How to fill a shape or text with a gradient
Fill frames, strokes and text with linear or radial gradients in Layout by Zaweba, using the Gradient panel, gradient swatches and the Gradient swatch tool.
Gradient fills in Layout by Zaweba come from the Gradient panel or the Gradient swatch tool. Gradients can be linear or radial, with several colour stops, midpoints and an angle, and they apply to fills, strokes and text. Save a gradient as a swatch and you can use it again anywhere in the document.
A gradient is a smooth change from one colour to another. Used well it adds depth to a background, gives a cover a sense of light, or picks out a heading. Used carelessly it can look dated, so a few habits help.
Making a gradient
Select a frame, then open the Gradient panel. Choose linear, where colour changes along a straight line, or radial, where it spreads out from a centre. The panel shows a bar with colour stops. Click a stop to set its colour, add more stops for a gradient with several colours, and drag the midpoint between two stops to control where the change happens fastest.
Set the angle for a linear gradient. A gentle diagonal often looks more natural than a straight left to right fade. For a radial gradient, think about where the light should come from.
Then decide where it applies: the fill, the stroke or, for a text frame, the text itself. A gradient on large display text can work well for a poster headline; on body text it usually hurts legibility.
Using the Gradient swatch tool
The panel sets the colours; the Gradient swatch tool sets the direction and length on the page. Drag across the object with the tool, and the gradient runs from where you start to where you finish. Drag a short distance for a quick change, a long one for a gentle fade. It's the quickest way to get the angle right by eye.
Gradients as swatches
Gradients can be saved in the Swatches panel alongside your colours. That's worth doing whenever the gradient is part of a design system, such as a brand background used on several pages. Build the gradient from existing swatches, especially global colours, so a brand colour change carries through.
Gradients across a spread
Layout treats spreads as one surface. A spread background of colour, gradient or picture is drawn once across all the pages, so a gradient can run across the spine or fold of a brochure with no break. When single pages are exported, the halves still meet exactly at the join.
Gradients that print well
Build print gradients from CMYK or spot colours rather than RGB. Live preflight points out RGB in print as you work, and fixing it early saves a surprise at the printer.
Watch long, subtle fades. A gradient between two very similar colours over a large area can show visible steps, often called banding, in print. A slightly stronger difference between the stops usually helps. Print a proof if the gradient is a big part of the design.
Spot colour gradients need care. A gradient from a spot ink to paper prints on that one plate, which is fine. A gradient between two spot inks prints on both plates; check it with the separations preview and talk to your printer.
Remember the ink limit. Rich dark gradients can pile up a lot of ink, and Layout's ink limit warning flags areas that go over.
Where gradients fit with effects
Gradients sit alongside the Effects panel, which adds shadows, glows, bevels, satin and feathering. Feathering fades an object's edges rather than changing its colour. Use a gradient fill when you want colour to change and a feather when you want an object to soften into what's behind it.
With gradient swatches and the swatch tool, Layout by Zaweba keeps fades consistent from one page to the next, and from screen to press.
