A Script That Adds a Human Touch to InDesign Type

Mike Rankin

9

Perfection itself is imperfection. – Vladimir Horowitz

Most of the time, the level of perfection that computers allow us to achieve is a wonderful thing—and something we take for granted. Effortlessly, we draw perfect circles and squares, set type on perfectly straight lines with perfectly straight margins, and perfectly consistent leading. And this is all a good thing. But once in a while you might need to take a break from perfection and give your design a more organic, human touch. And when you do, you should check out the Humane Type script by Beetroot Design.

This free script has two main functions, humanizing body text and titles. When you run the script, you get a palette where you can set the parameters for both functions.

With body text you can select a frame containing text and randomize the margins and line spacing, and bend lines.

The script achieves the bending effect by putting each line of type on a curved path.

For title text, you make a selection within a text frame and choose how much you want to rotate, scale, and space your type.

So the next time you want to give your designs some well placed flaws, you can do it perfectly.