Fine Tuning Your Type

Fine Tuning Your Type

Learn how to fine-tune your text for a more crafted and professional look.

When to use

Fine-tuning your type is especially useful when creating headlines or working on logos.

Instructions

Creating Hierarchy

• Start by selecting your Type Tool (T) and instead of clicking and dragging out a text box, simply click your cursor once.
• Type out the word 'Headline' and change your font to something simple and clean like Gotham or Roboto and use a bold weight.
• Press 'Return' on the keyboard to go to a new line, and then type out the word 'Subhead' in the same font and weight.
• Click and drag over the 'Subhead' text, or select the line and click twice to select only the word 'Subhead' and then change the style to something lighter.
• Decrease the size of your subhead text.
• You will now have quite a bit of space between your two lines of text, so click inside of your text box three times to select all of the text, and then decrease the leading to move the words closer together.
• Click and select the 'Headline' text and click on the 'TT' icon in the Character Panel to change it to all caps.
• We will now adjust the kerning by moving our cursor between each of the letters beginning with the 'H' and the 'E' and then use the keyboard shortcut Alt/Option and the left and right arrows to move the letters closer together or farther apart.
• Rather than adjusting the kerning of our subhead, select the entire word and reduce the tracking in the Character Panel to adjust the space between all of the letters at the same time.
• With your text box selected, change the alignment to make your text flush left, ragged right using the Paragraph Panel. 

Hints & tips

• Paying attention to the details when fine-tuning your type is one of the best ways to make your work more professional.
• Clicking inside of the text box twice will select one word, and clicking inside your text box three times will select all of the text together.