Gradient Type

A simple technique to enliven display type is to make its fill color a gradient. Not surprisingly, this works best when you have bold letter shapes, allowing more of the gradient to show in the "letter windows." When a gradient is applied to a selected range of type, the gradient either starts and finishes within the letter shapes, or, if you drag with the Gradient tool, the gradient fill can start and/or finish outside of the letter shapes.

To apply a gradient to text either:

  • Select the text with the Type tool and apply a gradient from the Swatches palette, or use the Gradient palette to apply a gradient. Using this technique the gradient will affect only the selected text.
  • Select the text frame with the Selection tool, then click the Formatting Affects Text button, and then apply a gradient using the Swatches palette or the Gradient palette. Using this technique the gradient will affect all of the text within the frame.

Once the gradient has been applied, you can drag the Gradient tool over the selection to determine the angle of the gradient and its starting and finishing points.

Figure 18.1. Creating a New Gradient.

Figure 18.2. Gradient Type. In example A, the gradient was applied by clicking the gradient swatch in the Swatches palette. Type in the angle of the gradient on the Gradient palette. In example B, the angle and extent of the gradient were defined by dragging over the selected text with the gradient tool, arguably a more freeform approach.


Part I: Character Formats

Getting Started

Going with the Flow

Character Reference

Getting the Lead Out

Kern, Baby, Kern

Sweating the Small Stuff: Special Characters, White Space, and Glyphs

OpenType: The New Frontier in Font Technology

Part II: Paragraph Formats

Aligning Your Type

Paragraph Indents and Spacing

First Impressions: Creating Great Opening Paragraphs

Dont Fear the Hyphen

Mastering Tabs and Tables

Part III: Styles

Stylin with Paragraph and Character Styles

Mo Style

Part IV: Page Layout

Setting Up Your Document

Everything in Its Right Place: Using Grids

Text Wraps: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Type Effects



InDesign Type. Professional Typography with Adobe InDesign CS2
InDesign Type: Professional Typography with Adobe InDesign CS2
ISBN: 0321385446
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 186
Authors: Nigel French

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