Chapter 2 Designing an Event Poster
Chapter Objectives
Chapter Learning Objectives
Create a new project, and identify the correct document setup settings to use for different publishing projects.
Add ruler guides to a document.
Create shapes through drawing, and combine common shapes, such as ellipses, rectangles, and lines.
Understand basic document viewing options, such as using screen modes and window arrangements.
Organize the stacking order of objects by using layers.
Add and resize images.
Add and format text.
Create color swatches and gradients, and apply them to objects and text.
Package a finished document for final output at a commercial printing service.
Chapter ACA Objectives
For full descriptions of the objectives, see the table on pages 270–276.
DOMAIN 2.0
PROJECT SETUP AND INTERFACE
2.1, 2.3
DOMAIN 3.0
ORGANIZATION OF DOCUMENTS
3.1
DOMAIN 4.0
CREATE AND MODIFY VISUAL ELEMENTS
4.2, 4.4, 4.5
DOMAIN 5.0
PUBLISHING DIGITAL MEDIA
5.2
In this first hands-on project, you’ll design an event poster that is going to be printed commercially. As part of this project, you’ll learn how to create a new document in InDesign CC; add various visual elements, images, and text; and apply color to objects.
You’ll also learn how to submit your design as a Portable Document Format (PDF) proof to your client for review and as a press-ready PDF to your printer for production.
Starting the Project
As you start working in graphic design, you will likely create many different InDesign documents. You may need to design documents for print, such as a poster, report, or newsletter. Or perhaps you’ll be working on a magazine that contains interactive slide shows or videos and that is destined to be viewed on tablets or mobile devices. Or maybe you need to design eBooks that will be read in an interactive form. You can create all these designs with InDesign, but you’ll start with a printed event poster, such as the one in this chapter (Figure 2.1).
Planning a New Document
ACA Objective 2.1
When creating a new document, first ask yourself where you intend to publish this document. To give you a head start in setting the right options for how a document will be published, InDesign gives you the choice of three document intents: print, web, and mobile. By choosing the correct intent as you set up a document, several document specifications are set in a way that’s appropriate for your intended delivery platform.
Note
This chapter supports the project created in video lesson 2. Go to the Project 2 page in the book’s Web Edition to watch the entire lesson from beginning to end.
You set up a new InDesign publication in the New Document dialog, which you’ll work with soon. The Print, Web, and Mobile publishing intents are listed at the top to the right (Figure 2.2). You can easily see the effects of choosing each intent by clicking one; for example:
Print. When you select the Print intent, the presets offer standard print page sizes, defined using picas—the traditional print publishing unit of measure. The document initially defines colors using the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) color mode used by printers and presses.
Web. The Web intent displays presets for standard web page sizes, defined using pixels—the web design unit of measure. The document initially defines colors using the RGB (red, green, blue) color mode used in web design.
Mobile. For documents intended primarily for mobile devices, the Mobile intent shows presets for common display sizes on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, defined in pixels. This intent also uses the RGB color mode by default, since device displays are based on RGB.
Figure 2.2 Document intents at the top of the New Document dialog
The event poster that you’ll create in this lesson will be posted in shop windows or on notice boards, so the intent that applies is Print. Even if you aren’t going to print the document yourself but you plan to distribute an Adobe PDF file on a website intending to have others print and post it, the intention is print.
When setting up a new InDesign document for print, be sure to ask yourself some key questions before you jump into the program:
What will the finished page size for the print publication be, after trimming?
Will any design elements, such as background graphics and photos, be printed all the way to the edges of the page?
Will the pages of multipage documents be bound? Smaller newsletters might use saddle-stitch binding, which binds folded sheets by putting staples through the spine.
Will the document be printed using process color inks, spot color inks, or both?
Video 2.1Introducing the Poster Project
Video 2.2Creating and Saving a New Document
If you’re not sure of the answers to any of those questions, talk to someone at the company that will print your document, show them your design (if you haven’t started yet, just a sketch is fine), and discuss it with them. They can sometimes spot potential production issues before they turn into problems, or they might suggest ways to set up your document so that you save time or money when printing.
Creating a New Document
Note
Even though you’re entering a document name in the New Document dialog, the file is not actually saved until you click Create and then choose File > Save. The icon next to the name field is for saving a new document preset, not for saving the document.
Tip
To see how your settings will affect the document page, select the Preview check box in the New Document dialog.
When you’ve finalized the production specifications for your document, you’re ready to create a new document for your project in InDesign. For a single-page poster design destined for print, the new document setup is relatively simple:
Choose File > New > Document (Figure 2.3).
A Recently used presets and templates
B Presets and templates you customized and saved
C Document intents
D Document name
E Save Document Preset button
F Document dimensions
G Document unit of measure
H Page orientation
I Number of pages
J Facing pages option
K Starting page number
L Primary Text Frame option
M Column settings
N Blank document presets
O Templates
P Search Adobe Stock for more InDesign document templates
Q Preview settings in document window
Figure 2.3 New Document dialog and upper Preset Details options Click the Print intent at the top of the New Document dialog.
In the name field under Preset Details, enter the filename project02_event_poster.
Select Tabloid from the Page Size menu and click the portrait (tall) icon for Orientation.
Choose Inches from the Units pop-up menu.
Although picas are a traditional unit of measure for print publishing, many designers, such as Jonathan, use a mix of inches and picas, which InDesign handles easily.
Deselect Facing Pages, because there’s only one page.
Posters or flyers are designed as standalone pages. In contrast, publications such as books or magazines use facing pages. Facing pages are placed on either side of the spine or fold. Creating a new document with Facing Pages selected displays the left and right pages of the document side by side, with the spine in the middle.
Leave Pages and Start # set to 1.
Deselect Primary Text Frame.
Tip
If a preset or a template will work for you, select it before you change the Preset Details options in the New Document dialog, because the preset or template will fill in a lot of the details for you.
This setting adds a text frame to every page so that you can easily add text to every page, so it’s useful for long documents such as books. But a primary text frame isn’t useful in a single-page poster such as this one, which will have only a few lines of display type.
For Columns, enter 4.
The poster doesn’t actually have four columns of text, but columns are often used as a vertical composition unit in some types of grid-based graphic design.
For Column Gutter, enter 1p11.
“1p11” means one pica, eleven points. According to traditional print industry practices, when expressing units smaller than a pica, points are used instead of decimal picas. There are 12 points in a pica, so picas are the large unit and points are used for smaller units.
Notice that it’s possible to add letters to a measurement value to override the current unit of measure. In other words, even though Unit of Measure was set to Inches, you are able to specify picas and points here using the notation that InDesign recognizes: a number, followed by “p” to indicate picas, and then a second number that InDesign will interpret as points.
Expand the Margins section if needed (Figure 2.4), make sure the link icon to the right of the values is closed (meaning all Margins fields are linked), enter 3p (3 picas, no points) into any of the Margins fields, and press Tab to apply it. Because the fields are linked, all fields will now show the value you entered.
A Margin settings
B Link icon for making all values in that section the same
C Bleed settings
D Slug settings
Figure 2.4 The lower part of the Preset Details panel in the New Document dialog. To see it, you may need to scroll down. Note
The amount of bleed you’ll need always depends on the printing equipment that will be used, so don’t guess how much you need—always ask the printing company.
Tip
You can spend less time scrolling in the New Document dialog if you make it bigger, by dragging any corner or side.
Video 2.2 demonstrates another example of overriding the unit of measure, where “.75 in” is entered to make sure InDesign interprets that value as inches.
Expand the Bleed and Slug section if needed, and in the Bleed section, make sure the link icon to the right of the values is closed, enter 1p3 (1 pica, 3 points) into any of the Bleed fields, and press Tab to apply it. All Bleed fields should now show the value you entered.
In the Slug section, make sure the link icon to the right of the values is open (unlinked), enter 3p in the Bottom slug option, and press Tab to apply it. Because the link icon is open, the four Slug values are not linked and can be set independently. That’s why entering 3p for the Bottom slug option did not change the other three Slug values.
The three picas for a slug were added to the bottom edge only, because that’s the only side where we want to set aside space for an approval signature.
Click Create to close the New Document dialog. When it closes, InDesign creates the new document with the settings you applied.
Choose File > Save. The Save As dialog appears with the filename you entered back in the New Document dialog.
Navigate to the project02_event_poster folder, and click Save.
You can compare how your new document looks before and after trimming (that is, with and without the bleed and slug areas) by switching between Normal and Preview screen modes using any of the methods you learned in Chapter 1:
Use the Screen Modes menu in the application bar.
