Guides / Bold text
How to make text bold in Illustrator, even without a bold weight
If the font has a bold weight, pick it in the Character panel. If not, add a stroke in the text colour in the Appearance panel and drag it below the fill; the letters thicken without distorting. JuicyType's Strokes effect does this as one band.
JuicyType Strokes · screen recording goes hereSkip to JuicyType ↓
The manual way, in Illustrator
- Select the text. Open the Character panel (⌘T) and choose a Bold or Black weight if there is one.
- Otherwise open Window › Appearance, click Add New Stroke, colour it the same as the fill, set 0.5–2 pt, and drag it below the fill.
- Set Round Join in the Stroke panel so corners stay clean.
Faux bold via stroke closes up counters on small text; keep it to headlines.
Steps drafted from Illustrator's documentation; to be checked in Illustrator 2025–2026 before launch.
Or, with JuicyType
One effect in JuicyType
One Strokes band in the text colour is a faux bold you can dial by weight and turn off later.
- Strokesone band in the fill colour, 1–2 pt, round joins
JuicyType≡
Strokes✓
Keep live text●
Apply
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Common questions
Why is Bold greyed out in the Character panel?
The font has no bold weight installed. Use the stroke method or a different family.