New Designer's Companion (draft4/30/15)

THE NEW DESIGNER’S COMPANION A look at the design elements and principles used to make effective and attractive design.

NOTE: This is a work-in-progress. (4/30/15)

INTRODUCTION In order to communicate, graphic designers use various established visual elements (graphic marks) and guidelines for approaches (principles) to convey their ideas into a cohesive whole. You might think of these like ingredients and cooking methods (bake, sauté, broil, etc.) for a chef, or words and grammar for writers. All creative people use some sort of physical element as well as some established ideas about successful approaches in their work.

As you’ve no doubt heard the saying—”you’ve got to know the rules before you can break the rules.” These elements and principles have been identified after centuries of practice by artists, and eventually adopted and reworked slightly for design specifically.

As you read through the various elements and principles, you’ll likely be familiar with the terms—hopefully discussed in your foundations classes.

You’ll now want to think of them in a graphic design context.

ELEMENTS are the building blocks for graphic communication.

We use these objects and styling effects—essentially a visual tool kit—to convey our messages as clearly as possible.

Toko, LBloomberg Businessweek, The Believer, Wired magazine, Nonformat, Nonformat

Point, Line, and Shape A point is the basis for all visual marks.

It is the simplest geometric element.

In mathematical terms, it’s a precise location or place on a plane—usually represented by a dot. For designers it’s similar, only it can be used as a building block to create another element—like a shape or line. Points can also be used to create texture or a shaded visual effect.

Lines connect two points mathematically speaking. In the realm of graphic design, lines can separate and organize, but they can also be grouped to create a shape. Lines can additionally be used to create a feeling movement and texture.

Shape is defined as spatial form or contour—basically the outline of a form.

A shape can take established geometric qualities or it can be organic and fluid— it’s limited only by imagination!

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Points are used in these examples, as groups, coming together to create a larger image overall.

In The Believer cover lines are used to organize information.

In Wire magazine, the lines create a figurative illustration of a man. In “The Strength of Nations” information graphic, lines are used to make connections between visual data groups. Design studio, Nonformat uses basic shapes to create typographic forms and Bibliothequé studio uses shapes to reference Christmas favorites in their holiday card.

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In Christelle Menage’s landscape at right, letterforms interact with the environment, creating a unexpected visualization of space. A cramped, even uncomfortable feeling can be created by leaving little open space as in the Thom Yorke album cover in which the man is staving off the encroaching waves. Open space can be used to activate graphic elements like those on the École spiral book cover.

Christelle Ménage, Barakan Design, Stanley Donwood

Space You might consider space, the part of a layout in which there is nothing—no objects, or marks, anyway. The amount of space in a layout—lots or little—can add to the tone of a piece. More open space, white space (sometimes called negative space), can create an airy, light feeling. Less open space (or more positive space) can communicate as dense and heavy.

Space can be used to activate a layout, calling attention to objects on the page, due to contrast with the negative space.

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Texture Texture can be described simply as the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of a surface. Using texture in a piece of graphic design can add depth and life-like qualities. It can help separate elements as well as be used to create a mood or help reference certain objects or materials.

In addition to ‘realistic’ textures like wood grain, graphic patterns can be used to suggest texture in a layout.

Patterns can be made from simple graphic elements like points or lines, or they can be more complex, and feature figurative imagery. Either way, pattern used across a surface or space in a composition can add depth, just as more literal textures.

On the New York Times Magazine cover, the illustration of the city creates an overall texture for the bold type to pop off of. The Living/Space/ book (Practice+Theory) shows how photography can be used to add texture and create depth between type and image elements. The texture in the Breaking Bad illustration (Tom Beastland) gives a richness and depth to the figures. It helps define shadows, variations in the skin, and allows for a more detailed visualization of the characters.

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Wired magazine, New York Times Magazine, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Designer Unknown, Pidgeon, Designer Unknown

Scale Scale simply refers to the size of elements. Used at its most basic, a designer can apply varied scales to objects on the page to indicate size differences for comparison. She can also imply hierarchy by using bigger point sizes for type on important pieces of text. Designers often use a playfully exaggerated scale for objects or type in order to call attention to—or draw attention away from certain areas in a design. Layouts with little variation in scale often feel static or flat.