Use the Screen Mode button in the Tools panel.
Press W on the keyboard.
Choose View > Screen Mode, and choose a screen mode from the submenu.
Adding a Slug
You’ve set aside room for a slug outside the bottom edge of the poster. Let’s add the text that goes there for this project.
Make sure the screen mode is set to Normal so that you can see the slug area below the page (Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.5 Viewing the slug area below the page in Normal screen mode Magnify and scroll the document window so that you’re looking at the lower-left corner of the document, including the slug area marked by a blue line extending past the bottom page edge.
In the Tools panel, select the Type tool
.Within the slug area, drag to create a text frame wide enough for several words.
Type Approval signature, then exit text editing mode by clicking the Selection tool in the Tools panel (Figure 2.6).
Figure 2.6 The text that will print in the slug area, outside the page area Save the document.
Using Layers to Organize Document Elements
ACA Objective 3.1
Video 2.3
Using Layers to Organize Document Elements
Layers are like clear sheets of plastic in a stack. Each layer can contain its own objects. Layers are great for organizing related design elements and controlling the stacking order of objects. Using layers, you can more easily isolate the design elements you are working on without accidentally changing other, nonrelated objects. For example, when working on a magazine, you might work with separate layers for text, images, and background textures or colors. You manage layers using the Layers panel (Window > Layers) (Figure 2.7).
A Show/hide layer on layout (eye icon)
B Lock layer
C Panel menu
D Current drawing layer
E Select all objects on layer
F Select individual object
G Create New Layer button
H Delete Selected Layer button
Looking at Layers in the Finished Document
Layers are useful for keeping a document organized, and for maintaining consistency in which page elements are in front of or behind other page elements.
Each layer can contain objects. Objects on the topmost layer are in front of the stacking order on the page.
Let’s examine how layers can be used to structure the poster you’re about to create. First, open the Layers panel:
If you haven’t already opened the finished version of the document, open it: Choose File > Open. Navigate to the project02_event_poster_final folder, select project02_event_poster_final.indd, and click Open.
Open the Layers panel by clicking its tab or button; if you can’t see either, choose Window > Layers.
In the Layers panel, you see a list of names such as Superheroes, Lines, Text, Cityscape, and Background. Each of those names represents a layer.
Now hide some layers so that it’s easier to work with the Sunburst graphic (Figure 2.8). That graphic is on the Background layer, so it’s currently obstructed by other layers.
Figure 2.8 The Layers panel shown with some layers hidden and the Sunburst graphic selected In the Layers panel, click to hide the eye icon for the first four layers: Superheroes, Lines, Text, and Cityscape. You can also drag vertically across the four eye icons to hide them.
When a layer’s eye icon is turned off, the objects on that layers are hidden. If the document were to be printed now, it would print as you see it here, with many objects missing.
Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the layer named Background.
The expanded layer listing reveals the names of objects on that layer. One of them is an object called Sunburst.
Click the selection dot to the right of the Sunburst object.
The Sunburst object is now selected. When an object is difficult to select on the layout because of other objects in front of it, selecting it in the Layers panel is a convenient alternative.
Choose Edit > Deselect All. Notice that no selection dots are highlighted now.
In the Layers panel, click to show the eye icon for the first four layers: Superheroes, Lines, Text, and Cityscape. The objects on those layers appear again.
Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the layer named Background to collapse it.
The other great thing about the Layers panel is being able to control the stacking order of page elements by rearranging layers. Try it out:
In the Layers panel, drag the Superheroes layer down until the drag indicator line appears below the Cityscape layer, then release the mouse button (Figure 2.9).
Figure 2.9 Change the layer stacking order by dragging layers up or down. All objects on the Superheroes layer now appear behind the Cityscape layer.
Choose Edit > Undo. The Superheroes layer is returned to the top of the layer stack, and the objects on it now appear in front of all other layers.
Building Layers for a New Document
Now let’s create the layers needed in the new blank document you created.
Click the document tab for project02_event_poster, the poster you’re building.
In the Layers panel, click Layer 1 to select it, wait a moment, and then click the Layer 1 text so that it becomes highlighted.
Type the name Background and then press Enter or Return (Figure 2.10).
Figure 2.10 Renaming a layer You can also rename a layer in the Layer Options dialog, which you can open by double-clicking a layer. Opening Layer Options is useful when you want to change other layer attributes, such as whether it’s printable. You don’t have to rename layers, but having named layers provides useful clarity as a document becomes more complex.
One of the options in the Layer Options dialog is Color. The layer color doesn’t change the printed appearance of any objects; it visually indicates the layer an object uses. You see the layer color on the selection dot at the right side of the Layers panel when a layer or object is selected, as well as on the bounding box and handles around an object selected on the layout.
At the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Create New Layer button, and change the name of the new layer to Cityscape (Figure 2.11).
Figure 2.11 Adding a new layer named Cityscape A new layer is added at the top of the Layers panel if no layer is selected. If a layer is selected, the new layer appears above that layer. Let’s create another new layer in a different way.
Click the Layers panel menu and choose New Layer (Figure 2.12). The New Layer dialog opens; it’s basically the same as the Layer Options dialog but for an existing layer.
Figure 2.12 You can also add a new layer using the Layers panel menu. In the Name field, type Text, and click OK (Figure 2.13).
Figure 2.13 The New Layer dialog contains additional options, but for now, you only need to name the layer. Create two more layers using either of the methods you’ve learned so far; name them Lines and Superheroes.
Shortcut
When you want to select an object blocked by other objects, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (macOS) repeatedly to select each object in the stack in turn until the one you want becomes selected.
Make sure the stacking order of the layers matches the order in the final document, project02_event_poster_final.indd, which should still be open in the other document tab. If the layer order doesn’t match, drag to change the order until it matches (Figure 2.14).
Figure 2.14 The Layers panel should contain layers with the names and stacking order shown here. Choose File > Save.
Adding Guides and Changing Preferences
ACA Objective 2.3
Video 2.4
Adding Guides to a Document and Changing Preferences
Creating a new document automatically adds to your page a number of nonprinting guides for margins, columns, bleed, and slugs. Along with these guides, you can also add ruler guides to help position the elements of the poster.
Using Ruler Guides
Tip
One way that guides help you is by “snapping” objects to them when you drag an object near them. This helps ensure exact alignment to guides. Snapping is on by default, but if you don’t want it to happen, choose View > Grids & Guides, and deselect Snap to Guides.
You can add a ruler guide by dragging it to any location on the layout, or you can have InDesign generate multiple ruler guides at regular intervals.
Displaying Rulers
If you want to create a ruler guide manually, the onscreen rulers must be visible (Figure 2.15).
To show or hide rulers, do one of the following:
Choose View > Rulers.
Press Ctrl+R (Windows) or Command+R (macOS).
Select Rulers from the View Options menu in the application bar.
Shortcut
You can also drag a guide that spans the entire pasteboard area by Ctrl-dragging (Windows) or Command-dragging (macOS) from the ruler. Pressing the Shift key when dragging a guide from the ruler snaps the guide to even ruler increments.
Tip
When a guide is selected, you can also position it by entering horizontal (Y) or vertical (X) values in the Control panel.
Adding and Moving Ruler Guides
A guide can span a single page, or it can span all the pages in a spread (Figure 2.16).
To add a ruler guide to a page, drag a guide from a ruler and drop it on the page.
To add a ruler guide to a spread, drag a guide from a ruler and drop it on the pasteboard to the left or right of the spread. You can also drop it above or below the spread if you need a guide that never touches the pages.
Note
If you can’t move a ruler guide, guides might be locked. Choose View > Grids & Guides, and if the Lock Guides command is selected, deselect it.
To reposition an existing ruler guide, do one of the following:
Using the Selection tool, click to select the guide, and drag it to a new position.
To convert a page guide to a spread guide, hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) as you drag the guide.
Ruler guides are cyan (kind of a light aqua color) by default.
Deleting Guides
Tip
If you want to create evenly spaced ruler guides, choose Edit > Create Guides.
You can remove one guide from the layout, or you can remove all guides at once.
To remove one guide:
With the Selection tool, click the guide to select it. The guide is highlighted in the layer color.
Press Delete.
To remove all guides on a spread:
Choose View > Grids & Guides > Delete All Guides on Spread.
