Studying Advanced Typography

In this opening post, we describe how to get the most out of type and how to turn Illustrator from a glorified word-processor into an astounding type modifying tool that can do just about anything to type, such as put it on irregularly shaped paths, wrap it around objects, give it an irregular shape, and put objects in it — and that’s just for openers.

Typing on a Path
Many people think that Illustrator is paths. A path is a series of anchor points and straight and curved line segments that define shapes. And putting type on a path has long been one of the greatest capabilities of Illustrator. That said, you’re up against a bizarre learning curve when using type in Illustrator. Initially, getting the type onto the path is pretty straightforward — but manipulating the type after that is a bit harder, and the effort required, such as for putting type on both sides of a circle, is downright silly.