My project is a brochure for The Fit Christian Magazine to get the word out about this free Christian health & fitness resource on the Internet. I started with a template available in InDesign and redesigned it because I am not yet comfortable with InDesign. It has a steep learning curve, and I think I have been spoiled by PagePlus.
Layers: I did not do my layers correctly. I didn't know how to change an item to put it in a different layer. I do now, but too late.
Character and Paragraph styles: The Character and Paragraph styles were in place in the template, so I altered them and deleted ones I did not use, and added one I did use.
Color Scheme: My Color scheme swatch is "Quiet Cry" and I did get it off of Kuler. I chose it because it was the closest one I could find to the color scheme I already use for The Fit Christian in other brochures, flyers, etc. in my other design program PagePlus. I am eventually going to create my own on Kuler that is identical to the scheme I use in PagePlus.
Master Pages:I edited the Master pages by using the direct selection tool to change the vector shapes so they were more geometrical and eye-catching than the original.
Graphics: Besides the background graphics, I chose images to create a feeling of wanting to be fit and healthy, as well as covers of current and past issues of the magazine.
Audience: My intended audience is people who are interested in making healthy lifestyle choices.
Placing Text: I used placeholder text until the brochure was designed exactly as I wanted, or at least close to it. Then I replaced it with the text I wanted in the brochure. No, I did not type it in Word, I typed it into the brochure. A bad habit of mine.
I use the align command religiously so I was happy to have it available in InDesign. The only thing I found that I didn't like is it will only align objects to each other, PagePlus will also align objects to the page. I justified the text in the brochure and tweaked the tracking where needed so there were not too many "-" at the ends of sentences--that is annoying to me. I like the fitting commands okay for use with images, but it is a bit of a hassle. I would like to figure out how to have InDesign place your image in the size you make it--like it will in PagePlus.
I have different sources for my images and I used PhotoShop to edit as needed--like taking the white background out of the film reel. I used the shadow effect to help the magazine cover images and a few of the other images stand out more.
After my draft was complete, I took note of all the suggestions offered and made the appropriate changes. I really appreciated the feedback, it is so hard to be a lone designer. I think the final turned out pretty good. The final PDF is up on our discussion board.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
FREE DTP Program
Today I came across this Free OS DTP program, Scribus, that may be good for those who do not have a DTP program and who cannot afford InDesign. Here is the link http://www.scribus.net/
You need Ghostscript installed to use it, but I believe that is free also. No, I did not download it, PagePlus and InDesign are enough for me. Speaking of PagePlus, they do have a free version for DTP, it is very basic, but it is what I started with before I got hooked and bought the upgraded version. Here is the link for that http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/PagePlus/default.asp
Serif has loads of other free programs as well.
Another DTP program that I used to use before learning about PagePlus is GOBE Productive. The student price was 10.00 then, I'm not sure what it is now. It has its pros and cons, mainly pros. Includes drawing, painting, word processing, and spreadsheet functionality in one integrated package. Here is the link for that program http://www.gobe.com/home.html.
As some of you already know, InDesign is very expensive and has a steep learning curve (thank God for Patti's class!) so these are just a few alternatives to InDesign.
You need Ghostscript installed to use it, but I believe that is free also. No, I did not download it, PagePlus and InDesign are enough for me. Speaking of PagePlus, they do have a free version for DTP, it is very basic, but it is what I started with before I got hooked and bought the upgraded version. Here is the link for that http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/PagePlus/default.asp
Serif has loads of other free programs as well.
Another DTP program that I used to use before learning about PagePlus is GOBE Productive. The student price was 10.00 then, I'm not sure what it is now. It has its pros and cons, mainly pros. Includes drawing, painting, word processing, and spreadsheet functionality in one integrated package. Here is the link for that program http://www.gobe.com/home.html.
As some of you already know, InDesign is very expensive and has a steep learning curve (thank God for Patti's class!) so these are just a few alternatives to InDesign.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Spring Semester CIOS 251
I am using this same blog for my new CIOS class, 251 Desktop Publishing, and this time I did not get rid of all my posts from last semester's class. But from this day to the end of the Spring '08 semester, the posts will al be for my new class, CIOS 251.
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