Finals

Our final is scheduled by the University for Monday, December 16 at 8am. 
We will be meeting on that day at 9am, because 8 is just too darn early.

Attendance is mandatory.

During our allotted time you will be returned your final project (unless I choose it to showcase it in the hallway display), receive your final grade (which will already be entered into SAIL), and be asked to discuss the course as it progressed over the semester. 

Video :: Selecting Colors

Please let me know if you like these or the step by step tutorials better. 

Note you can play this video through the blog or click on the YouTube logo in the lower right hand corner of the player to view on YouTube (this option will give you more flexibility as to your viewing size). 

For the best viewing quality in Full Screen mode make sure your video quality is set to 720p. The video has been recorded with  the ability to be played back in HD.

New Adobe CS6 Tutorials

Learn the basics of InDesign CS6 with Getting Started and New Features tutorials by product experts.

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-indesign-cs6/?PID=2159997

Learn InDesign CS5 & CS5.5

Learn the basics of InDesign CS5 and CS5.5 with Getting Started and New Features tutorials by product experts…

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-indesign-cs5/

Grid Articles & Books

Please read the following articles to help you on your way on the booklet project.

Anatomy of a Typographic Grid by Steven Bradley at Vanseo Design.
4 Types of Grids and When Each Works Best by Steven Bradley at Vanseo Design.

The book he references in both posts in an excellent addition to any library. 
If you will be doing any type of graphic design or layout this is a must buy. 

Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop
Timothy Samara
Amazon :: $20

Basics Design 07: Grids, 2nd Edition
Gavin Ambrose (Author), Paul Harris (Author)
Amazon :: from $28

Setting Up Your Grid

Before continuing with this post, please read the blog post "Creating a New Document". Once you have followed those steps, come on back to this post and follow these directions. Thanks.

Setting up your grid

With your new document now created we have just a few more steps to complete before we can start designing our layout. 

While there a infinite number of ways to help organize our layout, we are going to use a simple grid that will offer everyone flexibility and be easy to use. This grid is called a Modular Grid.

If not already open, open your "Pages" panel and double click on your "A-Master".  

Note: To tell quickly tell what pages are selected and therefore editing you can use two different visual references. One the name or number of the pages will be highlighted in black with the text in white. Second the thumbnail of the page you are working on will be highlighted in blue. 

When you first double click on the "A-Master" page your "Pages" panel will look like the following image. See how both the name and page selected is highlighted.

In order to apply the changes we are about to make to both pages we need to first select the second page in the spread. To do this hold down "Shift" on your keyboard and click on the page next to the first highlighted page, turning them both blue. See below…

Once we have the appropriate pages selected we can move on to setting up our columns. To do this navigate to the "Top Menu" and select "Layout" > "Margins and Columns…"

A new window pane entitled "Margins and Columns" will open.

First, I like to see what I am changing so make sure that "Preview" is selected (selecting "Preview" is a small function that will make you more efficient in any of Adobe's Software as it can prevent mistakes.)

Secondly we need to change the "Number" of columns and the "Gutter". For this project we want four (4) columns with a "Gutter" of .125 (1/8) of an inch. 

Once you have made these changes, click "OK"

The visual appearance of your document should have changed to match the image below.

Now we want to create horizontal grids that will finish out our Modular Grid and give us vertical touch points for our layout.

To do this navigate to "Layout" in the top menu and select "Create Guides…"

A new window pane entitled "Create Guides" will open.

We need to change the Number of rows to five (5) and the "Gutter" to .125 inches.

Under "Options" make sure "Margins" is selected under "Fit Guides to". Again it is a good idea to make sure "Preview" is selected. 

Click "OK".

Again the visual appearance of your document will change and should look like the image below.

At this point save your document. The keyboard shortcut for this action is "command S".

Now if you double click on any of the other page thumbnails within your "Pages" panel you will notice that the columns and guides you just created have been applied throughout the document.

Start designing … go, go, now, start creating magic … you can do it!!

Creating a New Document

Before continuing with this post, please read the blog post "InDesign Preferences". Once you have followed those steps, come on back to this post and follow these directions. Thanks.

Ok lets get started at setting up your InDesign file for your new project.

Creating a New Document

With InDesign open, go to the "File" menu and navigate to "New" and select "Document…". 

Note: The quickest and easiest way to open a new document in InDesign (and any other Adobe Program) is the keyboard shortcut "command N".

After selecting "Document…" you will be presented with the "New Document" window pane.

If your window looks like the image below, please click "More Options" before continuing.

After clicking "More Options" your window should look like the image below…

Making changes to your document's specifications.

In this window we are going to change the following items: "Number of Pages", "Page Size", and "Bleed" (highlighted in the image below).

