Play around with different values to find spacing that satisfies your design. Negative values will bring the two letters closer together, while positive values will increase distance between the letters.
If you want to use the Character palette, navigate to the kerning drop down (pictured below in Illustrator), and select from the menu or use the up and down arrows. Hold down Option and use the right or left arrow keys to move the letters closer or farther apart. To change the spacing between individual characters, activate the Type Tool (T) and move your cursor between your chosen letters. In InDesign and Illustrator only, you can quickly bring the Character palette into view by hitting Cmd+T or by accessing the Window drop down and hovering over Type to enable the palette. You can find this in the Character palette, located in the Window drop down menu. Kerning is usually reserved for medium to larger text and headlines, as those letters are more noticeable when the spacing is out of balance.Īdobe Creative Cloud programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign all have a central place to adjust kerning. The goal is to have proportional spacing between characters pay special attention to serifs, flourishes, and angular letters like A, W, or V to achieve a consistent appearance. In this image, the letters are disproportionately spaced out. Both extremes will effect the legibility and readability of type. There are extremes to kerning letters can be too far apart or too close together. Kerning refers to the space between two letters or characters. Read on to learn about each process and how you can use them to manipulate text in Adobe Creative Cloud. These elements work in tandem to provide visually appealing lines of type.
In this overview, you’ll learn the about the key spacing processes of kerning, leading, and tracking. Letter and line spacing are fundamental tools for anyone working with text in a design. Have you ever come across the terms kerning, leading, and tracking in typography, but haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly what they are? Find out in this detailed guide.