George Lerner – Website Tech

For coaches who want to create and sell online courses, but struggle with the technical aspects

Inkscape Text in Circle for Logo

Here’s a refined, step-by-step checklist for making circular text for a logo. The text is in the bottom of the circle, centered on the bottom of the circle.

text in circle, baseline on red spacer, spacer just inside logo outer ring

You will use a “red spacer ring” so the text baseline will be just inside the red spacer, with descenders inside the ring.

This avoids angle guessing and keeps the text upright, bottom-centered, and properly spaced from the edge of your logo.

Tested in Inkscape version 1.1.2 2022-02-04 (version in the Linux Mint Software repository), and on Inkscape 1.4.2 (latest stable as of Aug 2025)

az-wp-logo-structure-2Download

Document and Geometry

  • — Document properties (File, Document Properties)
    • Width: 150 mm
    • Height: 150 mm
    • Background: Page tab, Background color: usually leave transparent, or every time you adjust your website background adjust this to match.
  • — Outer ring (visible)
    • Draw a circle: X 5 mm, Y 5 mm, W 140 mm, H 140 mm
    • Fill: none
    • Stroke: your choice of color (use a color during design)
    • Stroke width: 4.0 mm
    • Keep this ring even if you want it white or transparent in the final design; it enforces outer margin on websites.
  • — Red spacer (guide)
    • Draw another circle: X 8.400 mm, Y 8.400 mm, W 132.600 mm, H 132.600 mm
    • Fill: none, Stroke: red, opacity 40%
    • Stroke width: 4.0 mm
    • Keep visible while aligning; set opacity to 0% at the end

Text settings (legible at small sizes)

  • — Font (Text menu, Text and Font shift-ctrl-T)
    • Text (Text tab): your company name
    • Font Family (Font tab): Liberation Serif
    • Style/weight: Normal (or bold, want most legible)
    • Size: 44 pt fits “AZ WP Website Consulting LLC” 44.5 pt doesn’t.
      Final result is barely legible in a ~134 px circle on-screen.
    • Color: #284568 (use a color from your color palette)
    • Alignment: Centered
    • Style string you can paste if needed:
      • font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:14.1111px;font-family:’Liberation Serif’;-inkscape-font-specification:’Liberation Serif, Normal’;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-anchor:middle;fill:#284568
  • — Initial text box placement (only to start)
    • X 12.609, Y 72.816, W 124.461, H 64.471
    • Exact centering comes from the path steps below

Put text on bottom, inside, upright (no degree guessing)

  1. Duplicate the red spacer to create the text baseline
    • Select the red circle → Duplicate (Ctrl+D).
    • This duplicate is your text path. It should sit just inside the red stroke so the text baseline rides “just inside” the red spacer.
    • If needed, slightly reduce the duplicate’s width/height (e.g., 1–2 mm total) to move the baseline inward.
  2. Convert that duplicate to a path
    • Path → Object to Path.
  3. Set the path’s start point to the bottom (6 o’clock)
    • Node tool (N).
    • Add/select the bottom node.
    • Click “Set first selected node as start.”
    • This makes the bottom the reference point for centering.
  4. Put the text on the path
    • Select the text, then Shift+select the path.
    • Text → Put on Path.
    • Because the start is bottom and the text is center-aligned, the phrase centers at the bottom automatically.
  5. Ensure the text is upright on the inside
    • If the text appears outside or upside-down, select the path → Path → Reverse.
    • Re-check that the baseline is still inside the red spacer (shrink/grow the path slightly if necessary).
  6. Balance and clearance
    • Increase/decrease font size to taste (44 pt is your working size).
    • If descenders get close to the red, either:
      • Slightly shrink the text path radius (move it inward), or
      • Reduce font size a touch.
    • Your target: baseline of letters like “n/u” is just inside (towards the center of) the red; descenders (p/q/j/g/y) can remain *in* the red.
  7. Finalize guides
    • Set the red spacer opacity to 0% (or hide the layer).
    • Keep the text path invisible (no fill, no stroke) for future edits.

Spacer width guidance (mm vs em)

  • Start with 4.0 mm stroke for the red spacer (works for your 44 pt case).
  • If you need a rule of thumb: aim for a spacer stroke at least slightly larger than typical descenders for your font and size. For 44 pt Liberation Serif, 4–6 mm is a practical range. Then adjust visually so the text is a good distance from the logo’s ring:
    • Too tight near descenders → increase stroke width or move the text path a hair inward.
    • Too far from ring → decrease stroke width or move the path outward.

Quick reference

  • Document: 150 × 150 mm
  • Ring: 140 mm circle at (5,5), stroke 4.0 mm
  • Red spacer: 132.6 mm circle at (8.4,8.4), stroke 4.0 mm, opacity 0% after alignment
  • Text: Liberation Serif, Normal, 44 pt, centered; put on duplicated-red path; start node set to bottom; reverse path if text is outside

Summary: Instructions reflect height 150 mm, spacer stroke in mm, baseline-inside-red approach, and practical legibility notes for Liberation Serif at small sizes.