Working with logo text

< < Part 5: Working with Logo Graphics
Part 7: Working with Taglines & Layers >>

Logo Design Studio Pro Guide – Part 6

Working with Text

Because pictures alone may not convey your message, Logo Design Studio Pro lets you add text to your logo projects as well. You can work with several forms of text using the options in the Text section of the Insert menu: solid text, stroke text, and text displayed on a path you create. You can also add special characters (symbols) to your logo or convert text into a Bezier shape and manipulate its appearance.

Working with Solid Text

Solid text is text that is all a single color, without a separate border color. It can be used for either a headline or for a subhead.

Adding Solid Text to Your Logo Project

To add solid text to your logo project, type the text in the text entry field at the top of the Text section of the Insert menu. Click the Solid Text button, then move your cursor to the canvas. The cursor will change to a crosshair (+); when the crosshair is over the spot you wish to display the text, click your left mouse button. The text will appear, surrounded by a set of sizing handles. If you wish to correct the text, double-click it. The Text window will appear, with your text displayed in the Enter text field. Enter the new text in this field and click OK.

Changing Text Color

To change the color of your text, select it and click the Color tab to display the Color menu. Use one of the options in the Solid Color, Gradient Color, or Fill With Picture sections to color your text in a solid color, gradient or make it appear cut out from a picture. Note: The Solid Color option works whether the Fill or Stroke button is highlighted. The Gradient Color and Fill With Picture options work only when the Fill button is highlighted, however.

Adding Text Effects

You can add Outer Glow, Drop Shadow, Bevel, Blur, and Emboss effects to your selected text by clicking the Effects menu tab, and then clicking the checkbox(es) for the section(s) whose effects you wish to apply to your text.

Basic Text Manipulation

To move the text to another location, select it to display the sizing handles, if they are not already displayed, and drag it to its new location. To resize the text, move your cursor over one of the sizing handles until it turns into a two-headed arrow. Hold down your left mouse button and drag toward the center of the text to reduce its size and away from the center to enlarge it. To rotate the text, move your cursor over the rotation handle above the text; it will turn into a set of four arrows. Hold down your left mouse button and drag your mouse to the right to rotate the text clockwise, to the left to rotate it counterclockwise.

Advanced Text Manipulation

Use the options on the Solid Text tab of the Advanced Tools menu to make further changes to the text appearance not possible by using the sizing handles. To display the Advanced Tools slide-out pane, click the Advanced Tools button on the right sidebar or in the View menu. Logo Design Studio Text Menu Change the text font by selecting a new font from the Font dropdown list. You can select a new point size from the Point Size drop-down, use the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size buttons to make the text bigger or smaller, or use the Text Size slider to make the text larger or smaller by sliding it to the right or left. You can also make the text appear in bold, italics, underline, or strike-through by clicking the corresponding font format button. You may also place a baseline below or above the text, or remove it. Note: A baseline below text differs from an underline in that it appears immediately below the text, without an intervening space. Click Duplicate to duplicate the text. The new text appears lower and to the right of the original and may be moved and manipulated by selecting it. Click Delete to remove the selected text from the canvas. Slide the Opacity slider to the right to make the text more opaque, to the left to make it more transparent. Use the Flip X button to flip the text to a mirror image or the Flip Y button to flip it vertically. Use the Rotate slider to rotate the text. Slide the slider right to rotate the text clockwise, left to rotate it counterclockwise. Use the Skew sliders to slant the text horizontally or vertically from the bottom. Slide the Skew Horizontal slider left to slant horizontally slant the bottom of the text to the left and the top of the text to the right, or to the right to slant the bottom of the text to the right and the top to the left. Slide the Skew Vertical slider to the left to tilt the left edge of the text down and the right edge up, or to the right to tilt the right edge down and the left edge up. Note: Sliding one of the Skew sliders resets the other slider to the center (0) position.

Working with Stroke Text

Stroke text is text that has an outline of one color and either no color or a different color in the center. It can be used for either a headline or anywhere you want to call particular attention to a word or phrase used in your logo.

Adding Stroke Text to Your Logo Project

To add stroke text to your logo project, type the text in the text entry field at the top of the Text section of the Insert menu. Click the Solid Text button, then move your cursor to the canvas. The cursor will change to a crosshair (+); when the crosshair is over the spot you wish to display the text, click your left mouse button. The text will appear, surrounded by a set of sizing handles. If you wish to correct the text, double-click it. The Text window will appear, with your text displayed in the Enter text field. Enter the new text in this field and click OK.

Changing Text Color

To change the color of your text, select it and click the Color tab to display the Color menu. Use one of the options in the Solid Color, Gradient Color, or Fill With Picture sections to color your text in a solid color, gradient or make it appear cut out from a picture. Click the Fill or Stroke button according to whether you wish to apply the color effect to the center of the text or its outline. All three color effect options work with either application option.

