Word Search
Word Search
by Syndee Rogers-Nuckles
Remember the word searches they had us do in elementary school? I thought it would be fun to recreate that look and put our own spin on it! The clean, graphic look makes it the perfect type treatment for a full photo scrapbook page. I love it!
In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a word search type block that will add a bold statement to a layout, printable wall art, or card!
Step One: Prepare the Workspace
- Create a new 7 x 7 inch document (File > New > Blank File) at 300 ppi with a white background. (Photoshop: Choose File > New.)
- Press the letter D to reset the Color Chips to the default of black and white.
- In the Menu Bar, choose View > Rulers.
- On the document, click on the left side ruler and drag out a guide to the 2” mark.
Step Two: Create the Word Search Text
- Get the Horizontal Type tool.
- In the Tool Options, open the Font Picker and choose a chunky font. I chose Bebas Regular. Set the Size to 72 pt, the Color to Black, and the Leading to 74 pt. Click on the Center Text icon. Check Anti-Aliasing. (Photoshop: In the Menu Bar, choose Window > Character to open the Character panel. In the Character panel, set the Leading to 74 pt.)
NOTE: You will have the most success with this tutorial if you use a monospaced font. A monospaced font, also called a fixed-pitch, fixed–width, or non-proportional font, is a font whose letters and characters each occupy the same amount of horizontal space. This contrasts with variable-width fonts, where the letters and spacings have different widths. Examples of monospaced fonts include Courier, Courier New, Lucida Console, Monaco, and Consolas.
- On the document, click toward the top center and type the word LAUGH. Press Return and type the word WONDERFUL.
- Repeat this process, adding each word shown below.
- Click the checkmark to commit the type.
- Get the Horizontal Type tool.
- In the Tool Options, adjust the Size and Leading so the words fit on the document.
Step Three: Align the Word LOVELY
In this step, the goal is to line up certain letters with the vertical guide. In this case the L, O, V, E, L, and Y. See the screenshot below.
To move a word to the right:
- On the document, click to place the cursor at the beginning of the word.
- Press the Space Bar to add spaces before the word until the particular letter is centered on the vertical guide.
- Click the checkmark to commit the type.
To move a word to the left:
- On the document, click to place the cursor at the end of the word.
- Press the Space Bar to add spaces at the end of the word until the particular letter is centered on the vertical guide.
- Click the checkmark to commit.
Step Four: Color the Word LOVELY
- Get the Horizontal Type tool.
- On the document, click and drag your cursor over the letter L in LAUGH to highlight it.
- Click on the Foreground Color Chip to open the Color Picker.
- In the dialog box, choose a color and click OK. I used Hex Code #13c2d2.
- Repeat the process for each of the vertical letters to spell out LOVELY.
- Click the checkmark to commit the type.
Step Five: Save and Use the Word Search
- Save the word search document (File > Save As) as a layered PSD file.
- Using the Move tool, click on the word search and drag it onto your scrapbook page or other digital project.
Here’s my finished layout after I’ve added my word search type block. I love how it looks on my full page photo!
I can’t wait to see what you come up with in the Digi Scrap Tutorial Gallery.
Credits:
Page & Photo: Syndee Rogers-Nuckles, Jenko Ataman
Kit: Carefree by Amanda Heimann
Font: Bebas Regular
Software: Photoshop Elements 14, Adobe Photoshop CC 2014
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Author: Syndee Rogers-Nuckles | Contact Us
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Such a simple idea but such a striking result! Love this!! 🙂
Love this “wordy” layout, thank you for the inspiration and tut 🙂
Thank you!
Oh my, this concept really takes me back in time. Your modern update is truly refreshing and appealing in your darling graphic design. 🙂
Thank you so much!
I love it, never would have thought it would be this easy. Thanks so much for sharing