inDesign Workshop 2

• When using Photoshop save in either TIFF or PSD
• When working with PSD you can save it with all layers intact and not flattened
• Creating transparent backgrounds in photoshop, magic wand tool, lasso tool, marquee tools etc
• Background layer can't support transparency
• Choice of tool will be determined by type of image and contrast between background and foreground
• Check board pattern represents transparency
• When you save as a TIFF file you still have option to save as layers.
• When designing for commercial print, don't save a TIFF file with layers. It's a new addition to Tiff file format, older versions can't. So if printer uses older software, then you're in trouble
• Commercial printers often use software a few versions old.
• When placed in inDesign the transparency is still there with a new Tiff or PSD
• You can then text wrap, buttons on 'Text  Wrap' window allow you to choose how you want the text to wrap around the shape
• Contour Options: Menu at bottom of text wrap pallette, 'Alpha channel' means use the transparent parts of image, Alpha channel defines what is opaque and what is transparent
• Text now wraps around parts of the image that aren't transparent.
• To use transparency, you HAVE to use a Photoshop file.
• Object text frame options, to align text vertically. You can align horizontally from normal paragraphstuff
• Text frame options allow you to inset text from the edge of a frame, especially if the frame is coloured, so it doesn't look bad.
• Select frame with direct selection tool  to adjust anchor points just how you do in illustrator to create interesting shapes, frames and shapes don't have to all be linear.
• You can use blend modes in Photoshop, good for working with images to create transparent backgrounds etc

TASK

Reproduce magazine layouts, accurate margins etc. Measuring margins, gutters etc, using a ruler.

Creating colours in indesign, 

Page size A4 

CMYK colours I need to create for the layouts:

Page 1:

Red: C11 M82 Y70 K0

Page 2:

Light back C20 M15 Y0 K0

Dark bottom and text C60 M45 Y25 K0

"Clean' C40 M85 Y30 K5

URL C20 M10 Y95 K0

Here's how it went, thought it went quite well.

On a final version, I'd probably print onto an A3 piece of paper, so I can cut the layout at full bleed and not have a border round the edges. I quite enjoyed this, it also links in well with the layout and grid stuff we're doing with Lorenzo in Design Principles, which you can see in the 404 bit of my blog.