Adding Text Effects

You can add Outer Glow, Drop Shadow, Bevel, Blur, and Emboss effects to your selected text by clicking the Effects menu tab, and then clicking the checkbox(es) for the section(s) whose effects you wish to apply to your text.

Basic Text Manipulation

To move the text to another location, select it to display the sizing handles, if they are not already displayed, and drag it to its new location. To resize the text, move your cursor over one of the sizing handles until it turns into a two-headed arrow. Hold down your left mouse button and drag toward the center of the text to reduce its size and away from the center to enlarge it. To rotate the text, move your cursor over the rotation handle above the text; it will turn into a set of four arrows. Hold down your left mouse button and drag your mouse to the right to rotate the text clockwise, to the left to rotate it counterclockwise.

Advanced Text Manipulation

Use the options on the Stroke Text tab of the Advanced Tools menu to make further changes to the text appearance not possible by using the sizing handles. To display the Advanced Tools slide-out pane, click the Advanced Tools button on the right sidebar or in the View menu.

Working with Text on Path

Text on path is solid text or stroke text that follows a straight or curved line. Its purpose is primarily decorative.

Adding Text on Path to Your Logo Project

To add text on path to your logo project, you must first select the shape, object, or line you wish to use as the guidepath for your text. Then, type the text you wish to place in the text entry field at the top of the Text section of the Insert menu. Click the Text on Path dropdown button, and select either Text On Path to place solid text or Wrapped Text to place stroke text along or around the selected element. The sizing handles for the guide element will remain on display; click on the text on path to select it for manipulation. If you wish to correct the text, double-click it. The Text window will appear, with your text displayed in the Enter text field. Enter the new text in this field and click OK.

Changing Text Color

If you chose the Wrapped Text option, you can change the color of your text. To do so, select it and click the Color tab to display the Color menu. Use one of the options in the Solid Color, Gradient Color, or Fill With Picture sections to color your text in a solid color, gradient or make it appear cut out from a picture. Click the Fill or Stroke button according to whether you wish to apply the color effect to the center of the text or its outline. If you chose the Text On Path option, you cannot change the text color.

Adding Text Effects

You can add Outer Glow, Drop Shadow, Bevel, Blur, and Emboss effects to your selected text by clicking the Effects menu tab, and then clicking the checkbox(es) for the section(s) whose effects you wish to apply to your text. Note: While all the special effects can be used with the Wrapped Text option, not all may work with the Text on Path option.

Basic Text Manipulation

To move the text to another location, select it to display the sizing handles, if they are not already displayed, and drag it to its new location. To resize the text, move your cursor over one of the sizing handles until it turns into a two-headed arrow. Hold down your left mouse button and drag toward the center of the text to reduce its size and away from the center to enlarge it. To rotate the text, move your cursor over the rotation handle above the text; it will turn into a set of four arrows. Hold down your left mouse button and drag your mouse to the right to rotate the text clockwise, to the left to rotate it counterclockwise. (If you chose the Wrapped Text option, you will not be able to rotate the text, however.)

Advanced Text Manipulation

Use the options on one of the tabs of the Advanced Tools menu to make further changes to the text appearance not possible by using the sizing handles. To display the Advanced Tools slide-out pane, click the Advanced Tools button on the right sidebar or in the View menu. Which tab displays depends on the text on path option you chose. If you chose Text On Path, the available options are found under the Solid Text tab. If you chose Wrapped Text, the available options are found under the Shapes tab.

Text On Path Options

Change the text font by selecting a new font from the Font dropdown list. You can select a new point size from the Point Size dropdown, use the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size buttons to make the text bigger or smaller, or use the Text Size slider to make the text larger or smaller by sliding it to the right or left. You can also make the text appear in bold or italics by clicking the corresponding font format button.
  • Click Duplicate to duplicate the text. The new text appears lower and to the right of the original and may be moved and manipulated by selecting it.
  • Click Delete to remove the selected text from the canvas.
  • Slide the Opacity slider to the right to make the text more opaque, to the left to make it more transparent.
  • Use the Flip Horizontal button to flip the text to a mirror image or the Flip Vertical button to flip it vertically.
  • Use the Rotate slider to rotate the text. Slide the slider right to rotate the text clockwise, left to rotate it counterclockwise.
Use the Skew sliders to slant the text horizontally or vertically from the bottom. Slide the Skew Horizontal slider left to slant horizontally slant the bottom of the text to the left and the top of the text to the right, or to the right to slant the bottom of the text to the right and the top to the left. Slide the Skew Vertical slider to the left to tilt the left edge of the text down and the right edge up, or to the right to tilt the right edge down and the left edge up. Note: Sliding one of the Skew sliders resets the other slider to the center (0) position.

