Grunge design is more popular than ever now. How long it will last is anyone’s guess. But for now it’s a style every designer should be comfortable with.

One aspect of grunge design is the treatment of type as “distressing”. There are hundreds of “shabby” or “grunge” fonts available for purchase or through free font sites. While they have their uses, there are drawbacks, i.e. the characters are not variables, so every time you use an ‘e’, ​​for example, it looks exactly like the ‘e’ you last used. For me, THAT is a drawback.

This tutorial will detail an easy way to use any font you like and keep it editable. Another great advantage of this method is that it can be used for print (300 dpi) and online (72 dpi).

You’re going to need a distressed, grungy, aged, or dirty background. Scan a piece of old wood or take a digital photo of a beaten wall, a piece of cardboard, a rusty piece of metal or something. Or search online for grunge background images.

Step 1

Once your background image is open, create a new layer and write something using your favorite or chosen font. The font color isn’t important at this point, just make it dark or light enough so you can read what you wrote.

(You now have two layers: the background image and the text layer)

Step 2

Click on (or hide) the text layer in the LAYERS PALETTE (you won’t be able to see the text now).

Highlight the background image layer and select COLOR RANGE from the SELECT menu tab. From the dropdown menu, choose SAMPLE COLORS. (I prefer to click the SELECT radio button, but you should try it and the PICTURE radio button and decide for yourself.)

At this point, you have a decision to make: if your background image is light in color, you need to sample the darker or contrasting areas of the background using the Eyedropper tool in the COLOR RANGE dialog. Conversely, if it’s a dark background, use the Eyedropper tool to select the lighter areas.

Using the slider bar, you will be able to increase or decrease the amount of color or value you are selecting

When you’re satisfied, click OK.

(Still only two layers)

Step 3

You will see the selected selection. Making sure you’re working on the background image layer, copy the marquee-marked selection and then paste it onto a new layer (it should create its own new layer, but to be safe, only create one first). You’ve just created your weathered layer, so label it ‘weathered 1’.

(Three layers: the background image, ‘distressed 1’ and the text layer)

Step 4

In your LAYERS PALETTE activate the type layer (you will be able to see the type now).

Move your ‘distressed 1’ layer above the text layer and you’re good to go. You’ve aged your font while keeping it editable! And each character has their own unique angst.

Add layers and images as your design requires. Experiment with fewer and/or more distresses… change background images… add multiple background images… use different settings on your layers… instead of NORMAL in the LAYERS PALETTE, use COLOR BURN or OVERLAY or whatever looks best for you. Try changing your font color and its opacity; you can do what you want, because…

Hey, you’re the designer!