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In the example at top, Wired magazine uses scale to create a comical relationship between type, graphic bars, and images of cats, while in the bottom example, design duo, Always with Honor, use scale in an information graphic to help readers understand each country’s peace index rating based on size relationships.

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Form Form is a shape with volume. It’s the difference between two dimensions (shape) and three. Using form in a design can add a sense of depth sometimes creating a realistic quality or other times simply offering a more visually engaging composition.

The lettering in the US propaganda poster, is given depth by integrating 3-D rendering of type in with the illustrations of the various figures. The “solutions” type treatment, designed by Pidgeon, makes a playful reference to the hidden nature of some solutions using made-up forms to group together and create the emerging word out of forms and shadows. In the Sculpture Today cover, paper made into 3D typographical forms is used to reference the nature of the content inside, without having to actually show it—particularly nice as no one piece of sculpture featured in the book gets to take importance over the others.

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Always with Honor, Chris Ware, Ariadna Vilalta Capdevila. Color illusration on the opposite page is from The Language of Graphic Design by Richard Poulin.

In the infographic above (Always With Honor), color is used to organized and distinguish elements for an easier read of the data. The poster at the top right uses a huge and bold color palette to grab the viewer’s attention. Target stores use red for their logo and throughout their stores to create a strong brand connection for shoppers.

The cover of Candide, Or Optimism uses color to create a strikingly different mood and tone between the two halves of the layout.

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Color Color is used in design to create a mood, establish a connection to a brand, relate to a particular era or concept, as well as to attract attention and create visual hierarchy.

At its most basic, color attracts attention and can be used to allow a design to ‘shout’ above the rest.

Imagine looking at a crowded bookshelf—the neon orange spine is likely to grab your attention over the many black spines.

Mood can be driven a great deal by a color palette.

Again, a bold and bright color palette will make for a lively and celebratory feel, while a soft, natural, color palette will create a more subdued quality—perhaps more appropriate for a serious or refined subject.

Color can be used to draw attention to some areas in a composition more than others. Naturally a brighter or darker color will stand out more than a soft pastel.

This application of color is particularly useful when a hierarchy among text and data needs to be established.

Colors often have established connections to certain concepts—white is pure, black is evil or ominous, red is passionate or violent. Because these are generally understood by society as a whole, colors can be chosen to underline a certain concept based on these existing associations. Of course, designers need to be aware of the culture they are designing for as well.

For instance red in Chinese culture signifies luck and wards away evil!

Primary Colors are pure in make-up.

They can’t be made from other colors.

Secondary Colors are made by mixing 2 primary colors.

Tertiary Colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.

Complementary Colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel.

Analogous Colors sit adjacent to one another on the color wheel.

Monochromatic Colors are varying values of a single color. They are achieved by adding white or black to a color.

»» Hue describes where a color falls on the color spectrum.

»» Value is the lightness or darkness of a color.

»» Tint is created by adding white to a hue.

»» Shade is created by adding black to a hue.

»» Chroma (saturation) is the purity

of a color in relation to the addition of grey.

»» Intensity Is the brightness versus

the dullness of a color. A color is made duller by adding black, white or grey to it.

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PRINCIPLES are the established rules designers use to create effective and attractive work. These rules were initially articulated in relation to a psychological theory—Gestalt, which literally translates to ‘unified whole.’ At its most basic, gestalt psychology proposes that the human brain will always try to group and organize the elements it sees. Five principles of this theory were then borrowed by and applied to art and design— similarity, continuation, proximity, closure and figure-ground.

More principles still, have been identified and added to the original, and still very relevant, gestalt principles.

Designer Unknown for Penguin Books, Designer Unknown?, Spin Channel 4 logo by Designer Unknown, Lisa Olausson

Similarity Similarity occurs when objects look similar to one another. People often perceive them as a group or pattern.

When similarity occurs, an object can be emphasized if it is dissimilar to the others. This is called anomaly.

On the Stigma cover, the repetition of similar shapes reads together as a unified group—all except for one black square indicating difference.

