How to Create a Quick Pop Art Type Effect in Adobe InDesign

This fun type effect gives a contemporary twist to pop art style. The best news? It only takes a few minutes to create, and you can do it directly in Adobe InDesign. 

How to Create a Long Shadow Text Effect in InDesign

For this effect, you’ll just need a punchy font that looks great in upper case. Here I’ve opted for Simplo Heavy. 

Step 1

Open InDesign, create a new document and create two layers, Background below and Type on top (Window > Layers). Lock Type and let’s work on Background for a moment. 

From the Swatches panel (Window > Color > Swatches), create two new CMYK swatches in two contrasting colors. Here I’ve created a Sky Blue, C=43 M=3 Y=0 K=0, and a Red, C=0 M=81 Y=68 K=0.

Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and drag across the whole page, setting the Fill to the paler of your two swatches, here Sky Blue. 

Lock the Background layer and unlock Type above. Use the Type Tool (T) to create a text frame in the center of the page, typing in your text and setting the font (here, to Simplo Heavy). From the Swatches panel, set the Font Color to [Paper].

Select the text frame and head up to Object > Effects > Drop Shadow. Bring the Opacity down to about 20% to make the shadow very subtle. Click OK to exit the window. 

Step 2

Take the Line Tool (\) and draw a diagonal line onto the page, to act as a guide for the angle of the shadow. This won’t in itself be part of the final design, but is simply for you to use to make sure all the lines of the shadow are parallel to each other.

Use the Pen Tool (P) to start to build up the shadow shape, starting from beyond the bottom edge of the page and meeting the bottom point of the first letter. Keep clicking along, creating a rough shadow shape. Don’t worry for now about getting the angles absolutely perfect—we can sort that out later. 

Keep working your way along the text, eventually taking the shadow down off the page and then uniting the silhouette. 

Step 3

Right-Click > Arrange > Send to Back, to push the shadow behind the text. 

Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select individual anchor points on the shadow’s corners and tap the arrow keys to shift their position, using the line you created earlier as a guide. 

Finally, switch the Fill of the shadow to your other swatch, here Red, to really make the effect pop.

And there you have it, a pop art effect which makes any text look fun and exciting!

Conclusion: Your Finished Type Effect

This type effect is super fun and playful and would look great on magazine layouts or posters. Switch up the colors to create different looks and moods for the effect.

A clean and chunky headline font is essential for making this effect look modern and cool. You can find more great display fonts on GraphicRiver and Envato Elements.