Changing the Unit of Measure
ACA Objective 3.3
Tip
Another way to change the unit of measure is to right-click the horizontal ruler to change the horizontal unit of measure, or right-click the vertical ruler to change the vertical unit of measure. To change both at once, right-click the ruler origin (where the rulers meet).
Although you’ve learned how to override the unit of measure, if you’re always going to use the same unit of measure you should know how to set it as the active unit of measure. By doing this, you don’t have to enter letters after the unit value; just enter the values alone. The active unit of measure is also what InDesign uses in various measurement displays, such as the onscreen rulers, the Control panel, the Info panel, and the transformation values that appear next to the pointer when you drag elements such as the ruler guides.
To change the unit of measure:
Open the Units and Increments panel of the Preferences dialog (Figure 2.17) using the method for your operating system:
In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments.
On a Mac, choose InDesign CC > Preferences > Units & Increments.
Figure 2.17 The Units & Increments panel of the Preferences dialog In the Ruler Units section, examine the Horizontal and Vertical units of measure, and set both to Inches for this lesson.
The reason there are separate Horizontal and Vertical units is that some traditional publication designs use one unit (such as picas) for widths and another unit (such as inches) for depth (such as when measuring “column inches”). Some of the units of measure are very specific to design or typography, such as the agate, and others are used in specific countries.
Click OK.
Tip
If you want a preference setting to affect all new documents you create, change a document-specific preference setting without having any InDesign documents open.
Adding Objects to a Document
ACA Objective 2.3
ACA Objective 4.1
Video 2.5
Adding Objects to a Document
With the new document created, layers created, and an understanding of guides, you’ve laid down a solid foundation for the structure of the design of the poster. Next, you’ll add the actual guides you need and then add colored shapes, lines, images, and text.
Adding a Horizontal Guide for Poster Elements
You’ll add one horizontal ruler guide to the page, as you did earlier, so that you can properly align a rectangle you’ll draw soon:
Position the cursor over the horizontal ruler.
Drag a horizontal guide down out of the ruler, and when the Y transformation value next to the pointer indicates that the guide is 10 inches down (Figure 2.18), release the mouse button to drop the guide on the page.
Figure 2.18 Add a horizontal guide at 10 inches from the top of the page. Tip
If you have trouble dropping a new ruler guide at an exact dimension, such as 10 inches, hold down the Shift key while dragging to snap the guide to larger increments.
Adding a Rectangle
You’re about to add the teal-colored rectangle in the background of the poster. Because of the guide you just added, you’ll know how large to draw the rectangle. In this way, guides are useful for communicating design intention for objects that haven’t been created yet, especially if they’re going to be created by someone else.
In the Layers panel, make sure the Background layer is selected, and expand it so you can see the list of objects on it.
You selected the Background layer because you want the next object to be created on it.
Select the Rectangle tool
.Position the cursor at the upper-left corner of the bleed area outside the page area (marked by red lines).
Drag the Rectangle tool down and to the right so that the lower-right corner of the rectangle meets the red bleed edge outside the right edge of the page and the horizontal guide you added earlier (Figure 2.19).
Figure 2.19 Drag the Rectangle tool diagonally to draw a rectangle.
The new rectangle is in place. It needs to be filled with the correct color, so you’ll do that next.
Applying Color to a Shape
There are several ways to add color to an object, but to start out you’ll use the Swatches panel. You can store colors and gradients in the Swatches panel so that they’re readily at hand to apply instantly to objects.
It’s also possible to apply colors using the Colors panel, but the advantage of using the Swatches panel is that it saves a list of colors you defined. That way, if you need to apply a color to various objects during a project, you don’t have to keep recreating the exact color specifications in the Colors panel.
Creating a Color Swatch
ACA Objective 4.5
The teal color you need for the rectangle has not yet been defined in the Swatches panel, so you’ll add it.
Open the Swatches panel:
If you can see the Swatches panel tab or button in the workspace, click it.
If you can’t see the Swatches panel tab in the workspace, choose Window > Color > Swatches.
The initial colors that you see in the Swatches panel are the default swatches. Because you started this document using a Print intent, the default swatches are CMYK colors.
The color needed for the poster background rectangle is not in the Swatches panel, so you’ll define it and add it.
Choose Edit > Deselect All to make sure nothing is selected. (You can also click the Selection tool in an empty area of the document.)
In the Swatches panel, click the panel menu and choose New Color Swatch (Figure 2.20).
Figure 2.20 The New Color Swatch command on the Layers panel menu In the New Color Swatch dialog, define the color as follows (Figure 2.21):
Tip
If you added a swatch to the Swatches panel and later want to change its settings, double-click the swatch.
Note
You can also create a new color swatch by clicking the New Swatch button at the bottom of the Swatches panel, but the New Swatch button may not be clickable unless an existing swatch is selected. Clicking New Swatch will duplicate that swatch, and then you can edit that one.
For Cyan, enter 87.
For Magenta, enter 38.
For Yellow, enter 31.
For Black, enter 4.
Figure 2.21 Defining a CMYK process color swatch For Swatch Name, deselect Name With Color Value, and enter Dark Teal.
At the bottom of the New Color Swatch dialog, deselect Add to CC Library.
Click OK. The new swatch is added to the Swatches panel (Figure 2.22).
Figure 2.22 The Dark Teal color swatch you defined is added to the Swatches panel.
You might have noticed that there was an Add button in the New Color Swatch dialog. When you click Add, the new swatch is added to the Swatches panel, and the New Color Swatch dialog stays open in case you want to define more new swatches. Dark Teal is the only swatch we needed to add, so we clicked OK to close the dialog.
Applying a Color Swatch to an Object
Now that you have a rectangle object and a color swatch, you can apply the color swatch to the rectangle.
In InDesign, objects have two parts. A stroke is the outline of an object, and a fill is the area enclosed by the stroke. You’ll see fill and stroke options almost anywhere you can apply a color in InDesign.
Tip
You can also apply colors to a selected object using the Control panel, but instead of clicking the Fill or Stroke icons, click the arrow to the right of either icon and select None.
The rectangle in this poster currently has a black stroke and no fill. It needs to have a teal-colored fill and no stroke, so you’ll color it accordingly.
If the rectangle you drew earlier isn’t still selected, use the Selection tool to select it.
In the Swatches panel, click the Fill icon and then select the Dark Teal swatch (Figure 2.23).
Figure 2.23 Applying the Dark Teal color swatch as the fill color for the rectangle In the Swatches panel, click the Stroke icon and select None (the diagonal red line) (Figure 2.24).
Figure 2.24 Removing the black outline from the rectangle (by applying the stroke color None) You could have applied the colors using the Swatches panel, but the Control panel is a convenient alternative, especially when the Swatches panel isn’t open.
Save the document.
Remember to always check both the fill and stroke when applying colors so that you don’t accidentally leave a thin stroke around objects.
Applying a Gradient to an Object
Video 2.6
Coloring an Object with a Gradient
Gradients are a popular design effect. A gradient transitions from one color to another. You can create two kinds of gradients in InDesign:
Linear gradient. A linear gradient is straight, with a minimum of one color at either end.
Radial gradient. A radial gradient is circular, with a minimum of one color at the center and another color at the edge.
You apply gradients using the Gradient panel (Figure 2.25). A gradient can contain multiple colors. Each of the colors is represented by a square gradient stop below the gradient bar, which is at the bottom of the Gradient panel. The midpoint between two colors is represented by the diamond-shaped stops above the gradient bar. You can adjust the color transitions by dragging the stops along the bar.
A Gradient type
B Gradient icon
C Location of selected gradient stop
D Angle (for a linear gradient)
E Reverse button
F Gradient bar
G Gradient stops for each color
H Gradient midpoint stop (selected)
You’ll apply a radial gradient to the rectangle, with white at the center and teal at the edge.
To apply a radial gradient to the rectangle:
If the Gradient panel isn’t visible, choose Window > Color > Gradient. Make sure you can see both the Gradient and Swatches panels.
Make sure the Fill icon is active (in front of the Stroke icon) in the Tools panel or Swatches panel; if it’s behind the Stroke icon, click it.
RGB color stands for red, green, and blue. It’s composed of the primary colors of light. Any device that captures or displays colors with light works with RGB color. When designing jobs exclusively for screens, such as digital publishing, eBooks, and websites, you would work with the Web or Mobile document intent and mix colors using RGB.
CMYK color stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (K). It’s composed of the subtractive primary colors used in print, such as commercial presses and office printers. When designing jobs for print, you’ll typically use CMYK color combinations to build up your colors.