The Salt cover uses similarity among illustrations to group together and create a unified set of letterforms. In the Livestrong website, the group of images in a consistent size and color treatment, create a unified whole, functioning almost as one large image.

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Closure Closure occurs when an object is incomplete or a space is not completely enclosed. If enough of the shape is indicated, people perceive the whole by filling in the missing information.

In the Tokyo poster and Play glass door treatment, just enough of the letterform strokes are removed to allow the reader to connect and still read the words. In the Channel 4 logotype, the face of the numeral has no outline, but still reads as the shadows of the form define enough for readers to fill in the blanks.

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Proximity Proximity occurs when elements are placed close together. They tend to be perceived as a group— which can read as one larger image.

Proximity of elements in the Legend of Zelda illustration (Jolby) bring loose objects together to feel connected to the figure. The grid of symbols on The English Marriage book cover show the individual stories that will be told, in a quick and organized way. The logo for the Museum of the African Diaspora, MoAD, uses points moving away from the central point (the letterforms)— to communicate the concept of diaspora.

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Continuation Continuation occurs when the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object.

Jolby, Designer Unknown for Penguin Books, Designer Unknown for MoAD, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown?, David Gentleman

The light bulb cord in An Ethics of Interrogation directs the readers eye directly to the book’s title.

Similarly, the arrow shape on the British stamp (David Gentleman) directs the viewer’s eye around the circle and back up to the dot. The shapes used in the Beethoven poster (Joseph Müller Brockman) group together and in a similar direction, to create a frame around the content.

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Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown, Sonya Dyakova, Carlidge Leine, Caroline Fabès, Designer Unknown

Figure-Ground The eye differentiates an object from its surrounding area. A form, silhouette, or shape is naturally perceived as figure (object), while the surrounding area is perceived as ground (background).

Balancing figure and ground can make the perceived image more clear. Using unusual figure-ground relationships can add interest and subtlety to an image.

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The cover for The Girl Who Played with Fire plays with the figure-ground relationship by allowing the title to integrate with the hair background, rather than to sit simply on top. The scene in the Raking Leaves in the Wind poster offers a traditional figure-ground relationship with the yellow sky background and the various objects (figures) like the mountains and trees in the foreground. In the illustration of the woman at left (Sam Green), an ambiguous figure-ground relationship is created, in which the flower feels a bit as if it’s inside the figure, but also could be in front of it.

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In the Younger Than Jesus book (Sonya Dyakova), a directory of artists sits on the cover, each section called out by a unique letter that is large, bold and easy to spot. In the layout above (Cartlidge Levine), the left-hand spread starts with smaller text, but as readers, we feel welcome to start on the right with the larger-sized text. In the bottom poster series (Caroline Fabès), color, scale and contrast help the viewer decide what to read first and what is the most important information on the page.

Hierarchy Hierarchy is the order of importance within a design. It can be created with scale (larger is often visible first), color (brighter colors often stand out the most), and placement (location of elements can be easier to parse in some layouts more than others).

Typographically, in addition to these uses of elements, designers can vary their typeface choices for differentiation and ultimately put emphasis on some parts of text more than others.

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Contrast Contrast, or visual differentiation in two or more elements can be used to control hierarchy and direct attention. Colors can contrast, as can textures, typefaces, scale, and overall style.

Nonformat, SonnenZimmer, Stenberg Brothers, Designer Unknown

In the album covers above, value contrast changes create a strikingly different effect on how the text treatment pops off the background. Similarly, on the book cover at left, low contrast deemphasizes the large type, while the dark fly reads clearly despite its small size, due to the strong contrast with the pale background.

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In the music poster above, a heavy form fills the top left corner, but a large open space in the opposite corner allows it to balance the layout comfortably.

In the Russian film poster on the right (The Stenberg Brothers), the figure is placed asymmetrically, and the curve of her body relates to the angles of the buildings in the frame. The concentric circles emanating from the center to the bottom left make up for the space left open and creates a balance overall.

Balance Balance in a design is the point at which elements in the composition exist in harmony. A balanced design has comfortable relationships between objects whether it’s darker ones versus lighter ones, open space versus densely filled areas, or small objects versus large ones.

