one: it sets up the style stack with rounding already on, and you adjust from there. Plain or Bold Plain is the other, if you'd rather add rounding to a clean sans serif and control every step.

Think about how heavy you want the letters before you round them. Rounding shows much more on a heavy font than a light one, because heavy strokes have big corners to round. A light font with rounding looks gently softened; a heavy one looks plump and friendly.

The steps

Choose the preset you want in Font by Zaweba. If you started from Rounded, look at the preview first and decide whether you want more or less softness.

Set the weight in the style stack. Find a weight that suits the job: moderate for text people will read, heavier for headings and signs.

Turn on corner rounding if it isn't already. Bring the outer radius up first. That's what makes the letters look soft from a distance, by rounding corners that point outwards, such as the ends of strokes and the corners of a capital E.

Then add a little inner radius. Inner corners are the notches where strokes meet. Rounding them smooths the joins. Usually less inner rounding than outer looks best, since too much can fill in small gaps.

Check the result in the live preview with real words. Then name the font, choose a licence and export it.

Getting a pleasing rounded look

Don't push both sliders to the top. At 200 units, which is a fifth of the em, letters start to look like they've melted. Moderate values give a soft look that still reads clearly.

Check lowercase as well as capitals. Lowercase letters are smaller, so the same radius has a bigger effect. Words like "kick" and "minimum", full of joins and stem ends, show quickly whether the rounding is overdone.

Rounding works well with a little extra width, which gives friendly letters room to breathe. Decorations such as dots or stars suit a playful rounded font, and the Polka pattern fill is another option for something fun.

If you add serifs, try moving corner rounding above and below the serif operation in the stack. One order gives soft rounded serifs; the other keeps them crisp.

What rounded fonts are good for

Rounded type is approachable. It suits children's materials, classroom displays, friendly packaging, community notices and informal branding. A rounded font made in Font by Zaweba with a moderate weight and generous spacing also makes clear, easy lettering for worksheets.

When you're done, use Install for me to install the font on your Windows account with no administrator prompt, then pick it in your word processor or design program. If you export a four-style family, you'll get a matching Bold, Italic and Bold Italic, all rounded the same way.