Affinity Text Spacing: Tracking and Kerning for Logo Lettering

The short answer

In Affinity Designer, letter spacing is set in the Character panel. Tracking changes the spacing evenly across a whole selection of text. Kerning changes the space between one specific pair of letters. For a logo, set the overall tracking first, then fix individual pairs with kerning. Both controls work only on live text. If the wordmark has already been converted to curves, or if it is an embedded image, these fields will not change it.

No version-specific documentation was supplied for this article. Menu names, panel locations and shortcuts can vary between Affinity releases and operating systems. Treat the locations below as typical and confirm them in your own installation.

First check: what kind of object is the lettering?

Before you change any spacing, find out what the logo text actually is. A file extension or a sharp on-screen preview does not tell you this. An AFDESIGN, SVG or PDF file can contain live text, vector paths, raster images, or a mix of all three.

Live text: the Layers panel shows a text layer, the Character panel controls become active when it is selected, and you can place a text cursor in it with the Text tool. Tracking and kerning apply directly.
Curves (paths): the letters show as curve or group layers with nodes and no editable characters. Spacing can only be changed by moving the letter shapes themselves.
Raster content: the lettering is an image layer made of pixels. Spacing cannot be adjusted as type. It has to be redrawn or retyped and rebuilt as vectors.
Separated glyphs: imported PDF or SVG files sometimes split a word into many small text objects or individual shapes. Tracking applied to one object will not affect its neighbors.

Being able to open or edit a logo file does not mean you are allowed to change or reuse the logo. Confirm usage rights separately.

Control | What it changes | Typical use in a logo

Tracking | Uniform space across all selected characters | Loosening or tightening a whole wordmark, often more open for all-caps settings

Kerning | Space between the two characters on either side of the cursor | Fixing awkward pairs such as AV, To or LT

Leading (line spacing) | Distance between lines of text | Stacked lockups with two or more lines

Word spacing | Space between words, mainly in frame text and justified paragraphs | Multi-word names where word gaps look uneven

Baseline shift | Vertical position of selected characters | Aligning symbols, small caps or registered marks

Tracking and kerning values in Affinity are typically expressed relative to the font size, as fractions of an em, rather than in fixed points. As a result, spacing stays proportional when you scale live text uniformly.

How to adjust letter spacing in Affinity Designer

Open the Character panel, usually found under Window > Text > Character.
Select the text with the Text tool, or select the whole text object with the Move tool to apply tracking to all of it.
Enter a tracking value. Positive values open the spacing and negative values tighten it.
For a single pair, click with the Text tool between the two letters so the cursor sits there, then change the kerning value.
Check the kerning setting. A default or auto option uses the kerning pairs built into the font. A manual value overrides that pair.
Keyboard adjustment is commonly available with Alt (Option on Mac) plus the left or right arrow keys. It adjusts kerning at a cursor position and tracking on a selection. Verify the exact bindings in the shortcuts preferences.

Why spacing can look wrong, and the order of checks

When letter spacing behaves unexpectedly, work through these causes from the most basic to the most specific.

1. Object type: confirm the text is still live and not curves, an image, or a set of separate glyph objects.
2. Font substitution: if the original font is missing, Affinity substitutes another one, and its metrics and kerning pairs will differ. Check for a missing-font warning and install the correct font.
3. Font kerning data: some fonts have weak or incomplete built-in kerning, so certain pairs look loose even at zero tracking. This is a property of the font, and you fix it with manual kerning.
4. Existing manual values: look for leftover tracking or kerning values on parts of the text. Mixed values show up when you select across differently spaced ranges.
5. Frame text justification: in a text frame with justified alignment, word and letter spacing can stretch to fill the line. Artistic text, or left alignment, avoids this.
6. Text on a path: spacing around curves opens on the outside of a bend and tightens on the inside. Adjust kerning visually at the tight spots.
7. Non-uniform scaling: stretching text horizontally or vertically distorts both the letterforms and the perceived spacing. Reset the transform and change the font size instead.
8. Trailing tracking: tracking can add space after the last character, which makes centered wordmarks sit slightly off-center. Remove tracking from the final character, or check alignment against the visible glyph edges.

Measurable properties versus visual judgment

Some things you can verify directly in the file: the tracking and kerning numbers, the font name and style, whether the text is live or converted, and the object bounds. Whether the spacing looks even is a visual judgment. Equal numeric spacing often does not look equal, because round and diagonal letters such as O, A and V create more apparent space than straight-sided letters such as H or I.

To judge rhythm, view the wordmark at its smallest intended size as well as large. Look at it upside down, or blur it slightly, to focus on the gaps rather than the letters. Logos tend to need more deliberate pair kerning than body text, because they are seen large and every inconsistency is visible.

Locking the spacing for export

Once the spacing is final, keep a hidden or separate live-text copy so the wordmark stays editable. Then duplicate it and convert the copy to curves, typically via Layer > Convert to Curves. Converting fixes the letter positions exactly as set, so the logo no longer depends on the recipient having the font installed.

If you export SVG or PDF with live text still inside, the spacing may render differently on another system. This happens when the font is missing or when the receiving software handles kerning differently. Check the export dialog's text options, then reopen the exported file and confirm that the letters are paths and the spacing matches the original.

When further inspection is needed

Three situations call for more context before you can resolve a spacing issue reliably:
• The lettering is raster content, so it has to be rebuilt as vectors.
• The wordmark is already outlined and no live-text source exists, so it must be adjusted shape by shape.
• The original font is unknown or unavailable.
In each case, identify the source file or the font first, and confirm you have permission to modify the logo.