State Skills Test Review Desktop Publishing I State Skills Test Review

Why preplan a desktop publishing document? The Planning Stage Why preplan a desktop publishing document? Define purpose Keep focus on the purpose Achieve the desired outcome for clients A written plan is a good basis for discussing with the client what they need and how best to achieve their purpose.

What does the plan need to include? Size Letter Legal Post card Ledger A4 (European) A3 (European) Orientation Portrait Landscape Weight Thickness of paper Measured by the weight of 500 pages Finish Gloss Matte Satin Dull Laid Linen Paper Give the project a Name. Then decide on a medium. (Paper or Digital)

What does the plan need to include? Page setup/layout Folds Facing Pages working with pages that will face each other on the printed publication side by side Tri-Fold Z Fold Half Fold Book Fold Length Multiple pages Single pages Digital pages

What does the plan need to include? Layout sketches/Thumbnails a quick sketch whose sole purpose… is roughing out an idea of what the final design might look serves as a chance to experiment or create a prototype of an idea a kind of brainstorming through picture making will help you communicate your rough idea to other people Thumbnails should include Items required for the clients needs Images Body Text Headlines White Space

Principles of design begin with CRAP Principles to apply Principles of design begin with CRAP Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity

Contrast By definition Four most common methods of creating contrast Difference degrees of lightness and darkness on the page. Also, used as an organizational aid so that the reader can distinctly identify the organization of the publication. Four most common methods of creating contrast Size Small versus Large Value (placement in list or currency) Color Contrasting colors on the color wheel Typography

Repetition By definition Create patterns Repetition is the duplication of elements or details on one or more pages. Create patterns on a page throughout a book Create patterns where it matters Headings Body text Navigational elements Things to repeat Color Fonts Shapes Sizes

Alignment By definition The placement of text or graphics relative to the margins. Horizontal alignment can refer to alignment of elements relative to the margins Left Right Center Justify Vertical alignment can refer to the alignment of elements relative to top or bottom of page(s) Top Middle Bottom

Proximity creates a bond between page elements. Proximity can also be used to create directional flow - positioning element in such a way that the reader’s eyes are drawn through the text and to particular words or images that the designer wishes to emphasize. Proximity creates a bond between page elements. By definition arranging objects (text and/or images) into groups in order to convey meaning and help disseminate the message.

Additional elements to remember Rule of Thirds By definition The rule of thirds states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally‐spaced horizontal lines and two equally‐spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Creates Tension Energy Interest White Space The non‐printed space of margins and gutters. What it does Gives readers eyes a rest Stops the clutter Makes it easier to read

Typography may be defined as the theory and practice of letter and typeface design. In other words, it is an art concerned with design elements that can be applied to the letters and text (as opposed to, say, images, tables, or other visual enhancements) on a printed page.

Typography All type begins on an imaginary horizontal line on which the bottom of all uppercase characters and the base of all lowercase characters fall or rest. This is the BASELINE Lowercase letters have a set height for each letter. This is measured by the lowercase letter x. X‐height: The height of the body of all lowercase letters such as the letter x in a typeface. All the lowercase characters in a typeface are designed to be no taller than the x‐height. Lowercase letters have: Ascenders: The lowercase letter that extends above the x‐height as in the characters b, d, f, h, k, and l. Descenders: The lowercase letters that fall below the baseline, as in characters g, j, p, and q.

Typography Font: categories of text such as Arial, Garamond, Script, and Franklin Font family: Fonts are grouped into families and given a name such as Arial, Garamond, Comic, and Times. Pica: Traditional typographic measurement of 12 points or 1/6 of an inch. Point: The basic measurement system used to measure the size of type. There are 72 points to an inch.

Typography Type Style: Styles are applied to a font, ie: bold, italics, and book/heavy. Typeface: A style that has been applied to a font. When styles are applied to a font it becomes a typeface. i.e: “arial black”, “arial narrow”, “arial rounded MT bold” Sans Serif: A typeface that is straight‐edged; e.g. Arial. Serif: A typeface with lines on curves extending from the ends of the letters. Times New Roman; e.g. Times. Reverse type: White or light‐colored text that appears against a darker background. Leaders: Dots, dashes or characters that proceed text or an align tab setting.

Typography Kerning: The process of “fine‐tuning” spacing by adjusting the space between characters. Tracking: A feature that enables you to adjust the relative space between characters for selected text. Leading: The vertical distance between the baselines of type.

Typography

Color Color Wheel: a visual arrangement of colors in a circle that is similar to the spectrum of light.

Color Analogous Colors: are those colors that are near each other on a color wheel

Color Complimentary Colors: colors that appear directly across from each other on a color wheel.

Color Color Modes: The separation of color into channels. RGB: Acronym for red, green, blue, the colors of projected light from a computer monitor that when combined simulate a subset of the visual spectrum. CMYK: A color model used to identify a color as a percentage of the colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. red, yellow, blue

Color and emotion

Images Bitmap/ Raster (graphic file format): A method used for storing a computer graphic file that contains dot‐by‐dot representations of the original graphic image. Often created with paint, camera, or scanner.

Images Layers (layering): The practice of placing text and image on top of each other in a design. Opacity: the ability to see through one object or layer to another below it. Crop: To trim a graphic image.