The way a word looks in print can have more of an impact to a viewer than the actual word itself. The features in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop control almost every aspect of this generation of design and placement of type in a field, and with a few simple tricks, both programs can produce awesome typographical effects that communicate an idea that will have a great impact.

It is important to know a few things about the two programs before we begin. Photoshop is primarily a raster-based software program, meaning that its operations are designed to manipulate pixels. There are, however, a few tools in this program that generate and edit vector objects. These tools include the Pen tools, the Direct Selection and Path Selection tools, the Shape tools, and the Type tool. Illustrator depends on similar tools to create vector objects and has several components that generate and edit pixels. Some of these include a series of effects that modify Bezier curves by adding pixel effects and filters that can be directly applied to raster images.

When modifying fonts, you can achieve almost any type effect in Photoshop through a series of Layer techniques, but there are a few techniques in Illustrator that will produce a similar, and most of the time even better, outcome with less effort involved. One example is the ability to modify the shape of type characters. Since type in Illustrator can be converted to basic vector outlines the intrinsic shapes of characters can be easily changed and manipulated.

Start by generating some type in Illustrator. Next, choose Create Outlines from the Type menu. Make sure you proof your text because once the outline is created, the type can no longer be edited. The conversion changes the text characters into a group of Bezier curves that can be altered by dragging their anchor points, segments of direction handles with the Direct Selection tool or adding addition paths.

Illustrator also beats Photoshop when creating characters with multiple-colored outlines. First, choose the Horizontal Type tool and create one or more characters. Apply a colored fill to the characters. Next, convert the type to outlines. From the Object menu, select Path > Offset Path and type a value, in points, in the dialog box, then click OK. The width of the type will appear to increase, but what actually happens is the Offset Path command automatically duplicates and enlarges the selected characters by the specified value. The new path is positioned behind the original path. With the new offset path still selected, choose a color fill from the Swatches or Color Panel to color the new path's offset edge. Repeat the process for each new outline you want to create.

This concludes the cool type effects lesson in Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2!