Quick Tip: The Correct Way to Create Curved Text

Quick Tip: The Correct Way to Create Curved Text
Insignias and retro logos are popular and many of them have some sort of text along a curved path. Most people use the Text Warp tool but it ends up deforming the text. In this tutorial, you’ll learn why they look deformed and how you can properly create text along a curve without deforming the letters.


Why Curved Text Looks Deformed

Have a look at the two badges below – the one on the left was curved with the Warp Text tool while the other was created on a curved path. At first glance, they both look the same but look closely at the text and you can see that the left-image text is deformed (letters upper-half are enlarged).



Here’s another example with just plain text to better show how the text gets deformed.


Don’t use the Warp Text tool

First of all, never create curved text with the Warp Text tool. This tool can be found in the options bar when you have your Text tool selected and it can be quick and easy, but the results are amateur. The Warp Text tool should only be used for warping the shape of your text such as making it bulge, pinched, etc.




How to Create Text on a Curved Path

The proper way is to create a vector path then add your text to the path. We’ll show you how.
Step 1

First, select the Ellipse tool from your toolbar. You can pick any shape you like or use the Pen tool (P) to draw your own path that your text will follow. For our image, the Ellipse tool is the most suitable choice.




Step 2

In the options bar located below your Photoshop menu, click on the dropdown menu and select Path.



Draw a path on your document. You can hold the Shift key while dragging to get a perfect circle (or square/polygon if you are using another shape tool).



To reposition the path, switch to the Path Selection tool and drag the path.




Step 3

Next, switch to the Text tool (T) then click anywhere on the path. When you hover over the path, your cursor should change to a text cursor with a curved line across it.



Type in your text. If you want your text centered, remember to set it in the options bar.




Step 4

We have our text, but it’s not quite aligned. First, to position the text in the center, you can adjust the start and stop points. On the path, you’ll find two points. Switch to the Path Selection Tool then drag the point to reposition your text. Your cursor should change to a text cursor with two arrows. As you’re dragging, you can hold the Shift key if you want to position the points perfectly in the center.






Step 5

It appears that our text path is too large and the text isn’t centered with the badge. To fix this, you can resize the path using the Transform tool. Press Ctrl/Cmd+T or go to Edit > Free Transform. While holding the Shift and Alt keys, drag the corner nodes of the transform box towards the center to scale the path. When you hold the Alt and Shift key, it forces your transformation to transform from the center and in the same aspect ratio. Press Enter to apply the changes.



Our text is now in the center.


Additional Text Settings

Here are more ways you can creatively create text along a path.


Flip Text Along a Path

With the Path Selection tool selected, simply drag the point towards the center of the shape to inverse the text.


Change Text Orientation

With the Text tool selected, click on the “Toggle text orientation” button in your options bar.
Final Results


Note on the Badges

Do you like the badges shown in this tutorial? These amazing badges were designed by Zeppelin Graphics – purchase them on Creative Market. And case you’re wondering, yes the text is created on a vector path (no warped text) :)