How WordShapeLab works

WordShapeLab turns a word list into a shaped arrangement of text. You choose the words and their emphasis before generating a layout, then check which ones fit. Here's what happens between adding text and downloading the finished image.

Text becomes an editable word list

The editor normalizes text to Unicode NFC while keeping accents. You can convert new input to lowercase using a chosen parsing locale. Phrase input keeps each line together. The resulting table shows the words or phrases and their positive weights, ready for you to check and edit.

Weights set the font sizes

Square-root sizing makes font size proportional to the square root of each weight. Linear sizing makes it proportional to the weight itself. One scale applies across the layout. Different word lengths and letter shapes affect the space they cover, so the picture doesn't provide an exact comparison of word areas.

Words are fitted inside the shape

The engine reads letter outlines from the bundled fonts and checks padded word rectangles against the chosen shape and occupied grid cells. Words can be horizontal or turned 90 degrees. If a word can't fit, the placement report gives a reason so you can decide what to change.

The seed helps repeat an arrangement

The same words, engine version, font data, shape, settings and seed reproduce the same layout data. The seed alone isn't enough. Download a project JSON to keep all those details together with the finished word positions.

Downloads use the finished word positions

SVG, PNG and PDF use the layout you've generated. You can change colors and the background without moving the words. The artwork background is separate from the app theme. Image compression may vary between browsers even when the layout is the same.