Our specifications for this project.

1. "Number of Pages" to 16.

2. "Page Size" 4.75 x 7 inches (vertical).

3. "Bleed" of .125 inches all the way around.

If you have edited the "New Document" window correctly it will look like the image below.

Click "OK" to create your New Document.

Your InDesign workspace should look like this…

STOP.

Before you do anything else, we need to save our document.

Go to the "File" menu and select "Save As".

A new window will open.

Change the nomenclature of the file to "first-last-Brochure" and navigate to where you wish to save your file and click "Save".

Note: To save a file for use in an older version of InDesign, you will need to go to the "File" menu and select "Export…". This will open a new window where you will choose the "Format", which should be set to an "IDML" file. Remember "old will always open in new, new never in old".

Congratulations you are now ready to move onto the next step, before starting your design.

InDesign Preferences

Before we get started creating anything in InDesign lets go ahead and set up some basic preferences for the software as a whole.

Note: Changing preferences with a document open only applies the preferences to that document. This allows you, if needed, to change your preferences for different documents. The following steps will show you how to set up your base preferences that will be standard for any new document you open. 

Launch InDesign

When you first open InDesign you will either see a similar screen as below, or you will have a "Introduction" dialog box appear. Either is correct.

You will notice in the upper right hand corner (just below the date and time in this photo) that my workspace is set to "Typography". This setup is the one I find the most useful as it presents all the tools that I need. I do make one addition to this workspace, by adding the "Align" and "Pathfinder" tools as I use these regularly.

As you work in InDesign more you will determine what tool layout works best for you, but having your "Tools" and "Panels" set as seen below is a good place to start.

Saving your workspace

Since we use computers in shared labs and different people use different workspaces I suggest that you save your workspace once you have it set up to your liking. This will ensure that your workspace is available every time you sit down at your computer in the lab. 

To save your workspace click on "Window" in the top most menu and select "Workspace" > "New Workspace…" 

A new window will open. Name your workspace with your Last Name and Click "OK". 

You will now notice that "Typography" (upper right hand corner under the time) has been replaced with your last name indicating that the workspace is active. 

Setting Your Software Preferences

To set the software preferences go to "InDesign" in the top menu. Next navigate to "Preferences" > "General".

This action will open your "Preferences" Window seen below.

Within this window we see a list of items which we can navigate through on the left. As we choose the different items the information on the right will change. 

The first item we want to select is "Type". With this selected make sure that your information matches that of the photo below. 

Now lets move down to "Units & Increments". With this item selected we want to make sure that our Vertical and Horizontal Ruler Units are set to Inches. If they are set to something else, use the pull down menu to select the correct units of measure. 

Note: If you are more comfortable using the metric system of measurement, please feel free to set your preferences to centimeters. 

Next select "Spelling". Like other programs, InDesign offers an option to turn on "Dynamic Spelling". You may wish to turn this option on within this dialog box.

Note: Dynamic Spelling should not replace spell checking or having another individual proofread your document. There are instances where we type "form" and mean "from", spelling mistakes such as these can only be identified by reading through your document.

Lastly select "Display Performance". We are going to change the "Greek Type Below" preference. Set this measurement to "3 pt".

Click "OK".

To continue to set up your document for the project please read the next post entitled "Creating a New Document".

Project 4 :: InDesign

Corpus Christi Visitor’s Guide
Due December 9th

Every practice has a set of rules which governs it. Mastery occurs with the realization of these rules. Innovation occurs at the point of intelligent and creative rebellion against them.
— Fiel Valdez

Objective
Using Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, create a small 16-page booklet whose target audience should be considered individuals between the ages of 30–37 who are new to Corpus Christi. 

Criteria
While there is no required content, think about places, events, bars, etcetera that your target audience may have interest in visiting. All content (copy)can be appropriated from any web source, but you must provide a sources page within your booklet. You are encouraged to shoot your own photography, but may use sites such as Flickr or Google as long as your images are the correct resolution (300ppi). 

Specifications    
Final Folded size: 4.75 x 7 inches (vertical)
Final Flat size: 9.5 x 7 inches
Colors: CMYK
Binding: Saddle Stitch
Pages: 16 including cover

Production
You will be taught how to output a file as a PDF, which you will then take to Campus Copies to have printed. The cost for final production is in the range of $5.

Items Due
Your final booklet printed and bound.
A PDF of your final booklet presented in “Reader Spreads”
Your Packaged InDesign Folder

Reference Websites
visitcorpuschristitx.org

Due December 9th

On Monday

Please remember to bring in your handcrafted posters in on Monday for critique along side your digital posters (due Monday)

We will be printing your posters in class.