Wrapped Text Options

  • Click Duplicate to duplicate the text. The new text appears lower and to the right of the original and may be moved and manipulated by selecting it.
  • Click Delete to remove the selected text from the canvas.
  • Slide the Opacity slider to the right to make the text more opaque, to the left to make it more transparent.
  • Slide the Stroke slider right to widen the thickness of the text outline, to the left to make it narrower.
Note: Unlike solid or stroke text, text on path cannot be edited once it is placed on the canvas.
Editing Text If, after placing solid or stroke text on the canvas, you decide you worded something incorrectly and want to fix it, Logo Design Studio Pro lets you edit your text.
  1. Double-click the text you wish to correct. The Text dialog will appear, with your current text displayed in the Enter text field.
  2. Enter your new text in the Enter text field, then click OK. Your new text will appear on the canvas in place of the old.
You can edit the text as often as you like as you work on your logo project. Note: The editing function also works with the text in taglines, which are displayed on the canvas as solid text. It does not, however, work with text on path, nor does it work with text that has been converted to a Bezier shape. If you need to correct either text on path or Bezier text, you will have to delete the incorrect text and start over.

Working with Symbols

Many word-processing programs include a character map to provide you with a convenient way to add symbols such as the copyright, registered trademark, or degree symbol, as well as foreign-language letters, to your document text. Logo Design Studio Pro also includes character map capability to let you add special symbols and text to your logo projects. To access the character map, click the Symbol button on the Insert menu. Select the font in which to display the special characters from the Font dropdown list, then scroll through the character display until you find the character you wish to add. Click on this character to enlarge its display, and then click Select to display it in the Characters to copy field. If you wish to select additional characters, do so, but keep in mind that multiple characters will be copied in the order they appear in the field. When you have selected all the characters you wish to copy at one time, click Copy to copy them to the Windows clipboard. There are two ways to retrieve the copied characters from the clipboard and incorporate them into your logo canvas:
  1. If you wish to place the special character on the canvas by itself or use it in text you are going to add, use Ctrl-V to copy the special text into the text entry field of the Text section of the Insert menu at the point in the text where you want the special characters to appear. Then select the type of text by using the Solid Text, Stroke Text, or Text on Path option buttons.
  2. If you wish to add the special characters to existing text or replace existing text with special characters, double-click the text on the canvas you wish to modify. The Text dialog will appear, displaying your text in the Enter text field. Place your cursor at the point where you wish to add the special characters and press Ctrl-V to insert them, then click OK to modify the canvas display.
Note: Once added to your solid or stroke text, special characters may be converted to Bezier shapes.

Converting Text to Bezier Shapes

Logo Design Studio Pro lets you change the solid text, stroke text, and wrapped text on path on your canvas into an editable image. To do this, select your text and then go to the Home menu and choose Convert To Bezier in the Editing section.  Your text will be stripped of any of its formatting other than its color. Your text is now treated as a shape, instead of as text. You can now edit the shape of any or all letters in your text. Click the Direct Selection button in the Selection section of the Home menu, or click the Insert menu tab, and then click the Direct button in the Shapes section. Your text will be covered with segment endpoints, as each letter has been converted to a collection of Bezier curves. Move your cursor over an endpoint; it will change to a two-headed arrow. Hold down your left mouse button and drag the endpoint in any direction. Your text will stretch itself out to that endpoint from the two endpoints formerly adjacent to it. To see the results of your deformation, click the Object Selection button in the Selection section of the Home menu or the Object button in the Shapes section of the Insert menu. The segment endpoints will disappear, and the deformed text will be surrounded by a set of sizing handles. If you wish to deform the text further, click the Direct button again and drag another node. You can repeat the process several times until you have deformed the text the way you wish.

Advanced Shape Manipulation

Once you convert text to a Bezier shape, the program treats it as a shape for the purposes of altering its appearance. You cannot use any of the options for editing solid, stroke, or text on path with Bezier shape text, nor can you correct misspelled text. You can, however, use the following options under the Shapes tab of the Advanced Tools menu with Bezier shapes. (To display the Advanced Tools slide-out pane, click the Advanced Tools button on the right sidebar or in the View menu.)
  • Click Duplicate to duplicate the text. The new text appears lower and to the right of the original and may be moved and manipulated by selecting it.
  • Click Delete to remove the selected text from the canvas.
  • Slide the Opacity slider to the right to make the text more opaque, to the left to make it more transparent.
  • Slide the Stroke slider right to widen the thickness of the text outline, to the left to make it narrower.
< < Part 5: Working with Logo Graphics Part 7: Working with Taglines & Layers >>

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