I'd like to create something like this:
(see design peg)
Ideally, the text should be editable so that any letter combination can be used.
I know I can do it quickly (and keep the text editable) by just using Warp (Photoshop/Illustrator) or Envelope Distort (Illustrator), but it doesn't look as nice. The text is editable though. I included some samples in the linked image above.
I can do something neater and closer to the example by making the shapes manually, but of course the text isn't editable. I'd have to make each letter, from A-Z, manually, in each position (left, middle, right). I included a wireframe example in the linked image above.
Is there another way for me to do this so I can still keep the text editable, while having the result look nice and neat like in the design peg? I was thinking that I'd really just have to do the letter shapes manually, because the design peg looks like that how it was done, but I may be wrong. If so, let me know if you know of a better way to do this. I may be missing on a tool or effect I don't know about. Thanks!
P.S. I did try to use WhatFontIs and WhatTheFont to see if I could find the font used in the design peg, but I didn't find anything close. That's another reason why I think it was done manually.