Process colors are made up of multiple color components. For instance, a CMYK process orange color might be 100% yellow and 50% magenta (Figure 2.26). An RGB process color for yellow might use 255 red and 255 green. In print terminology, process colors always refer to the mixing of CMYK colors.
Figure 2.26 Examples of CMYK color mixing Spot colors, in contrast to process colors, are premixed inks created specifically for print. The Pantone Color Matching System (PMS), for example, is used to define spot colors. Spot colors are used for jobs that require:
Fewer than four colors
Accurate logo and branding colors
Colors that can’t be achieved in process color-printing, such as a metallic or varnish
Note
If you’re not sure whether to define color swatches as process colors or spot colors, ask your printing company. Until you know, use process colors, because that’s how many color documents are printed. Adding spot colors may increase the cost of your print job, and it changes how the press is set up, so use spot colors only under the guidance of your commercial printer.
In the Gradient panel, click the Gradient icon near the upper-left corner (Figure 2.27).
Figure 2.27 Clicking the Gradient icon applies the gradient to a selected object. The default black and white gradient is applied to the rectangle; this is not what you want, but you’ll edit it.
With the rectangle still selected, drag the Dark Teal color swatch from the Swatches panel, and drop it in the Gradient panel on the gradient stop at the right side of the gradient bar (Figure 2.28).
Figure 2.28 Customize a gradient stop by dropping a color swatch on it. If a new, third gradient stop appears after you drop the swatch, choose Edit > Undo and try again. But this time, keep an eye out for a vertical line that may appear on the gradient bar. That line means that the swatch will create a new gradient stop. That isn’t what you want here—you want to drop the swatch on an existing stop. So if you see the vertical line, move the mouse slightly so that the vertical line disappears but the pointer is still over the stop you want.
This is still a linear gradient, and we want it to be a radial gradient, so let’s change that next.
With the rectangle still selected, in the Gradient panel click the Type menu and choose Radial (Figure 2.29).
Figure 2.29 You can change a linear gradient to a radial gradient in an instant. If you wanted to customize the gradient further, you could reposition the two stops or add more stops. But all we need for this project is a simple two-stop gradient with the stops at the ends of the gradient bar.
Close or collapse the Gradient and Swatches panels, and save your document.
Tip
If you plan to use gradients frequently, consider changing your workspace to Advanced. This will add the Gradient panel to the docked panels onscreen.
Assigning Objects to Layers
ACA Objective 3.1
Video 2.7
Assigning Objects to Layers
It’s time to take a closer look at organizing a document with layers. This poster design has just enough complexity that layers will help maintain easy access to any element in the layout.
Adding an Imported Graphic
First you need to add more elements to the page. The next one is an image. It’s got a specific place on the layout, so you’ll create a frame as a placeholder and then import the image into the frame.
In the Layers panel, make sure the Background layer is selected, and expand it so you can see the list of objects on it.
In the Tools panel, select the Rectangle Frame tool
(not the Rectangle tool).Draw a rectangle frame at the same position and of the same size as the rectangle you created earlier (Figure 2.30).
Figure 2.30 Drag the Rectangle Frame tool along the same margin and ruler guides you used for the previous rectangle. Because the new object was created with the Background layer selected, the Layers panel shows the new object on the Background layer, and as long as the object is selected it displays a selection dot to the right of its name in the Layers panel.
The X inside the frame indicates that it’s a graphics frame, which means it’s a placeholder for a graphic to be added in the future.
To make objects and layers easier to identify in the Layers panel, you can rename them. Let’s rename the objects you’ve created so far.
In the Layers panel, click the name of the rectangle frame you created (Figure 2.31) (it should be the topmost object on the Background layer), and when the text is highlighted after a couple of seconds, click the layer name again.
Figure 2.31 Click the name of a selected layer to highlight the name for editing. You wait a couple of seconds between clicks because you don’t want to double-click. The first click selects the layer, and the second click highlights the layer name.
Enter the text Sunburst, and press Enter or Return.
Select the other rectangle layer below Sunburst, name it Teal rectangle, and press Enter or Return.
In the Layers panel, click the selection dot to the right of the Sunburst object (Figure 2.32). The object is selected on the page if it isn’t already, and the bounding box of the object as well as the selection dot are both highlighted with the layer color.
Figure 2.32 Selecting an object in the Layers panel is an alternative to selecting it on the layout.
Now we’ll fill the placeholder graphics frame with the artwork intended for that space on the layout.
With the Sunburst object still selected, choose File > Place.
Navigate to the Project02-EventPoster folder, and then inside the Links folder, select the file proj2_poster_sunburst-lines.eps (Figure 2.33) and click Open.
Figure 2.33 The sunburst lines graphic placed inside the rectangle frame
The graphic is placed inside the frame and fills it. The graphic is in EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format, which is frequently used as an interchange format for vector-based artwork, such as for the clip art used in this lesson.
Tip
The layer selected in the Layers panel can be different than the object selected in the Layer panel. The selected layer is highlighted in the Layers panel, while the object displays a highlighted selection dot.
Normally, an object is added to the selected layer, which is the “Teal rectangle” layer at this point. But the sunburst graphic is on the Sunburst layer because it was placed inside a graphics frame that is on the Sunburst layer. It’s a subtle but important distinction.
If you use Adobe Illustrator CC to create vector artwork, you don’t have to save the artwork as EPS to place it into InDesign. Just leave the Illustrator artwork in its own native Adobe Illustrator (AI) format, and InDesign can place it directly. Not only is Illustrator format artwork easier to place, it is easier and more reliable to use because the AI format does not have some of the limitations of the EPS format.
Understanding Graphics Formats
ACA Objective 2.5
ACA Objective 3.1
ACA Objective 4.4
Although you can complete a significant part of your design work in InDesign, images and graphics are generally created separately and supplied to you as individual files.
Pixel-based images, such as photos or photo compositions, are captured with a digital camera, scanned, or compiled in photo-editing programs, such as Adobe Photoshop. Vector-based graphics, such as a drawings, cartoons, logos, or technical drawings, are created in drawing programs, such as Adobe Illustrator. The shapes and lines that make up vector-based graphics are drawn mathematically, resulting in graphics that you can scale to different sizes without loss of quality. This means that vector-based graphics are resolution independent. In contrast, the quality of pixel-based images depends on their size and image resolution, measured in pixels per inch (ppi).
InDesign supports the import of native Photoshop and Illustrator files, as well as a range of other image and graphics file formats.
For pixel-based images (Figure 2.34), commonly supported file formats are:
Adobe Photoshop native files (PSD): PSD files may contain transparency, layers, and layer comps (snapshots of layer visibility, appearance, and position). Top-level layers and layer comps can be enabled or disabled within InDesign.
Tagged Image File Format (TIFF): TIFF files can be compressed and may contain layers and transparency.
Joint Photographic Experts Group files (JPEG): A compressed file format that significantly reduces file sizes, JPEG does not support transparency, layers, or spot color and should be used with caution, as high compression rates could result in significant loss of quality. JPEG format is more commonly used for web images.
Figure 2.34 When you magnify this photographic image, individual pixels become visible.
For vector graphics (Figure 2.35) the more common formats are:
Adobe Illustrator native files (AI): AI files retain transparency and layers. Top-level layers can be enabled or disabled within InDesign after import. During import, any available Illustrator artboard can be selected for import. Illustrator files appear as Adobe PDF Format in InDesign’s Links panel.
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS): An older file format that does not support transparency and is gradually being phased out. You will see this format used in the signage industry and with some older pagination systems newspapers use to place ads. Vector-based illustrations are fully opaque within the vector shape, but they can be see-through outside the area defined by the vector shapes.
Portable Document Format (PDF): A document format that is platform independent and can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. PDF files embed images and graphics as well as fonts. The format is supported as an import format in InDesign. However, it is more commonly used to export finished art from InDesign for delivery to a printer or to provide a compatible version of the document for general viewing.
Figure 2.35 When you magnify this illustration of a superhero, lines and shapes remain sharp, always at full device resolution. Shortcut
If you click the page with a loaded pointer instead of dragging, you place the image at that location at 100 percent size.
These file formats work well for print publishing and can also be used for digital publishing. With the exception of JPEG, the file formats discussed here are not supported in web design. Common file formats used when designing for web are JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
Resizing Objects and Adding Effects
Video 2.8
Resizing Objects and Adding Effects
When you place a graphic, it always exists inside a frame whether or not you drew one in advance. If you didn’t draw one in advance, a placed graphic comes with a containing frame that matches the size of the graphic.
