This guide shows you how to add effects to text in the Design Studio. It is for merchants who already place text on a product and want to make it stand out: a drop shadow, an outline, a neon glow, or a curve along an arc. You toggle effects on and off, then fine-tune each one in place.
If you have not added text yet, start with add and style text first.
Open the text Effects tab
The Effects panel only appears when a text element is selected, so pick your text first.
Select a text element
Click the text on the canvas you want to style. The properties panel on the right updates to show controls for that element.
Switch to the Effects tab
In the properties panel, open the Effects tab. You will see a grid of effect tiles and, below it, a Shape section.
Read the grid of toggles
The grid holds nine effect tiles: Lifted, Glow, Shadow, Outline, Splice, Background, Echo, 3D Depth, and Glitch. Each tile shows a small preview of what the effect does. Click a tile to turn that effect on. Click it again to turn it off.
Turn on an effect and tune it
Effects start with sensible defaults, so you see a result the moment you click. From there you adjust.
Click an effect tile
Click a tile, for example Shadow, to enable it. The text on the canvas updates right away with the default look for that effect.
Adjust the inline settings
When you turn an effect on, its settings expand in place, just below its row in the grid. Use those controls to change the look. A shadow, for instance, lets you set its color, blur, offset, and opacity.
Watch the mutually exclusive pairs
Some effects cannot run together. Lifted and Shadow share the same shadow settings, so turning one on turns the other off. The Outline, Splice, and Lifted styles also share one outline behind the scenes, so enabling any one of them clears the other two. This keeps the look predictable; you will not end up with two conflicting outlines on the same text.
Curve or warp the text
The Shape section sits below the effect grid. It bends the whole text along a path instead of changing how the letters are filled or shadowed. It holds two tiles: Curve and Warp.
To bend text along an arc, turn on Curve, then drag the bend control to set how tight the arc is. Drag one way for an upward arc and the other way for a downward one.
To shape text with a preset, turn on Warp. It starts with the arch style, and you can pick a different style from there.
You can use only one of Curve or Warp at a time. Turning one on clears the other, the same way the shadow and outline pairs behave.
When you want a clean slate, click Remove all effects at the bottom of the panel. This button appears once at least one effect is active, and it clears every effect at once, including any older per-letter style left on the text.
Common questions
Why did my shadow disappear when I clicked Lifted?
Lifted and Shadow share the same shadow settings, so they cannot both be on. Turning Lifted on turns Shadow off, and the reverse is also true.
Can I curve text and warp it at the same time?
No. Curve and Warp are mutually exclusive. Turning one on clears the other. Pick whichever shape fits your design.
How do I clear everything and start over?
Click Remove all effects at the bottom of the Effects tab. It clears every effect in one step, including any older per-letter style.
My glow looks invisible. What is wrong?
A glow needs a color that contrasts with the background. Glow starts on a violet color so it shows on light surfaces. Change the glow color in its settings if it blends into your design.
If an effect does not look the way you expect, check the color and opacity in its inline settings first. If you are still stuck, contact support.
Next
To change the typeface behind these effects, see choose and load fonts.