{"id":74614,"date":"2025-04-12T01:50:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T15:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elements.blog-cms.envato.net\/?p=60971"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:38:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T03:38:22","slug":"stretched-text","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/stretched-text","title":{"rendered":"The rise of stretched text: nostalgia and motion design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anyone with formal training in graphic design will tell you never to manually scale a piece of text. \u201cIf you want it wider, use the extended version,\u201d they will say. But knowing rules empowers us to break them, and as long as you know what you\u2019re doing, stretched text has become a crucial part of the modern motion designers\u2019 bag of tricks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Effects<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Stretched<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Future<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Swiped<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Spotify\u2019s<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Why is stretched text so popular, and what has caused its rise? Our theory is that this font trend<\/a> harks back an unintentional element of 90s design<\/a>. Back then, the novelty of desktop publishing enabled anyone with a home computer to innocently stretch and skew letters across party invitations, flyers, and lost cat posters. We subconsciously store these offensive memories, and over time, they evolve into something that we want to see again because that old hatred is now nostalgia. And we push this stretching and warping past its limits until it gains a life of its own, which we now embrace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Unlimited creative assets. Access to AI tools. <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n View all<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Enfonix – Stretch Font <\/h3>\n \n limitype <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n \"Enfonix\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n Moon Berry – Modern Futuristic Font <\/h3>\n \n PandekaStudio <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n \"Moon\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n Space Odyssey – Modern Sans <\/h3>\n \n ikiikowrk <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n \"Space\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n <\n <\/a>\n \n >\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

Stretched text out in the wild<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’ve been seeing stretched text in animation and design for several years now. An early example is the Playgrounds Festival opener from 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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