You’ll resize the Sunburst graphic you just placed, and adjust its appearance by changing its effects settings.
Resizing an Object to Fit Its Frame
Tip
An alternative to using the Content Grabber is to select the Direct Selection tool in the toolbox. The Direct Selection tool bypasses the frame to give you direct access to its contents. When drawing paths and shapes, the Direct Selection tool bypasses the object level to give you direct access to points and paths.
Because a placed graphic always exists within a frame, use care when resizing because if you simply drag the corner handle of a selected graphic, you’re actually resizing its frame; resizing the graphic itself requires a different method. Let’s try some different methods for resizing a graphics frame and its contents:
If the Sunburst object isn’t selected, select it by clicking anywhere on the frame except in the center of the frame.
Drag any corner handle outward (Figure 2.36).
Figure 2.36 Resizing a graphics frame with the Selection tool The frame around the graphic resized, revealing more of the graphic, but the graphic itself is unchanged. This isn’t what we want, so we’ll have to try again.
Choose Edit > Undo, and this time position the Selection tool over the center of the graphic, revealing the Content Grabber in the middle of the frame (Figure 2.37).
Figure 2.37 To select content inside a graphics frame, click only after you see the Content Grabber. When the Content Grabber is visible, clicking it affects the contents of the frame (in this case, the Sunburst graphic) instead of the frame.
Click the Content Grabber. A different, larger bounding box appears (Figure 2.38). This is the graphic (the content), not the frame. If you grab one of the handles now, you resize the graphic, not the frame. (You can try this, but if you do, choose Edit > Undo afterward.)
Figure 2.38 The content (the Sunburst graphic) inside the frame is bigger than the frame, so selecting the content reveals an image bounding box larger than the containing frame. Is there a way to resize a frame and its contents together when you drag a bounding box handle? Yes: Hold down the Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) key while dragging any of the frame’s bounding box handles (also hold down Shift to resize proportionally).
Manual resizing is fine, but in this case we just want the graphic to fit its frame exactly, since the frame was drawn as a placeholder for that exact area of the page. Fortunately, InDesign has an automatic way to do this:
With either the Sunburst graphic or frame selected, choose Object > Fitting > Fit Content to Frame (Figure 2.39).
Figure 2.39 Applying the Fit Content to Frame command makes all four sides of the image content exactly match the four sides of the frame. Note
For step 5, Video 2.8 demonstrates clicking the Fit Content to Frame icon in the Control panel. You can do that instead if you see those icons on the Control panel, but they may not appear on some smaller screen sizes.
This makes the graphic exactly fit the height and width of the frame. Because the frame and the graphic are slightly different proportions, the resized graphic is slightly wider than its original proportions, so there is a small amount of distortion, but that’s acceptable for this use. If you wanted to maintain the original proportions of the graphic without leaving any empty areas in the frame, you could choose Object > Fitting > Fill Frame Proportionally.
Applying an Effect
Visual effects are fun, but excessive or overdone effects can sometimes cause problems on a printing press. InDesign comes with a range of effects that are appropriate for print publishing and that can translate into web design or mobile device publishing.
One of the more useful and popular effects is opacity, where 100 percent opacity is completely opaque and 0 percent is completely transparent.
To apply an opacity effect to the Sunburst graphic:
Make sure the frame containing the Sunburst graphic is selected. If the contents are still selected, press the Esc key until you see the bounding box for the frame, which will appear in the layer color (Figure 2.40).
Figure 2.40 The frame containing the Sunburst graphic is selected. Choose Object > Effects > Transparency.
The Effects dialog (Figure 2.41) opens, displaying the Transparency panel. Here you can see the other effects that are available, such as Drop Shadow, Outer Glow, and Bevel and Emboss, but for now we’re concerned only with Transparency.
Figure 2.41 Transparency is one of the many graphic effects you can apply. Make sure the Preview option is selected so that you can see the effects of your changes as you make them.
Change the Opacity setting to 10%, and click OK.
With the opacity lowered, the Sunburst looks fainter, and the teal background shows through it.
Save the document.
Creating a Shape with the Pathfinder Tools
ACA Objective 4.5
Video 2.9
Introducing the Pathfinder Tools
Video 2.10
Using the Pathfinder Tools to Create a Globe
You can combine two or more shapes to create new shapes by using the Pathfinder panel and command in InDesign. This can often be easier and faster than drawing a complete shape by hand.
The poster design specifies that the superheroes stand on top of a globe. But the entire globe isn’t shown, just the top section. To reduce clutter, the rest of the globe won’t be used. Instead of having to perfectly draw an arc, it will be easier to draw an ellipse and a rectangle, and with the Pathfinder tools, use the rectangle to cut the desired section out of the ellipse.
Let’s create the partial globe for the poster by combining some of the basic shapes you can make with the InDesign drawing tools. First, create the shapes:
Drag a ruler guide down from the horizontal ruler, and when the Y transformation value next to the pointer says the guide is 8.5 inches down (Figure 2.42), release the mouse button.
Figure 2.42 Adding a horizontal ruler guide In the Tools panel, select the Ellipse tool
.Drag an oval across the bottom of the page; the exact size isn’t important yet.
With the oval still selected, in the Control panel click the arrow next to the Fill icon and apply the Black color swatch (Figure 2.43).
Figure 2.43 Using the Control panel to apply a black fill to the oval In the Control panel, click the arrow next to the Stroke icon and apply the None color swatch to remove the outline from the oval.
In the Control panel, set the width (W) of the selected oval to 17 inches and set the height (H) to 10 inches.
With the Selection tool, drag the black oval so that the top snaps to the guide you added in step 1 and so that the center of the ellipse is horizontally centered on the page (Figure 2.44).
Figure 2.44 Positioning the oval As you drag the oval near the horizontal center of the page, a vertical magenta guide should temporarily appear. This is a Smart Guide, which appears only when you drag an object close to alignment with another object or the page. Smart Guides help you align objects perfectly the first time so that you don’t have to go back later and apply other alignment features. You can disable and enable Smart Guides by choosing View > Grids & Guides > Smart Guides.
Now you’ll add a shape that will modify the oval feature when you apply a Pathfinder option.
In the Tools panel, select the Rectangle tool, and drag a rectangle in the pasteboard starting slightly beyond the left edge of the oval, until the right edge of the rectangle meets the left edge of the bleed area, and then release the mouse button (Figure 2.45).
Figure 2.45 Drawing a rectangle that will be used to modify the oval
With two overlapping shapes drawn, you’re ready to apply the Pathfinder tools to them.
If the Pathfinder panel isn’t visible, choose Window > Object & Layout > Pathfinder.
If the rectangle is still selected, with the Selection tool Shift-click the oval so that both shapes are now selected.
In the Pathfinder panel, click the Subtract button (Figure 2.46). This subtracts the shape in front (the rectangle) from the shape in back (the oval).
Figure 2.46 Clicking the Subtract button in the Pathfinder panel In the same way, draw and subtract rectangles from the right and bottom sides of the oval (Figure 2.47).
Figure 2.47 Subtracting the third rectangle from the oval In the Layers panel, click the oval object, click the name to highlight it, rename it Globe, and then press Enter or Return.
Close the Pathfinder panel, and save your document.
That’s it! You used the Pathfinder Subtract button with rectangle shapes to cut unwanted sections out of an oval, leaving you with the shape you really wanted.
Moving, Scaling, and Locking Objects
ACA Objective 4.4
Video 2.11
Moving, Scaling, and Locking Objects
It’s time to add more objects to the layout, but if we think about the big picture, you probably aren’t going to drop a graphic on a page and move on. You’ll fit the graphic into the page composition, moving it into the proper position and, if necessary, scaling it (changing its size).
Adding the Cityscape Graphics
Let’s add the cityscape graphics that are needed to complete the poster. It isn’t uncommon for even a one-page design to use several imported graphics.
In the Layers panel, if the Background layer isn’t already expanded to show the list of objects on it, click the disclosure triangle to the left of the Background layer name.
You want to protect the existing objects on the Background layer from being accidentally altered. You could do this by enabling the lock icon for the Background layer, but that would also prevent you from unlocking individual objects on the Background layer. To preserve that option it’s better to leave the Background layer unlocked but individually lock each object on the Background layer.
In the Layers panel, in the column to the left of the layer names, click to enable the lock icon for each object on the Background layer, but do not lock the Background layer itself (Figure 2.48).
