September 26, 2008 – 7:00 am
Do you want to be an ACE? I do! And that’s why I’m studying to take the Adobe Certified Expert exam for InDesign.
There is so much to this program that I never knew! I’ve been using it fairly regularly for at least a year and I thought I had a pretty firm grasp of it. There are so many little ways that InDesign can help you out by automating layout elements. Let me share a few I’ve learned this week, specifically setting document defaults for all new documents (and what you can set as a default), working with sections, and autoflow text.
September 22, 2008 – 7:00 am
For graphic designers, there are three main job situations: an in-house art department, a studio/firm/agency, or freelance.
I remember when I was close to graduating college in 2006, the professors asked us which situation appealed to us the most and why. At the time, I wanted to be an in-house designer because I thought a situation like that would afford me the most stability without the huge time commitment that I had always heard was required of studio designers.
Now that I’ve been an in-house designer for almost 3 years (I started working before I graduated), I’m wondering what the pros and cons really are for other positions.
September 19, 2008 – 7:00 am
Something sparked my interest in parent sheet sizes yesterday. I don’t remember what it was, but I was rather disappointed to not find much information when I searched for parent sheet imposition and prepress tips.
When you’re thinking about sizing and folds for a new design, particularly for brochures or invitations, you have to take into consideration what will be the most economical to lay out on parent sheets when printing.
Parent sheets are the large sheets that printers initially print a project on. These are usually set up so that cutting and folding of common paper sizes (like 8.5x11) are easy.
The usual parent sizes are 17x22, 19x25, 23x35, 25x38 and 26x40 for the U.S., and A2, A1, and A0 for Europe and other countries that use ISO sizes.
September 17, 2008 – 7:00 am
What do you think the most important thing about graphic design is?
knowing what graphic design is (or isn’t!)?
learning about the Elements and Principles of design?
being flexible and adapting to be what the client needs, be it illustrator, designer, copy writer or web developer?
a set of rules or a creed?
just practicing?
problem solving skills?
your title?
Come join the discussion!
September 12, 2008 – 7:00 am
So now that the press is up and working, I need some project ideas! I spent snippets of this week mulling over ideas and creating little thumbnails.
The hard part about not knowing all the supplies (fonts, ink, paper) at the shop is that I can’t plan things out too specifically. I don’t want to take this design into the digital world and get totally attached to a font or an image and then not have it when I get up there.
Come see some inspiration I found from Etsy along with my own thumbnail sketch ideas. If you have a great idea and I can use it, I’ll send you 10 free cards from that run!
September 10, 2008 – 7:00 am
I’ve written about the principle of emphasis before, in Stand Out from the Crowd, where I gave practical ways to emphasize different parts of your design. You will see that much of emphasis is achieved through strategic use of the principle of contrast.
The principle of emphasis is used to support direction. Think of emphasis as the stepping stones on the path of direction; emphasis tells the viewer what is important and where to look next.
Emphasis supports balance, too. If your focal point is smack in the center of the layout, that’s rather boring, but use the rule of thirds to place your eye-catching element and you instantly improve the layout.
What is Emphasis?
Emphasis is about hierarchy. Although many other principles contribute to hierarchy, emphasis is what they all ultimately lead to.
September 8, 2008 – 7:00 am
Many of you know that I took a letterpress course back in August and then proceeded to clean up a letterpress of my own. The Vandercook SP15 is now fully restored and I was able to print my first project on it last weekend!
Unfortunately this post doesn’t focus on it because we actually taped it and I still need to cut together a video for you, but I do share some awesome letterpress resources with you. This post contains links for letterpress websites, letterpress blogs, letterpress stories, several knowledge base sites and letterpress inspiration!