Balance through symmetry is the easiest to achieve. It allows for a very stable-feeling design, which in many cases is very appropriate.

Asymmetrical balance gives a layout stability, while still allowing for tension to give the composition a dynamic feeling.

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Annouck Welhuis Designer Unknown, David Carson, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown, Bibliothéque

Rhythm and Movement Rhythm or movement within a composition exists to literally convey motion or to direct the viewer’s attention to a specific area. Repetition of elements can offer a feeling of movement and suggest direction for the eye, as can angles, steppes of color and not least of all, blurring.

Why use rhythm or movement?

Depending on your message, you can control the tone with the amount of movement (or stillness) visualized.

Naturally a poster for a dance company will want to illustrate and emote the physicality of the performance. Perhaps a book of somber poems, on the other hand would rather create a sense of stillness and quiet by avoiding movement in the composition.

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The annual report at the top left, creates a rhythm throughout the book with dramatic images and graph illustrations to counteract the somewhat dense body text.

This helps keep viewers engaged.

In the book cover for Rebound, the arrow stretching up the page creates a sense of movement up. The bottom left poster has a dynamic quality due to the varied angles used in the type and shapes.

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Symmetry and Asymmetry Repetition of... “size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or median plane or about a center or axis” “Symmetry in nature underlies one of the most fundamental concepts of beauty. It connotes balance, order, and thus, to some, a type of divine principle.” —Merriam Webster David Carson uses asymmetry on the cover of Raygun magazine to create a sense of discomfort and to activate elements on the page using negative space. The J. Hampton packaging uses symmetry to evoke a classic, and staid style of Victorian labels. The chocolate packaging below uses asymmetry for a more modern, less static feel.

On the cover of The War on Words, at left, a nearly perfect symmetry references the aesthetic of printed matter during the American slave era. It creates a false sense of stability accented by the small bits of red and the imposing type style for the word War, for what is a very emotive subject matter.

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Made Thought, David Gentleman, Olivia Verdugo, Designer Unknown for Time, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown

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Tension Tension adds a little bit of discomfort or puts an element in a slightly unexpected spot, to create surprise and visual interest. A composition lacking in tension often feels flat and static. One of the most common ways to add tension to a design, is to use asymmetry.

The Japan poster leaves an empty area at the bottom, creating a space for the lettering to peel and fall off to. Tension is created as we wait for the pieces to fall. The bleeding of the type on the El Tercer Reich cover creates an uneasy feeling, indicating the contents of the book will likely be messy and rough. The seemingly real slice down the cover of Day of Empire creates discomfort, and hints at the breaking apart of the empires the author discusses.

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Framing Framing can be used as a means to separate, highlight, or organize information and elements within a design. Traditionally we think of frames as the physical objects which contain and set off a piece of art. They allow us to focus on the image within them. In graphic design terms, frames can be made with space, line, dot, pattern and more to similarly set off a piece of the design.

The less obvious use of frames in graphic design has to do with how images are cropped. An invisible frame contains the image—the composition of which the designer has chosen based what they cut out, or crop. Images that bleed, and are essentially cropped by the edges of the page can have a bold impact, and feel more dynamic.

The margin of a page also functions as a frame for content. In its more technical use, it protects content from falling into an uncomfortably close area near the page’s edge, and allows a space for information like folios and running heads and footers in books.

The dimensions of a margin can also determine the overall feel of the density of a layout—the larger they are the lighter and more open the page feels.

Plats Du Jour uses literal illustrations of plates as frames.

In the top right, a clear margin keeps all information neatly framed on the page. Similarly, the Time magazine covers use a red bar to contain all their cover art. In this case, the helicopters overlap the bar as if they’re flying over it, creating a strong sense of tension and movement. The book Raising the Perfect Child, uses a tightly exaggerated crop of a vintage image for an eye-catching and modernizing effect. The title of the book then sits centered and framed by the circle to contrast the drama of the image.

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Saul Bass, Tibor Kalman, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown, Designer Unknown

Abstraction Abstraction is the simplification of form. It might be utilized for technical reasons—allowing a form to be more quickly and easily understood, or it might be done for aesthetic reasons, turning a straightforward form into something bolder, more eye-catching, or simply unique in execution.

