Text on curved baselines.

The top of a curved baseline is known as Convax. The bottom is known as Concave.

Countless organizations use text on curved baselines when designing their logos. Especially, government and education institutions.

When using text on curved baselines, sans-serif characters with flat bottoms struggle.

The I in the top sample looks too low because the neighboring characters N and V have rocked up off the convex baseline. The same issue occurred at the end of the word where I look too low.

Another issue that comes into view with the convex baseline is the inconsistent spacing on the bottom of the characters. For example, the space between the characters E and R is approximately 4pt compared to the space between T and Y at 26pt.

In the lower sample “concave,” the opposite is true, as the N and V now dip below the concave baseline, making the I appear to sit too high. The same issue appears with the characters I and T where the I sets too high.

The opposite of loose spacing occurred at the end of the word where the characters T and Y overlap at the top.

Carved baselines change the spaces between characters from rectangles into wedges. This means that on a convex baseline, the tops of the letters are spread apart, and on a concave baseline, the tops of the letters are forced closer together.

This is a kerning nightmare, because the familiar relationships among character shapes change. The sharper the curve of the baseline, the worse the problem.

On convex baselines, some characters may have to be kerned close enough to touch each other along the baseline in order to bring some sense of logical spacing to their ascending parts. (This solution works best with sans-serif types, as you can space them tight without overlapping the serifs at their feet.)

Type set on a concave baseline will have to be spaced farther apart to avoid collisions between ascending characters.

Text on convex baselines will usually be easier to read than that on concave baselines, but avoid setting type in a circular arrangement that puts some of the type upsides down.

Helpful tips for text on baseline:

• Use gentle curves
• Choose condensed faces
• Hand-kern extensively