Figure 2.48 Setting up the Layers panel for the next task Notice that in Normal screen mode, objects locked in the Layers panel display lock icons on their bounding boxes in the layout.
In the Layers panel, expand the Cityscape layer and select it.
In the Tools panel, select the Rectangle Frame tool.
Starting at the upper-left bleed edge, drag the Rectangle Frame tool down and to the right until the lower-right corner is slightly below where the arc ends at the right edge of the globe (Figure 2.49).
Figure 2.49 Drawing a placeholder graphics frame for the next image With the new rectangle frame still selected, choose File > Place.
In the Place dialog, navigate to the Links folder, select the file proj2_poster_city-back.eps, and click Open (Figure 2.50).
Figure 2.50 The first cityscape image placed inside the graphics frame The file imports into the selected graphics frame, but it needs to be repositioned.
Now you’ll adjust its size:
Make sure the image content, not the containing frame, is selected.
Remember that you select graphics frame content by positioning the Selection tool over the center of the frame and clicking the Content Grabber after it appears. (Or by clicking inside the frame with the Direct Selection tool.)
Choose Object > Transform > Scale.
In the Scale dialog, do the following:
Make sure the Preview option is on so you can see your changes as you make them.
Make sure the link icon is closed; that will maintain the original proportions of the height and width as you change their values. (In other words, the height and width are linked.)
For Scale X, enter 94%, and press the Tab key to apply the value (Figure 2.51).
Figure 2.51 Using the Scale dialog to resize the first cityscape image Because the link icon is closed, the Scale X and Scale Y values are linked, so applying 94 percent to Scale X also changes Scale Y to the same percentage, maintaining the graphic’s proportions.
Tip
The link icon you saw in the Scale dialog is also next to the scale fields in the Control panel, and it has the same function there: to maintain the original proportions of a graphic as you change the H and W values.
Click OK.
The graphic is scaled. With the size corrected, it’s time to reposition the graphic.
With the Selection tool, position the pointer over the center of the cityscape graphic so that the Content Grabber circles appear, then drag the cityscape graphic until its bottom edge is roughly where the globe arc begins to rise (Figure 2.52). The graphic is repositioned within its frame.
Figure 2.52 Repositioning the first cityscape image Tip
When you can’t select an object on the layout, check the Layers panel to see if the object is locked or on a locked layer. Unlock the object to be able to select it.
You can toggle the Preview screen mode to see how the design looks after trimming and without the InDesign guides and visual aids. The cityscape graphic would look better behind the globe.
In the Layers panel, click to hide the lock icon next to the Globe object so that it’s unlocked.
In the Layers panel, drag the Globe object up until it’s above the cityscape graphic in the list (Figure 2.53).
Figure 2.53 Correcting the object stacking order
There’s another cityscape graphic specified for this poster, so let’s add that:
Switch to Normal screen mode so that you can see the InDesign guides and visual aids.
In the Layers panel, make sure the Cityscape layer is selected.
With the Rectangle Frame tool, drag a rectangle frame in the same position and size as the one you drew earlier (with the upper-left corner at the upper-left bleed edge, and the lower-right corner slightly below where the arc ends at the right edge of the globe).
With the new rectangle frame still selected, choose File > Place.
In the Place dialog, navigate to the Links folder, select the file proj2_poster_city-front.eps, and click Open.
With the Selection tool, position the pointer over the center of the cityscape graphic so that the Content Grabber circles appear, then drag the cityscape graphic until its bottom edge merges with the black globe and the graphic is slightly offset from the other cityscape graphic to make the two graphics look more naturally layered (Figure 2.54).
Figure 2.54 Repositioning the second cityscape graphic In the Layers panel, drag the Globe object above both cityscape graphics in the list for the same reason you did before—because the bottom of the cityscape graphic looks more natural if it’s behind the arc of the globe (Figure 2.55).
Figure 2.55 Correcting the object stacking order Choose Edit > Deselect All.
You’ve completed editing the Background and Cityscape layers, so to eliminate the chance that the objects on either layer might be accidentally altered, you’ll lock both layers.
Tip
When you want to deselect everything, you can also click in an empty area of the page or pasteboard as long as you’re sure there isn’t anything there. If you’re not sure, it’s safer to choose Edit > Deselect All or press Crl+Shift+A (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+A (macOS).
In the Layers panel, click in the lock column for the Background layer to enable its lock icon, and do the same for the Cityscape layer (Figure 2.56).
Figure 2.56 Locking the Background and Cityscape layers Save the document.
Adding the Superhero Figures to the Document
Video 2.12
Placing Graphics in a Document
Placing graphics onto the page and adjusting them should be starting to feel routine now. Let’s use the experience you’ve gained to add the superhero figures to the document.
Make sure Normal screen mode is active so that you can see the InDesign guides and visual aids.
In the Layers panel, make sure the Superheroes layer is selected.
With the Rectangle Frame tool, drag a rectangle frame from the upper-left corner of the page margin (not the bleed or page edge) to the lower horizontal guide where it meets the right margin of the second column (Figure 2.57). In other words, the rectangle should cover the first two columns without going into the page margins or middle column gutter.
Figure 2.57 Drawing a placeholder frame for the female superhero With the new rectangle frame still selected, choose File > Place.
In the Place dialog, navigate to the Links folder, select the file proj2_superhero-female_2020.eps, and click Open. The female superhero figure is placed inside the selected graphics frame (Figure 2.58).
Figure 2.58 The female superhero figure in its designated graphics frame With the Rectangle Frame tool, drag a rectangle frame that covers the second two columns down to the lower horizontal guide, without going into the page margins or middle column gutter. In other words, it should be the same as the previous graphics frame, but on the other side of the poster.
With the new rectangle frame still selected, choose File > Place.
In the Place dialog, navigate to the Links folder, select the file proj2_superhero-male-2020.eps, and click Open. The male superhero figure is placed inside the selected graphics frame (Figure 2.59).
Figure 2.59 The male superhero figure is placed in its graphics frame.
Now let’s refine the size and positioning of the two figures. They both need to be slightly smaller and composed more effectively.
With the Selection tool, position the pointer over the center of the female figure so that the Content Grabber circles appear, then click it to select the image contents of the graphics frame (the female figure).
Drag the female figure until the feet rest on the lower horizontal guide (Figure 2.60).
Figure 2.60 Repositioning the female superhero The female superhero figure needs to be resized, but this time you’ll scale the graphic using the Control panel.
Click the middle point on the bottom of the Reference Point proxy (Figure 2.61). This will anchor the resizing operation at the bottom of the graphic so that the female superhero’s feet stay where they are.
Figure 2.61 Resizing the female superhero Note
After resizing in step 4, the Scale X Percentage and Scale Y Percentage fields may say 100% instead of 96%; if this happens it’s because the graphics frame has become selected instead of its contents.
In the Control panel, make sure the link icon next to the Scale X Percentage and Scale Y Percentage fields is closed (to constrain proportions), type 96% into the width field, and press Enter or Return.
Carefully examine the edges of the female figure. If repositioning the graphic now hides any sides of the female figure because they slid under the edge of the containing graphics frame (especially the right corner of her cape), perform step 5; otherwise, move on to step 6.
With the female superhero image still selected, press the Esc key to change the selection to its containing graphics frame, and drag any handle on the frame to make any hidden areas of the female figure visible again.
Tip
If step 5 is confusing, another way to select the containing frame of content is to deselect everything (Edit > Deselect All), and then with the Selection tool, click the frame of the graphic.
Repeat steps 1 through 4 for the male figure.
Choose Edit > Deselect All.
Save the document.
Adding Text
Similar to how graphics are always added to an InDesign document inside a graphics frame, text is always added to InDesign inside a text frame.
This poster design specifies that the text appear in multiple colors, so before adding the text, you’ll set up some color swatches for the text color.
Setting Up Color Swatches
ACA Objective 4.2
Video 2.13
Defining Swatches and Coloring Text
Because this will be a printed poster, all the swatches for this document will use CMYK process colors. But how do you know what color values to enter to set up a particular color? The colors you see on your computer display do not always reliably represent how those colors will appear in print, so the best way to specify process colors accurately is to refer to printed swatch books. These books show printed samples of colors, along with the CMYK values that produced them. Similar swatch books exist for spot colors, but instead of specifying CMYK process colors, spot color swatch books show what the actual mixed ink color looks like when printed.
Let’s add the color swatches you’ll need for the text. You’ll use more than one way to define a color swatch.