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Another Channel 4 logotype creates an overall silhouette of the numeral, but breaks it in to smaller geometric shapes, creating a less expected rendering of a well-known brand. The cover for Self and Others creates a simple illustration of the subject matter, using only overlapping circles to indicate the relationships of people the book explores. The Talking Heads cover takes tightly cropped photos and adds a pixelated and abstracted digital wash over the faces for a creepy effect—appropriate for the tone of the album. The figure of Saint Joan is referenced, but not drawn literally by Saul Bass, in the film poster above. The abstraction of her body gives us a hint to the fate of the character.

RESOURCES for technical questions that may arise around design fundamentals.

design process // FROM RESEARCH TO FINAL

research

Before you can begin to sketch—and WAY before you get on the computer—you need to have some content and visual material to work with. While your client, teacher or art director may have given you some initial information about what they are looking for, it’s up to you to “take your research the project a bit further. There are plenty of questions to ask. Not all relate to every project, but here are a few to get you started: • Who is your audience? What will grab them?

• Is there more information about my topic that I can read about that will inform my design? (books, websites/blogs, magazines) • Is there an existing brand/look I need to stick to?

• What exactly is the client looking for? Do I need to probe further for details on format, content, style?

By starting with a pencil and paper, you are forced to focus on concept and composition (not being getting distracted by the details of typefaces, color and effects). It’s okay to sketch pretty roughly, though you want it to be clear enough that someone else can understand the concept.

In addition to starting with a pencil, it’s critical to come up with multiple ideas. Why? • The first idea is often the most obvious and unoriginal.

• Your client needs choices—giving just one concept won’t inspire much confidence in your design abilities.

• What happens if your first idea doesn’t work? Now you have to start from scratch. If you have multiple ideas, you can easily move back to another one that might be more appropriate. d e v e lo p i n g t h e i d e a

• Deadline?

Now that you have your sketches, you are finally ready to move to the computer (or if you’re making something manually to photograph, you’ll start with some mock-ups before producing the final).

What I generally do in my own work, and what I’ll have you do for this class, is sketch a number of ideas (around 7), and then roughly develop a few of the best ones on the computer (around 3) and from there, refine and narrow down to the most successful solution.

Again, all of these steps are necessary and you will be graded on the development of your ideas as shown in your process book.

i m ag e a n d i n f o r m at i o n co l l e c t i o n ( m o o d b oa r d)

production

• What’s the competition look like? What have they done successfully? What can I improve on?

• What look/feel am I going for? Find references to solidify.

• Images: Are they supplied, or do I need to make/find my own?

• What are my specs (dimension, format number of colors, paper, number of pages, etc.)?

These initial questions will lead you on your search to collect information about your topic: articles, book excerpts, web articles, etc. It will also lead you in your collection of images for inspiration and reference.

In practical terms: Designing a book about Queen Elizabeth I? You’ll need to read about her life as well as collect images of her, her estates, important people in her life, costume/architecture/art that relates to her, symbols relating to her reign, etc. Whatever will help you construct a mood and understanding of the subject. You may end up using some of these images—you may not use any, choosing to create your own. The important thing is that when you’re sketching, you have concrete references and aren’t designing from thin air—that’s how inaccuracies in content and even style can happen.

The day your initial research is due for each project, you’ll need to come to class with at least one 11x17 printed sheet packed with images (though the more research, the better!). You’ll also need to have 8.5x11 print-outs of any articles/info you’ve collected. Making this deadline is part of your grade. s k e tc h i n g

Once you have the collection of imagery and info, you can begin sketching out ideas for your project. It’s critical that this step is not skipped. I know it’s tempting to rush to the computer, but you’ll likely end up wasting time in the end. What happens when you run to the computer? You start randomly trying every typeface, color and simply moving things around the page until you have something acceptable.

Your design won’t be deliberate in concept or style.

