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Create text designs with blend objects

Looking for ideas to create custom type designs or font effects using a blend object? You're in the right place!

You can use the Blend tool to combine shapes and colors between two or more objects to create a new object. Using this fundamental feature of Illustrator, we'll show you how to create a unique text design. 

Creative Typography

Get Illustrator

To know the basics of Illustrator, see Essential components of an artwork.

Got questions about fonts? check out Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips.

Create stunning text designs in Illustrator for advertisements, street art, book cover, or a logo. Let's get started:

Step 1: Create your text

a.) Type your text using the Type tool and apply a font of your choice on the text.

Add the text

b.) Select the text and assign no fill color. Add the outline color on the text. 

Assign no fill

c.) Use Pen tool to draw an object to be used as a spine for the typography. Spine is an outline shape that defines the central area of the text body.

Add central spine

Step 2: Create a blend object

In this step, we'll learn how you can combine the shapes and colors between two or more objects to create a blend object.

a.) Create rectangles using the Rectangle tool, fill them with different colors and then group them.

Draw colored rectangles

b.) Create a circle in the middle of the rectangles using the Ellipse tool.

Make a circle in the center

c.) Select the circle and the rectangle group. Use Clipping Mask to clip the rectangle group inside the circle using Object > Clipping Mask > Make.

Clipping mask

d.) Use the Pathfinder (Windows Pathfinder) to trim the clipped shape.

Trim the shape

Create blend

Blend options

In the Blend Options, select Spacing as Specified Steps and specify the count as 400.

Step 3: Replace spine on text with the blend

Use this blend to replace spine that was created for the text in step #1 (Object > Blend > Replace Spine). For more details, see Change the spine of a blended object.

 Ensure you create a copy of the blended shape when you assign it to a particular spine.

Replace spine

Repeat this step and complete your typography. Group all letters in the word and then save the design. To open this design in other CC apps for further use, export it to Creative Cloud. 

The final artwork

Use Photoshop to add noise

Now, you can use this text on your poster, brochure, flyer, or any other artwork. 


Try it yourself

Here is the sample file that you can download to try out the design workflow:

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