To create a color swatch using CMYK values:
In the Swatches panel (Window > Color > Swatches), choose New Color Swatch from the Swatches panel menu, and define a color using the following values:
For Cyan, enter 10.
For Magenta, enter 91.
For Yellow, enter 100.
For Black, enter 18.
Deselect Name with Color Value, and enter a name of Dark Red (Figure 2.62).
Figure 2.62 Adding the Dark Red color swatch Deselect Add to CC Library, and click OK. The new color swatch appears in the Swatches panel.
Many color schemes are based on important colors in the images used in the design. You don’t have to know the color values of those colors to use them; you can easily create a new color swatch by sampling any color in the document—even from imported graphics. Now you’ll create color swatches based on colors found in the superhero costumes.
To define a color swatch by sampling a color in the image:
In the Tools panel, select the Eyedropper tool
. If you can’t find it right away, it’s grouped with the Color Theme tool, so it may be a hidden tool in that group; press and hold down the mouse button on the Color Theme tool to reveal and select the Eyedropper tool (Figure 2.63).
Figure 2.63 Selecting the Eyedropper tool Click the Eyedropper tool to sample the light teal color from the upper part of the male superhero’s upper leg (Figure 2.64). If an alert message appears warning about a low-resolution RGB proxy, click OK.
Figure 2.64 Sampling a color that exists in a graphic in the document In the Swatches panel, choose New Color Swatch from the Swatches panel menu. A new color swatch is created from the current color (Figure 2.65).
Figure 2.65 A new color swatch added after clicking the New Color Swatch button The swatch name in the Swatches panel indicates that it’s defined using RGB color values. But this document uses CMYK values, so you need to convert the color values. Fortunately, that takes just a moment.
Double-click the swatch you just created, and choose CMYK from the Color Mode pop-up menu.
Deselect the Name with Color Value option, and for Swatch Name, enter Light Blue. Click OK.
Now sample another color from the costume. Repeat steps 4 through 8, but this time, use the Eyedropper tool to sample the yellow color from the letter E on the male superhero’s costume, and create a CMYK swatch from it named Light Yellow.
Adding Text Frames and Formatting Text
To add the text to the empty area below the superheroes, you’ll draw text frames, fill them with text, add lines between the text frames, and then apply different fill colors to ranges of text characters.
To add the first text frame to the bottom of the poster:
Position the pointer over the horizontal ruler.
Drag a horizontal guide down out of the ruler, and when the Y transformation value next to the pointer indicates that the guide is 10.5 inches down, release the mouse button to drop the guide on the page (Figure 2.66).
Figure 2.66 Adding a horizontal guide for the text With the Type tool, drag a text frame starting where the right edge of the first column meets the horizontal guide you just drew, and ending with the text frame about 3 inches tall at the left edge of the last column (Figure 2.67).
Figure 2.67 Creating the first text frame When you release the mouse button after drawing a text frame, a blinking insertion point is in the frame so that you can start typing. But first you’ll set some options for the text you’re about to type.
In the Control panel, set the following options (Figure 2.68):
From the font menu, choose Poplar Std (or another heavy display font).
Set the font size to 136pt.
Click the arrow next to the Fill icon, and choose the Dark Red color swatch.
Figure 2.68 Setting up type specifications in the Control panel With the Type tool, click in the text frame, and type EMPIRE (Figure 2.69).
Figure 2.69 Typing text into the text frame In the Control panel, click the Justify All Lines button (Figure 2.70).
Figure 2.70 Selecting Justify All Lines to distribute the text characters across the full width of the text frame InDesign offers both alignment and justification of paragraph text. The alignment options align all lines in a paragraph to the left, center, or right side of the text frame. (The exact spacing from the edge can depend on other settings, such as paragraph indents.)
The justification options are different variations on automatically spacing the characters in lines of paragraph text so that both the left and right sides of a paragraph are aligned with the left and right edges of the text frame, respectively.
With the Type tool, click after the last character in the word EMPIRE, and apply a line break by pressing Shift+Enter (Windows) or Shift+Return (macOS). If you forget the shortcut, you can also choose Type > Insert Break Character > Forced Line Break.
In the Control panel, set the font size to 70pt.
With the Type tool, type COMICCON2020 (Figure 2.71).
Figure 2.71 Typing the second line of text There’s a lot of space between the two lines of text, so you’ll reduce the space by adjusting the leading value, which is the vertical space between lines. (If you wanted to adjust the space between entire paragraphs of text, you’d adjust paragraph spacing instead.) The leading value you currently see in the Control panel is in parentheses, indicating that it’s automatic leading, which changes as you change the type size. You’re about to set a manual leading value that will no longer change on its own.
Select the COMICCON2020 text, and in the Control panel, set the leading value to 66pt (Figure 2.72).
Figure 2.72 Setting a leading value to reduce the space between lines
Applying Colors to Text
Now it’s time to apply the color swatches you created earlier to the text you just typed:
Select the COMICCON text.
In the Control panel, click the arrow next to the Fill icon, and apply the Light Yellow swatch from the menu that appears (Figure 2.73).
Figure 2.73 Applying Light Yellow to the selected text Select the 2020 text, and using the Fill icon menu in the Control panel, apply the Light Blue swatch (Figure 2.74).
Figure 2.74 The ComicCon text filled with Light Yellow, and the 2020 text filled with Light Blue 
Figure 2.75 The Typekit web page, where you can evaluate fonts and sync them to your computer Make sure there is not a third line in that text frame by clicking after the last character and pressing the Right Arrow key. If the blinking text insertion point moves to the next line, press the Backspace (Windows) or Delete (macOS) key until the text insertion point is after the last character in 2020 and still on the same line.
Choose Object > Fitting > Fit Frame to Content (Figure 2.76). This pulls up the bottom edge of the text frame until it meets the bottom of the last line of text and is an instant way to get rid of unneeded space at the end of a text frame.
Figure 2.76 Cleaning up extra space in a text frame Tip
Although the colors you see on your computer display do not always reliably represent how those colors will appear in print, it is possible to produce a much closer match using advanced color-management methods such as display calibration and soft-proofing. Ask your commercial printer if they have advice on which methods work best with their InDesign workflow.
If there were one more empty line of text, Fit Frame to Content would have held open the text frame. That’s why you checked for an unused last line in step 4.
With the Type tool, click between COMIC and CON and type a space. Also add a space between CON and 2020 (Figure 2.77).
Figure 2.77 Adding spaces to make the words more distinct
Moving and Sizing Text
ACA Objective 4.2
To complete the poster, there are a few more lines of text to add, along with some horizontal rules used as compositional elements.
Video 2.14
Moving and Sizing Text
If the document is in Preview mode, switch to Normal screen mode.
Magnify and scroll the document window to focus on the empty area below the existing text, using whatever methods you prefer (such as the Zoom tool, the magnification commands on the View menu, or the keyboard shortcuts for those commands).
In the Layers panel, expand the Text layer. Notice that the Text layer doesn’t contain any objects.
When you created the text frame, the Superheroes layer was selected, so the text frames were created on the Superheroes layer.
In the Layers panel, drag the text frame you created from the Superheroes layer to the Text layer (Figure 2.78).
Figure 2.78 Correcting the object stacking order
Next you’ll draw a line, which you’ll want to create on the Lines layer.
In the Layers panel, select the Lines layer.
In the Tools panel, select the Line tool
.In the Control panel, set the following options (Figure 2.79):
Click the arrow next to the Stroke icon, and choose Dark Red from the menu that appears.
Click the arrow next to the Fill icon, and choose None.
Set the stroke width to 2pt.
Figure 2.79 Setting up object formatting in the Control panel Position the Line tool slightly below the text frame, at the same column guide where the text frame starts, and Shift-drag to draw a line as wide as the text frame (Figure 2.80).
Figure 2.80 Drawing a line under the text
The next frame will contain some information about the convention.
Select the Text layer.
Select the Type tool, and draw a new text frame under the line, the same width as the line and text frame above it and about 0.65 inches tall (Figure 2.81).
Figure 2.81 Creating another text frame In the Control panel, set the following options:
From the font menu, choose Poplar Std Black (or another heavy display font).
Set the font size to 33pt.
Click the arrow next to the Fill icon, and choose the Light Yellow color swatch.
Make sure the Justify All Lines button is selected.
With the Type tool, click in the text frame and type @PEACHPIT CONVENTION CENTER (Figure 2.82).