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Once you and your client have decided on a final direction, you can begin ‘production’. This is when you get down to the nitty gritty details, make sure typesetting is tight, color palettes are solid, image resolution is acceptable, etc. With a client, you may have a few rounds back and forth during this period in order for them to do final proofing. f i n a l ( p r i n t i n g , m o c k- u p)

Now that your piece is fully designed and reviewed for technical details (typesetting, typos, bleed, resolution, etc.) you’ll get it printed and do any mocking up necessary (trimming, folding, stapling, etc.).

When printing, it’s up to you—the designer—to make sure the output looks good and that the colors are printing as you intended. You may need to do a test print to check to see how your colors are printing. If they aren’t what you intended, you’ll need to make some adjustments to make sure they do. Keep in mind that various printers will output the file differently. It’s a good idea to know what printer you’re using early on, so you can do a test ahead of time (not on the day it’s due, only to find out nothings printing properly).

Make sure you take time to do a clean/professional mock-up.

It’s tragic when a beautiful design is ruined by sloppy trimming or missing bleeds.

RESOURCES

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Concept versus variation A concept is an idea, and and variations are different versions of the same idea. Be aware of this difference when you prepare for critiques. A first round in school, and in the professional world almost always calls for three concepts, while consequential rounds will often be variations of a chosen idea (or direction).

Concept: (right) For this Prism concept, either the idea behind each design is different, or the medium used to create it is different. Some use custom lettering, some use digital type, some use shape, other use form and illustration.

Variation: (right) This is one visual concept (the letterforms as prismlike shapes), with a number of variations on the them.

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A Poster with a lovely design

A Poster with a lovely design

Crop and Bleed Marks Crop Marks Crop marks not only identify the edges of the page, but they serve as the guides to trim the piece when being mocked up or in the final printing.

Bleed When you trim, you need a margin-of-error in case you don’t trim straight. This also goes for the trimming done with machines (guillotines). They generally need 1/8 inch of leeway for trimming (can vary, so check with your printer to find out what dimension of bleed they prefer).

How do I make a bleed?

This is usually something you can adjust in ‘document settings’ for any Adobe program.

File>Document Setup>Add at least 1/8” bleed to all dimensions of your file.

How do I set crop marks?

When you go to print or make a PDF, this is a setting offered in the dialogue box. It’s usually referred to as ‘Marks and Bleed’ in Adobe programs. In the preview box (bottom left corner) you will be able to see the crop marks as well as a pink outline, which indicates the bleed.

RESOURCES

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100%

10%

50%

Pantone Pantone is a company responsible for creating a library of colors (Pantone Matching System) used by designers and printers to achieve accurate print output. This system is used in a large chunk of the world. Other terms used for Pantone colors: Spot, Solid, PMS, Special.

Why use Pantone Pantones allow a designer to spec a color and have a reference (swatch book) that he/she can hold the printer to. It’s important to understand that the same color may print quite differently on different types of paper, so if you’re using something unusual, it’s a good idea to have a drawdown done (a sample of the ink on that paper) to make sure it works well with the paper.

Pantone and 4-color jobs A four color job (full color) is comprised of 4 inks (CMYK). If you add a Pantone (spot) color to that job, you’ll significantly increase the cost, but you’ll also have much more control over the output of that one spot color.

Special Benefits The nice thing about printing with a spot color, is that you can get a solid coverage of that color. You can also use tints (shown above from 100% to 1%), wich help get a lot of tones out of one color. This keeps your print costs down.

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When to use Pantone When your client doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on printing. One or two colors keeps costs down.

When you need an extra punch of a specific color on top of a 4-color job (for example a neon, a special color that’s required and related to a given company, or a metallic).

In school, you can use them to make creating tints easier in Illustrator (CMYK colors will not break down in to tints, you have to remix them slightly to get a lighter color, which can be less accurate). You will not be able to get accurate results out of a digital printer, however. It’s still up to you to get the color you were aiming for as digital printers vary as do monitor previews.

»» »» »»

Accessing Swatchbooks These access points might change slightly as Adobe versions are released, but it will be very similar.

