How to round the corners of a shape

Rounded corners are a drag away in Vectornation by Zaweba. A live shape, such as one drawn with the Rectangle tool, shows orange corner handles; drag one inwards and the corners round. For any other path, use Object > Path > Corners and type a radius. Either way the rounding stays live, so you can change it later.

Live shapes and their corner handles

Rectangle (shortcut M) and Soft rectangle draw live shapes. A live shape knows it is a rectangle, so its corners can be adjusted at any time. Select it and orange handles appear just inside the corners. Drag a handle to round all four corners together, since they are linked by default. Unlink them to set each corner on its own, which is how you make a tab shape with only the top two corners rounded.

Corners are not limited to round. Each can be round, chamfer (a straight cut across the corner) or concave (a curve that bows inwards, like a ticket). Mixing them on one shape is a quick way to make labels and badges.

The Shape panel, next to Properties, shows the same settings as numbers. Use it when a design needs exact values, such as a 4 mm radius for a printed card or matching radii across several buttons.

Live shapes keep their corners as you move, scale and rotate them. If you edit a single point, or choose Expand shape, the shape becomes an ordinary path and the handles go. That is fine when you are done, but keep a live copy if you might change the corners again.

Multi-side shapes have a live corner radius too, so polygons can be softened the same way.

Rounding any path with Corners

Not everything starts as a live shape. A traced logo, a path drawn with the pen or a shape from a merge has corners that need a different approach. Select it and choose Object > Path > Corners. Pick round, inverted round or chamfer, set a radius, and choose whether to apply it to every corner or only to the points you have selected.

Applying to selected points is the precise option. Select just the outside corners of a letter, for example, and leave the inside ones sharp.

The rounding is kept live, so you can come back and change the radius. Since version 0.9.15 there is also relative rounding, which scales the rounding to the shape rather than using one fixed radius, useful when the same treatment goes onto shapes of very different sizes.

Choosing the right radius

Radius is about proportion. A large radius on a small button looks soft and friendly; the same radius on a big panel barely shows. If several shapes sit together, such as cards in a layout, give them the same radius so they look like a set.

For print, think about the finished size. Corners that look rounded on screen at high zoom can look almost square once printed small. Check at actual size.

Corner mistakes to watch for

A radius bigger than half the shorter side runs out of room, and the shape stops looking like a rounded rectangle. If corners start to behave oddly, reduce the radius.

Scaling a shape with a fixed radius changes how round it looks. Decide whether you want the radius to stay the same in millimetres or to grow with the shape, and use relative rounding when you want the latter.

And if a design will go to a cutter, round corners deliberately. Small radii on outside corners help a blade turn and stop vinyl from lifting.

Rounded corners are a small thing that changes how a design feels. Vectornation by Zaweba keeps them editable from the first drag to the final export.