A short tutorial on the “why” of “Full Justification” versus “Rag Right”
The biggest question you must ask yourself is “form or function?” When setting up text heavy documents, is the look more important that the readability? Is there a best case scenario in this artistic compromise? Quite a few designers LOVE to use full justification when even if the readability suffers greatly. I have a few example screen shots which I will discuss briefly below.
First off, we have a four column layout with text set to full justification. You can clearly see the odd spacing on some lines between words. Some of this can be adjusted to look a little better with tracking and kerning but that can lead to more problems with the first revision. This type of narrow column becomes very hard to read when set to full justification.
Suggest: Wider columns or rag right text
The image below is three columns set to full justification, its better than the 4 column layout as most of the text does not have the large spaces between words that makes it difficult to read, but as you can see where the text wraps around the picture you still get the hard to read spacing.
Suggest: Moving the photo or making text rag right
Below is a better option, although beauty (in typesetting) is in the eye of the beholder, I think a “rag right” setting makes the text much easier to read and maintains an overall better look with narrow columns.
Suggest: Looks pretty good but I would still think about wider columns to add legibility
If you must have “justified text” find a column width that works well with automatic word spacing as seen below, the larger the column the better your text will automatically flow, so make adjustments to your layout as needed to achieve the best look and readability possible.
Suggest: perhaps playing around with different options for image placement, but the text readability and overall look are both good
So many designers today don;t seem to pay attention to the details like typesetting. The usage of Kerning, tracking, leading and all the other options available to todays designers should be used with fervent zest! Once you have your design completed bring it on over to PGprint and see just how economically we can print your new work of art!
Good trifold brochure design starts by beginning with a good solid foundation, in this case making sure your margins and folds are set up properly before even beginning the design and layout stage. We supply a wide variety of templates you can use to set up your own collateral material before submitting it for printing. Doing this step first will ensure your job will fly through production without a hitch on the technical side! Aside from that, image resolution and making sure you have bleed will keep you covered! Check out the tutorial below for an overview on the basics of brochure design!
Today’s blog is a quickie on how to add grunge effects to type easily. First you will need some grungy images, best place to find these is on the web or take them yourself. Make sure before you use an image from the web that the owner/photographer has released rights for personal/commercial use and reproduction (see blog on copyright!) I found some images at Desizn Tech that are free for personal and commercial use, it is also a good reference site for for web designers, techs and anyone with an interest in design in general, back to the topic at hand…
Once you have an image in hand, make sure it has good contrast in the image for the area you want to pull out for your “grunge”. I adjusted the contrast a little in photoshop in the image I picked (from Desizn Tech) before placing it in Adobe Illustrator. Once in Illustrator I ran live trace and adjusted my options to pull out the dark areas. I set it to blakc and white and then ungrouped and removed the white areas leaving me just the black shown below.
Once I had the grunge for my image (see above) I turned the black to magenta so I could see the type and the image areas and overlap clearly (below).
At this point I selected the type, converted it to outlines, colored the grunge art white again and used the pathfinder divide tool to subtract the grunge from the type I then selected all the white areas using “select same fill color” and deleted the white parts. You can see the remainder (below) with points highlighted.
At this point you are done and have your grunge artwork ready to go, click on the image below to see a more blown up version. You can also have a two-tone look by putting another copy of the type artwork without the grunge effect to fill in the white areas with another color.
I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial, and when you are done with that “grunge” poster bring it on over and have us print it for you here at PGprint.com!
Poster Design can be the most exciting type of design in a graphic designers arsenal of tools. Posters are also the most fun to produce. A single page, usually large scale, containing all the information necessary to promote, inform, educate and/or entertain the viewer. From gig posters to special event posters you can find a variety of great tutorials online.
The main issue with posters is to make sure they don’t overwhelm the viewer with information. A simple “what, where, when” will usually do. If more than that is needed design an ancillary piece such as a flyer that can be carried away. Put a small copy of the poster on one side and your other information on the other. If your design is strong enough people that may not have been interested in the event may take a flyer to the office or home and hang it on the wall providing you with more free advertising for your event.
Enjoy thes few poster/art tutorials below and search for more for further inspiration!
Once you have your poster designed, come back and see us for top notch quality printing of your Full Color Poster!
Christopher Robinson
Trying to come up with something new for you designers out there every week can be challenging with the plethora of sites already spamming the web. Todays post will take you on a different path, the path you need most as a designer when the only response you can get from your client is “I just don’t like it” or “It’s too plain”. So when you have that deadline looming over your head and absolutely no feedback on direction for your design, take a five minute break and browse the “Clients from Hell” Blog for a quick laugh and to realize… It could be worse!