Illustrator Window>Swatch Libraries > Color Books > Pantone Solid (coated or uncoated) InDesign Swatches palette > New Color Swatch > Color Mode > Pantone Solid (coated or uncoated) Photoshop Click color swatch in the tools window > Color Libraries > Pantone Solid (coated or uncoated)

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InDesign

Illustrator

»» »»

T H E N E W D E S I G N E R ’ S C O M PA N I O N

Photoshop

saving your project files effectively

Project Folder

Layouts

Links

Rounds of your layouts.

Round 1

Round 2

Text

Images that will be included in the piece.

Round 3

Any text to be used in the piece.

Reference/Research Articles, images (both of the project subject and design styles you like), examples of earlier materials (if you’re continuing on an existing brand/project.)

FINAL

file

links

fonts

Saving Files It’s important to develop a system for saving your work so that you can access files easily later when you need them.

Saving in rounds allows you to return to previous versions should you want to look at an older layout. Clients will often reference older rounds, and may want you to take a step back, so it’s critical to save your project in versions.

Finally, saving your files in an organized way allows for easy access by collaborators on projects, something that is very common once in the professional design world.

RESOURCES

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print set-up process print print set-up set-up process process

Print settings Even though you’re familiar with the basic print settings, you may not be aware, that there are a few hidden settings that can drastically improve the output quality of your files.

It’s up to you to experiment with these settings and your own printer to get the best possible reproduction of your work.

General General General General Number of copies 1. Number of copies Set theof 1.1. Number copies Number ofpage copiesrange 2. Set the page range Check or uncheck if 2. the page range 2. Set Set the page range you want spreads 3. Check or uncheck if you want spreads 3.

3. Check Check or or uncheck uncheck ifif you you want want spreads spreads

»» »» »»

Setup Setup Setup Setup 1. Select paper sizesize Select paper 1.1. Select paper size Select paper size Select paper 2. Select paper orientation 2.

Select paper orientation 2. Select paper orientation orientation 3. If printing with crop marks, check ‘scale to If printing with crop 3. printing with crop marks, to 3. If If printing with cropto marks, check ‘scale to you want the piece be atcheck actual‘scale size, lea you want the piece to be actual size, lea marks, check ‘scale you want the piece towidth be at atand actual size, 10 le on the default: scale: height: on default: tothe fit’.

If youscale: wantwidth the and on the default: scale: width and height: height: 10 10

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piece to be at actual size, leave it on the default: scale: width and height: 100%

Marks and Bleed Marks Marks and and Bleed Bleed 1.Marks Check and ‘crop marks’ Bleed 1.1. Check ‘crop marks’ Check ‘crop marks’ Check ‘crop marks’ 2. Check ‘use document bleed settings’ (you 2.

Check ‘use document bleed (you Check ‘use 2. have Check ‘use document bleed settings’ settings’ (you this set updocument in document setup before have this set up in document setup before have thissettings’ set up in document setup befor bleed (you ing ‘print’. ing ing ‘print’. ‘print’. have this set up The must preview on the bottom left should show The preview on the bottom left show document setup Thein preview onthe thepage, bottom leftashould should show piece fitting on with pink line aro piece fitting on the with aa pink line aro before ‘print’. fittingclicking on the page, page, with pink lineshow aro itpiece (indicating bleed) and the crop marks it (indicating bleed) and the crop marks show it (indicating bleed)on andthe the crop marks show The preview as well. as as well. well. bottom left should

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show your piece fitting on the page, with a pink line around it (indicating bleed) and the crop marks showing as well.

36

T H E N E W D E S I G N E R ’ S C O M PA N I O N

»» Next click ‘printer’ at

the bottom (circled in magenta), to specify the quality of your output.

»» Click “Ok” for warning

Layout

»» In the Layout pull-

down menu, select print settings.

Media Type

»» You will now be able

to adjust your settings by choosing the media type. Clicking advanced will let you ‘uncheck’ the high speed setting.

RESOURCES

37

POINT/LINE/SHAPE SPACE TEXTURE SCALE FORM COLOR SIMILARITY CLOSURE PROXIMITY CONTINUATION FIGURE-GROUND HIERARCHY CONTRAST BALANCE RHYTHM/MOVEMENT (A)SYMMETRY TENSION FRAMING ABSTRACTION