April 2026

Why Kerning Can Make or Break Your Logo You have spent hours choosing the perfect typeface for a logo. The colors are right, the concept is strong, and the overall layout looks great. But something still feels off. The letters look awkward, cramped in some places and too loose in others. The problem? Bad kerning. Kerning is the adjustment of horizontal spacing between two individual letters. It is one of the most overlooked details in logo design, yet it is one of the most important. Poor kerning makes a logo look amateurish. Proper kerning makes it look polished, balanced, and unmistakably professional. In this guide, we will walk you through exactly how to kern a logo step by step. You will learn how to spot common kerning problems, fix them in popular design software, and develop an eye for letter spacing that separates amateur work from expert-level design. What Is Kerning, Exactly? Before we dive into the practical steps, let us make sure the definition is crystal clear. Kerning is the process of adjusting the space between two specific letters in a word. It is not the same as tracking (which adjusts spacing uniformly across an entire word or block of text) or leading (which controls vertical line spacing). Every letter has a unique shape. Some letters, like “A” and “V,” naturally create awkward gaps when placed next to each other. Others, like “H” and “I,” tend to sit more evenly. Kerning addresses those uneven gaps on a pair-by-pair basis. Kerning vs. Tracking vs. Letter Spacing: A Quick Comparison Term What It Adjusts When to Use It Kerning Space between two specific letters Logo design, headlines, display type Tracking Uniform spacing across a whole word or line Body text, stylistic all-caps treatments Letter Spacing (CSS) Similar to tracking, applied in web/code Web design, CSS styling For logo work, manual kerning is essential. Auto-kerning settings in design software get you part of the way there, but they almost never produce perfect results for display-size typography like logos. How to Spot Bad Kerning in a Logo The first step in learning how to kern a logo is training your eye to recognize problems. Here are the most common signs of poor kerning: Uneven “rivers” of space: Some letter pairs have wide gaps while others are tightly packed. Letters that appear to touch or collide: Certain combinations look like they are merging into one shape. Words that read as two separate words: A large gap in the middle of a word can split it visually. An overall “wobbly” feeling: The word does not look balanced even though you cannot immediately pinpoint why. Problematic Letter Combinations to Watch For Some letter pairings are notorious for causing kerning headaches. Keep a close eye on these combinations: AV, AW, AT, AY – The diagonal and horizontal shapes create large triangular gaps. RA, PA, FA – The arm or crossbar of the first letter creates space above the “A.” To, Tr, Ta – The overhang of the “T” leaves excessive room next to lowercase letters. LT, LY, LA – The open right side of “L” creates visible holes. WA, VA, Yo – Diagonal strokes paired with round or angled letters. ry, ly, ty – Lowercase combinations that often need tightening. If your logo contains any of these pairs, you will almost certainly need to adjust the kerning manually. How to Kern a Logo: Step-by-Step Process Now let us get into the practical workflow. This process works regardless of which design tool you use, whether that is Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Affinity Designer, or another application. Step 1: Type Out Your Logo Text and Choose Your Font Start by setting your logo text in the typeface you have selected. Use a large point size so that spacing issues are easier to see. Working at 150pt or larger on screen is a good starting point. At this stage, leave the kerning on the default “Auto” or “Metrics” setting. This gives you the font designer’s built-in kerning as your baseline. Step 2: Switch to Optical Kerning (Optional Starting Point) Most professional design tools offer an “Optical” kerning mode that calculates spacing based on the actual shapes of the letters rather than the font’s built-in kerning table. Try both Metrics and Optical settings and see which one gives you a better starting point. For many display fonts, Optical kerning produces a more even result. But neither setting will be perfect for logo work, so manual adjustment is always the next step. Step 3: Kern in Groups of Three Letters This is one of the most effective techniques professional typographers use. Instead of trying to evaluate an entire word at once, break it down into groups of three consecutive letters. Here is how it works: Look at the first three letters of your logo text. Focus only on those three. Adjust the spacing between the first and second letter until the gap looks visually equal to the gap between the second and third letter. Move forward by one letter. Now look at letters 2, 3, and 4. Repeat the process. Continue until you reach the end of the word. Go back to the beginning and repeat the entire process one or two more times. The goal is not to make every gap exactly the same number of pixels. The goal is to make every gap feel visually equal. Because letters have different shapes (round, straight, diagonal, open), the actual measured distances will vary. What matters is the perceived balance of space. Step 4: Use the Squint Test Once you have completed your initial kerning pass, squint your eyes or step back from your screen. When the letters blur slightly, uneven spacing becomes much more obvious. You will see dark clumps where letters are too tight and bright holes where they are too loose. This simple technique is used by professional designers every day. It works because squinting removes your ability to read the actual letters, forcing your brain to evaluate the rhythm