Here is an example, enjoy:
Me: “Okay, so here are some rough concepts I’ve worked up. Once you’ve -“
Client (interrupting): “What the hell am I looking at? These look like scribbles my five-year-old could do.”
Me: “Oh, they’re just roughs to get the concept figured out, once we have that done I’ll begin work on the finished piece.”
Client: “How am I supposed to decide which illustration I like if I can’t see them all finished. Finish them and then I’ll decide which one to use.”
Me: “Well, I can certainly do that, but just so you’re aware, I will have to raise my fees to cover the cost of bringing each of these concepts to a finish.”
Client: “Who do you think you are to make demands?! I’m the client, I get to make the demands! It’s not like this is a real job anyway, all you’re doing is drawing.”
I hope you enjoy the laugh! …and when you finally finish that design from the Client from Hell make sure you bring it back here to us for printing!
Christopher Robinson
There are a variety of ways to set up spot varnish plates for printing, the easiest way to to have your printer do it for you! If you do want to do it yourself here are two easy ways.
First, you can create a spot color layer in your photoshop images. This method has its pros and cons, on the pro side you can see the varnish on top of the image and make sure it lines up exactly how you want it. On the con side, the varnish layer will print with your photo when you try and do a proof. I use magenta as my spot color (but “name” it Varnish). In the final proofing stage through our prepress software we can print out a proof with varnish included or a proof with no varnish included, we usually do both, it cost a bit more but a LOT less than a re-run if your spot varnish is not set up correclty.
You can also set up a different file for the spot varnish. Once you have finished creating your design and it is approved do a “save as” and add varnish into the name at this point you can just fill the areas where you want the spot varnish with the spot color “varnish” (that you must create in the swatches palette). If your images are square just delete the content of the image box and fill the box with “varnish” if you have images silhouetted you will have to make a selection of the area in your image file and fill it with the spot color “varnish”. There are a variety of other ways to pull off a spot varnish color, the main thing to do is to have someone look at your file and make sure you have set it up correctly. This will require spending a few minutes with them and explaining your goals and concept.
Have fun with your set up… and when ready to print, call us for a custom quote!
I ran across this useful tool a while back and I thought I would share it with my followers. Every now and then creating a nice color palette can be a difficult, for me it was always coming up with more feminine palettes. Even after having several classes in color theory under your belt it can still be a challenge at times. The site (run by Adobe) gives you HSV, RGB, CMYK, LAB and HEX breakdowns of each color. It is a very handy tool for any designer! Check it out HERE and play with it yourself. Being able to specify the color rules to follow is a nice treat as well, analogous, monochromatic, complementary, etc… There is also a section that includes themes, a community, and some beta features I have yet to try. I have posted a couple of screen shots for a quick look. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do!
Christopher Robinson
Once you finish that project come upload and print it at PGprint.com!
Around Atlanta digital billboards will go live with our new Ad campaign. A series of Three amusing billboards along with a more reserved corporate layout. So if you are in Atlanta keep your eyes open traveling on Interstate 75 and also around Buckhead. Here is a sneak preview…
Click. Print. Ship. Save!
Frustrated by your current printer?
Current printer not a good fit?
Think twice before going paperless.
We hope you enjoy them and get a chuckle as you sit in Atlanta’s horrible rush hour traffic… do you still call it rush hour when it lasts three hours?
Christopher Robinson
We also offer design services as well as affordable online printing! Come check out our website or give us a call!
This is a brief tutorial on print booklets design by PGprint.com. booklets printing can be created in InDesign, we show how to set up a multipage document properly for color booklet printing. Our booklet printing services will in conjunction with this video tutorial will provide you with a huge head start on the setup process.
Photoshop CS5 has posted up a sneak peak of the new content aware fill. It is pretty amazing, what would take hours to do manually is now done in seconds through new filter enhancements. The video here shows the depth that this new gem goes in removing small and/or large items from an image. This new filter allows you to select an area, hit the delete key and Photoshop will analyze the area surrounding your selection and fill it automatically. From the video it seems you can see a tad of artifacting but that can be fixed quickly. Can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Adobe Photoshop CS5: Content-Aware Fill Sneak Peek
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5:07
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The YouTube video is narrated by Bryan O’Neil-Hughes who is a product manager on the Photoshop team. He was able to remove things such as lens flare, light poles, trash off the grass and an entire tree that took up a large portion of the sky on the left side. Pretty amazing and looks easy to use. Good for the general population, bad for us pros! Check out the embedded video.
Christopher Robinson
Speaking of easy to use, drop by the site and order some printing~