Figure 2.82 Typing the location of the convention With the Selection tool, double-click the middle handle at the bottom of the text frame. This is a shortcut for fitting the frame to the text content, eliminating unused space at the bottom (Figure 2.83).
Figure 2.83 Unused space removed
The poster design calls for another line under this text frame, but instead of drawing another one from scratch, simply duplicate the one you already made:
Position the Selection tool over the line you drew that’s between the two text frames.
Hold down the Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (macOS) as you drag the line down to just below the second text frame (Figure 2.84). Smart Guides will appear when the spacing equals the spacing of the line you drew farther up.
Figure 2.84 Dragging a duplicate of the line As in other graphics programs, Alt/Option-dragging an object copies it. This is faster than drawing the same object again.
Now add another text frame:
Select the Text layer.
With the Type tool, draw a text frame the same width but about 1 inch tall.
In the Control panel, set the following options:
From the font menu, choose Poplar Std Black (or another heavy display font).
Set the font size to 42pt.
Click the arrow next to the Fill icon, and choose the Light Blue color swatch.
Click the All Caps button to select it (Figure 2.85).
Figure 2.85 The All Caps button ensures that all characters are capital letters, even if you didn’t use the Shift or Caps Lock keys. Make sure the Justify All Lines button is selected.
With the Type tool, click in the text frame and type September 30-October 1. Because you selected the All Caps button, this text appears in all capital letters, even if it was entered lowercase.
With the Selection tool, double-click the middle handle at the bottom of the text frame to collapse the empty space at the bottom. That finishes this text (Figure 2.86).
Figure 2.86 The completed text frame
There’s only one more text frame to create before you’re done creating the poster design:
Draw below the date a text frame that is the same width as the date text frame and about half an inch tall (Figure 2.87).
Figure 2.87 Adding the website address text frame In the Control panel, set the following options:
From the font menu, choose Poplar Std Black (or another heavy display font).
Set the font size to 31pt.
Click the arrow next to the Fill icon, and choose the Light Yellow color swatch.
Click the All Caps button to deselect it.
Make sure the Justify All Lines button is selected.
Type for more info go to empirecomiccon.com.
With the Type tool, select the characters empire in the bottom text frame, and in the Swatches panel, make sure the Fill icon is active and click the Light Blue swatch.
With the Type tool, select the characters con.com in the bottom text frame, and in the Swatches panel, make sure the Fill icon is active and click the Light Blue swatch (Figure 2.88).
Figure 2.88 The text after applying the Light Blue color swatch to two ranges of selected text Save your document.
Tip
If you want to close up the empty space at the bottom of any text frames or between graphics and their enclosing frames, select them and double-click the middle handle on the bottom edge. That’s a shortcut for choosing Object > Fitting > Fit Frame to Content.
That’s it, you finished the poster! You can check your work by switching to the Preview screen mode and zooming out to fit the page in the window.
Packaging Your Finished Project for Output
ACA Objective 5.2
Video 2.15
Packaging Your Finished Project for Output
With the poster design completed, you’re ready to send the job to your commercial printer. But you can’t just send the InDesign document alone. You also have to send along all the components that the printer might not have, including all the fonts used in the document and all the graphics you imported. Graphics you import into InDesign are not actually copied inside the document file; instead, InDesign generates a small preview image for use in the layout and maintains a link to the original file that’s outside the document.
Fortunately, you don’t have to keep track of all of those files. InDesign can automatically collect and package everything to help ensure a successful print job.
To package a file for delivery to a commercial printer:
With the InDesign document open (in this case, the poster you’ve been working on), choose File > Package. The Package dialog opens (Figure 2.89).
Figure 2.89 The Package dialog The Package dialog contains several panels that cover different critical aspects of a commercial print job. You can click each panel title to see what’s in them:
Summary. This panel provides an overview of the status of the packaging process. In particular, it will point out missing fonts, color inconsistencies, and other potential production issues.
Fonts. This panel displays details of font usage, helping you identify potential problems. For example, if your commercial printer requires the use of OpenType fonts, the Type column in the Fonts panel will clearly identify any fonts that may be in an unapproved font format.
Links and Images. This panel lists imported graphics and the status of the links to the original files. For example, if the Status column says a linked graphic is missing, that graphic will not print in high resolution and will have to be located before continuing to hand off the job.
Colors and Inks. This panel lists the inks required to print the colors used in the document. This is important because the inks used must match the inks the printer is setting up on press; unexpected inks may cause costly rework.
Print Settings. This panel lists the current settings of the Print dialog in InDesign. Reviewing this can provide a head start in understanding how the print settings need to be changed for the printer that will be used by the commercial printing service.
External Plug-ins. This panel is useful when plug-in modules are used to create the InDesign document, because those plug-ins may need to be present when the commercial printer prints the document.
Click Package. The Printing Instructions dialog appears (Figure 2.90).
Figure 2.90 The Printing Instructions dialog The Printing Instructions dialog is another tool that helps facilitate clear communication with your commercial printer. You should fill it out, especially with your contact information, and take the opportunity to think about any notes or other details that the printer should know about, although ideally you should discuss the important details with the commercial printer well in advance of the final handoff.
Click Continue. The Create Package Folder dialog appears (Figure 2.91).
Figure 2.91 The Create Package Folder dialog This is a standard Save dialog but with additional options; here are some of the highlights:
Copy Fonts and Copy Linked Graphics. These options include those elements in the package. Typically, these two options are left on.
Update Graphic Links in Package. This option changes the paths of linked graphics files so that they point to the folder specified in this dialog.
Include IDML. This option includes a copy of the document in InDesign Markup Language. An IDML version can be useful for troubleshooting in case the original document has a problem, or if the commercial printer needs to open the document in a different version of InDesign than the one you’re using.
Include PDF (Print). This option includes a copy of the document in PDF format. Many commercial printers now create output from PDF files instead of from an InDesign file, because it’s easier: Everything is in one optimized file—as long as the correct PDF preset was used. If a commercial printer prefers to output from the InDesign document, the PDF version is useful as a reference; the printer can compare what prints to what the PDF looks like.
Select PDF Preset. PDF presets can be set up to exactly match the workflow of a particular commercial printer, helping ensure excellent output. If your commercial printer will print from the PDF, you must confirm which PDF preset to use. They will either tell you which preset to select or send you a preset that matches their production equipment and settings.
Instructions. This is just a second chance to open the Printing Instructions dialog in case there’s something you forgot to mention.
On a real job, before continuing you’d carefully review the settings in this dialog and make sure they match what your commercial printer recommended; they may require that specific options be selected.
Navigate to the folder in which you want InDesign to create a new folder containing the packaged files, and then click Package. InDesign collects all the components that were set to be included.
On your desktop, open the packaged folder that was created, and open the PDF file inside it (Figure 2.92).
Figure 2.92 The PDF file created by the Package dialog, shown in Adobe Acrobat DC
As demonstrated in Video 2.15, Jonathan’s intention is to have the PDF include the bleed and slug values used in the document. This would be especially true if the commercial printer is going to print final output from the PDF version.
To replace the PDF version of the document:
Return to the InDesign poster document, which should still be open in InDesign.
Choose File > Export.
In the Export dialog, confirm the filename (change it slightly), make sure Adobe PDF (Print) is selected for Format, and click Save. The Export Adobe PDF dialog appears (Figure 2.93).
Figure 2.93 The Export Adobe PDF dialog Choose Press Quality from the Adobe PDF Preset pop-up menu. On a real job, you’d choose the PDF preset recommended by your commercial printer.
Click the Marks and Bleeds panel (Figure 2.94).
Figure 2.94 The Marks and Bleeds panel In the Marks section, select Crop Marks. Crop marks are the marks that the commercial printer will use to trim the page, so crop marks represent the InDesign page size.
In the Bleed and Slug section, select Use Document Bleed Settings and Include Slug Area.
Click Export.
Open the Project02-EventPoster folder on your desktop, and open the PDF file that was created. It should now show the bleed and slug areas (Figure 2.95).
Figure 2.95 The updated PDF including bleed and slug areas
Challenge
Congratulations! You successfully created the Empire ComicCon 2020 poster from a blank document and prepared it for output at your commercial printer. You now have a sense of the complete end-to-end process of creating an InDesign document.
As a challenge, come up with your own design for a single-page InDesign document. It could be a poster promoting an event, a travel poster for a destination, or an advertisement for a product or service. As with the poster you created in this chapter, make the graphics the focus of your document, and design a strong, simple composition to maximize visual impact. Have fun with it!