Setting text on a path or shape in Layout by Zaweba

Text on a path is type that follows a line or shape instead of sitting in a box. Words curving round a circular badge, running along a wavy line across a poster, or following the edge of a photo. Layout by Zaweba lets you set type on any path or shape, with effects that change how the letters sit on the curve.

Getting text onto a path

Draw the path first, with the pen, pencil or a shape tool. A circle, an ellipse, an open curve or the outline of a frame will all work. Then type on it. The text follows the path from start to end, and you can style it with the usual character and paragraph settings.

The path itself can have no line colour, so the text appears to float along an invisible curve, or it can be stroked to show as a decorative line under the words.

The effects

Rainbow is the standard effect. Each letter stays upright relative to the curve, rotated to follow it, as if standing on the path.

Skew keeps letters vertical but slants them to follow the path's direction, giving a different, more angular look.

3D ribbon twists the letters as if printed on a ribbon following the path.

Stair step keeps each letter upright and simply moves it up or down to follow the path, like steps.

Gravity rotates letters towards the centre of the curve, which suits circular text.

Flip puts the text on the other side of the path, which is how you get words reading the right way along the bottom of a circle.

Jobs where it works well

Badges, seals and stamps, with a line of text round the top and another round the bottom, flipped so both read left to right. A map or diagram label following a river or road. A playful headline that swoops across a poster. A line of text following the shape of an object in a photo.

Getting a good result

Keep text on a path short. A few words read well on a curve; a sentence becomes hard work.

Use generous tracking on tight curves. Letters bunch together on the inside of a curve, and a little extra space between them helps.

Choose effects to suit the shape. Rainbow is right most of the time; stair step and skew are better for gentle curves and lines; gravity is for circles.

Check that the start and end of the text sit where you want on closed shapes, so the words are centred on the badge rather than starting at an odd point.

Path text pitfalls

Running out of path is the common one: if the text is longer than the path, some of it won't show. Make the path longer or the text shorter.

Forgetting flip, and ending up with upside down words on the bottom of a circle, is another.

And don't use text on a path for long reading copy. It's a display technique.

Used sparingly, text on a path in Layout by Zaweba adds a lot of character to posters, packaging and badges.