How to Easily Make a Broken Text Effect in Illustrator

Illustrator Text Effects

If you're looking to add a bit of edge and visual interest to your typography, the broken text effect is a quick, easy and stylish way to do it. In this Illustrator tutorial, I will show you how to create this fragmented look using the Radial Grid as a guide — a simple yet powerful technique for achieving random breaks. With just a smart alignment, you’ll be able to give any word a dynamic, high-impact twist that works great in modern branding, editorial layouts, or digital artwork.

Step 1

Open Illustrator and create a new file at any size you prefer. In this case, I’ll use 1800 x 1200 px.

Step 2

Select the Type Tool (T) and type your text. I’m using the font CocoSharp at 300 pt.

Step 3

With your text selected, go to Type > Create Outlines.

Step 4

Navigate to Object > Compound Path > Make.

Step 5

Select the Polar Grid Tool and draw a grid over your text. Adjust the number of sections using the arrow keys on your keyboard while dragging.

Step 6

Go to Window > Stroke and set the grid stroke to about 2 px using any color you wish. I will set mine to Orange so you can better see how the effect works.

Step 7

Go to Select > All.

Step 8

Open the Pathfinder panel via Window > Pathfinder and click the Divide icon.

Step 9

Go to Object > Ungroup All to separate all elements.

Step 10

Select one piece of the orange grid, then go to Select > Same > Appearance.

Step 11

With all grid parts selected, press Delete on your keyboard to remove them.

Step 12

Select the remaining text pieces and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform.

Step 13

Finally, apply the following settings in the Transform Effect window and click OK.
Note: Feel free to adjust the values according to the look you’re going for.