Convert Uppercase Lettering to Sentence Case

The short answer

Converting uppercase logo lettering to sentence case means capitalizing only the first letter of the wordmark, plus any proper nouns, and setting everything else in lowercase. How you do it depends on what the lettering actually is in the file. If it is live, editable text, a case command or a quick retype can handle it. If it has been converted to outlines, it is a set of vector shapes, and the lowercase letters have to be retyped or redrawn. If it is an embedded raster image or a flattened preview, nothing in it can be edited as type, and the wordmark has to be rebuilt.

Neither the file extension nor the filename tells you which of these you have. An AI, EPS, SVG or PDF file can hold live text, outlined paths, an embedded bitmap or a mix of all three. Open the file and inspect the lettering before you plan the conversion.

First, identify what the lettering is

What you find in the file | How to recognize it | What case conversion involves

Live text | The type tool can place a cursor in it, and the layers or objects panel lists it as a text object | Use a change-case command or retype the text. The font must be installed or available.

Live text with an All Caps style | The text is editable, but an All Caps or uppercase transform setting is switched on | Turn the setting off. The underlying characters may already be in mixed case, so check them after the transform is removed.

Outlined paths | Selecting the lettering shows anchor points and grouped or compound shapes, not a text object | No case command works. Retype the text in the original font and outline it again, or draw the lowercase letters as new shapes.

Custom lettering | The letterforms are hand-drawn shapes that don't belong to any installed font | Lowercase letters must be designed to match the existing capitals.

Embedded raster or preview | Selecting it shows a single image bounding box, and zooming in reveals pixels | The wordmark must be rebuilt as vector artwork. Tracing the image will not create lowercase letters.

Before you start: permissions and fonts

Being able to download or open a logo file does not give you permission to change it. Changing the capitalization alters the mark, so confirm that you or your client owns the logo or has the right to modify it. Trademark and brand-guideline restrictions can apply even when the artwork itself is easy to edit.

Fonts are a separate question. Retyping outlined lettering in its original typeface requires that typeface, under a license that covers logo use. Some licenses limit embedding, modification or commercial use, so check the license terms rather than assuming. Also confirm that the typeface includes lowercase letters at all. Some display faces are caps-only or put small capitals in the lowercase positions, and switching case in those fonts will not give you true lowercase forms.

How to convert the lettering

Starting materials

• The original master file, or the most editable version available
• The original typeface, licensed for this use, if the lettering came from a font
• The brand's existing guidelines, if any, for spacing, clear space and approved lockups
• A duplicate of the file to work in, so the uppercase original stays untouched

If the lettering is live text

• 1. Duplicate the artboard or layer so the uppercase version stays available for comparison.
• 2. Check whether an All Caps or text-transform setting is switched on in the character or type settings. If it is, turn it off and look at the characters underneath.
• 3. If the characters were actually typed in capitals, use the application's case command. Adobe Illustrator offers Type > Change Case > Sentence case. Inkscape provides a Change Case extension under its text extensions. In tools whose case options only change how the text displays, retype the text in lowercase with an initial capital.
• 4. Correct proper nouns, acronyms and any intentional mid-word capitals by hand. Automatic sentence case lowercases them all.
• 5. Adjust tracking and kerning. Lowercase letters set differently from capitals, and the wide letterspacing that suits all-caps lettering often looks too loose in mixed case.
• 6. Rebalance the lockup. The wordmark will usually change width and height, and lowercase ascenders and descenders affect vertical alignment with the symbol, the clear space and any tagline.

If the lettering is outlined paths

• 1. Find out which typeface was used, if it is a font. Check the brand guidelines, an older editable file, or compare the shapes against candidate fonts.
• 2. Set the new sentence-case text in that typeface at a size that matches the existing capital height.
• 3. Place the new text over the outlines and confirm that the shared capital letter matches. If the original outlines were customized, for example with altered terminals, joined letters or adjusted weights, carry those changes into the new lettering.
• 4. Kern the new text and rebalance the lockup as described above.
• 5. Keep a live-text version in the master file, then make an outlined copy for delivery.

If the lettering is custom-drawn or raster

Custom capitals have no lowercase counterparts to switch to, so a designer has to draw lowercase letters that match the existing stroke weight, contrast, curve style and terminal details. When the only source is a raster image, the wordmark has to be rebuilt as vector artwork first. Auto-tracing reproduces the existing capitals, often with uneven curves, and cannot invent lowercase forms. Treat this as a redesign of the wordmark, not a format conversion.

Color and export

Changing the case does not affect the color specifications, but retyped or redrawn letters can pick up default fills or strokes. Confirm that the new lettering uses the brand's defined swatches in each color version: full color, single color and reversed. Re-export every delivery format the original set included. Outline the text in the delivery files so they display correctly without the font, and keep the live-text master for future edits.

Final inspection

• Only the intended letters are capitalized, and proper nouns and acronyms are correct.
• No All Caps or text-transform setting is still applied anywhere in the file.
• The lowercase letters are true lowercase forms, not small capitals.
• Kerning and tracing have been adjusted for mixed case, not carried over from the all-caps setting.
• The lockup, alignment and clear space still work with the new wordmark proportions.
• Delivery files contain outlined vector paths with no live text that depends on an installed font, and no embedded raster image standing in for the lettering.
• Color values match the brand specifications in every version.
• The uppercase original is archived, and the change has been approved by the logo owner.

Gaps in the available information

No specific logo, typeface, software version or brand guideline was provided for this article, so the steps above are general practice, not instructions tested on a particular file. Menu names and case options differ between applications and versions. Check your own tool's documentation for its exact case-conversion and text-transform behavior.