Professional Design Techniques with Adobe Creative Suite 3: Develop Expert Design Skills Through Hands-On Projects Using Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator

Professional Design Techniques with Adobe Creative Suite 3: Develop Expert Design Skills Through Hands-On Projects Using Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator

by Scott Citron
Released December 2007
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780321549679

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Book description

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard brings together under one roof the tools that design professionals use on a daily basis. Designing in an integrated environment results in greater efficiency and streamlines the development of flexible designs. In this book, author and distinguished designer Scott Citron leads designers of all kinds through the ins and outs of working with the components in the suite. With an easy, engaging style, Scott takes a designer's approach to address the complexities of using multiple tools to perform a variety of tasks, and focuses on important principles that can be applied to working in all the programs. Part inspiration and part how-to, each chapter contains a full project to help cement these principles, complete with steps and full-color illustrations. Project files are included on the accompanying Web site so that readers can follow along and recreate each project. Whether an aspiring designer or a practicing professional, anyone who is interested in learning to use good design techniques with Adobe Creative Suite 3 will come away with a solid foundation in this extraordinary suite of creativity tools.

Professional Design Techniques with Adobe Creative Suite 3 shows you how to:

• Choose the right design tool for the job
• Use automation to cut down your production time
• Use typefaces effectively and set type like a professional
• Work smartly with color-critical projects and complement your projects with kuler
• Create stunning artwork and packages for CDs, letterhead, invitations, and more
• Give structure to magazine and newspaper layouts with columns, guides, and grids
• Create interactive PDFs with video, audio, rollover buttons, and links

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

1 Getting Started
The Principles of Graphic Design
Use Grids to Add Structure
Starting Your Design
Organizing Your Work with Adobe Bridge
Creative Suite 3 Preferences
In Conclusion

2 Creating Effective Typography
Introduction to Using Type
Creating the Pattern Art
Adding Dimension and Lighting in Photoshop
Putting It Together in InDesign
Formatting Your Text
Choosing Compatible Type
Preparing Text for Formatting
Final Formatting and Adjustments
Typesetting with Adobe Illustrator
Project Wrap-Up

3 Designing a Corporate Identity System
What Is a Logo?
How to Develop a Logo: A Quick Case Study
Choosing the Right Design Tool
Creating Your Logo in Illustrator
Laying Out Business Cards in InDesign
Creating Letterhead and Envelopes
Laying Out Envelopes and Labels
Project Wrap-Up

4 Creating Newsletters and Forms
What Makes a Good Newsletter?
Paper Newsletter Preproduction Checklist
Developing the Newsletter
Work Smart with Styles
The Zen of Baseline Grids
Adding Interactivity
Working with Graphics
Charts, Forms, and Tables
The Acrobat 8 Professional Component
Project Wrap-Up

5 Designing Magazines and Newspapers
What Makes Great Magazines and Newspapers?
Let’s Design a Magazine
Setting Up the Document
Adding Footers
Choosing a Color Palette
Beginning the Layout
Pouring Copy
Project Wrap-Up

6 Books and Longer Documents
What Makes a Good Book?
How to Begin Designing a Book
The Strategy of Working with Long Documents
Using the Book Panel
Synchronizing Styles
Adding Object Styles
Styles in Sequence
Automating Folios and Headers with Text Variables
Cruise Control: Automated Tables of Contents
Mass Production: Preflight, Packaging and Exporting a Book
Keep It Organized and Back It Up
Project Wrap-Up

7 Designing Annual Reports
Creating a Custom Workspace
Numbering and Section Starts
A Tasty Cover: Using Live Paint
Focus on What’s Important in Images
Documents as Artwork
Maximum Flexibility: Smart Objects and Smart Filters
Importing and Formatting Spreadsheet Files
Project Wrap-Up

8 The Personal Portfolio and Interactive PDF
Why PDF When We Have the Web?
Exploring Interactivity in PDFs.
Exploring Distribution Strategies
Getting Started with Interactive Options in InDesign
Using Bookmarks to Create Destinations
Creating Buttons and Setting Button Options
Adding Visual Feedback with Button States
Adding Hyperlinks
Adding to the Experience with Movies
Saying It with Sound
Exporting the Finished PDF
Project Wrap-Up

9 Making Your Workflow Work
What Makes a Successful Print Project?
Begin the Beguine
Designing a CD Package
Setting Up the Front Panel
Designing the Front Panel
Designing the Tray Card
Creating the CD Label
Proofing Your Work
Project Wrap-Up and Conclusion

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
    1. Colophon
  3. Introduction
    1. Why This Book?
    2. How This Book Is Organized
    3. About the Companion Web Site
    4. Let’s Get Started
  4. 1. Getting Started
    1. The Principles of Graphic Design
      1. Balance
      2. Rhythm
      3. Proportion
      4. Dominance
      5. Unity
      6. Tell Me a Story: Sequencing, Relating, and Pacing
    2. Use Grids to Add Structure
      1. Grids in Nature
    3. Starting Your Design
      1. Acrobat’s Role in the Design Workflow
      2. Choosing the Right Tool for the Job
    4. Organizing Your Work with Adobe Bridge
      1. Welcome to Adobe Bridge
      2. Bridge Basics
      3. Viewing Additional File Information
      4. Other Useful Bridge Features
        1. Slideshow viewing
        2. Batch Rename feature
        3. Contact sheets
        4. Stacks
        5. Start-up scripts
        6. File > Place command
        7. Camera Raw processing
        8. Synchronizing Color Settings
    5. Creative Suite 3 Preferences
      1. Photoshop CS3 Preferences
      2. Illustrator CS3 Preferences
      3. InDesign Preferences
      4. Acrobat 8 Professional Preferences
    6. In Conclusion
  5. 2. Creating Effective Typography
    1. Introduction to Using Type
    2. Creating the Pattern Art
      1. Editing Your Pattern
      2. Recoloring Your Pattern with Live Color
    3. Adding Dimension and Lighting in Photoshop
      1. Working Smart with Smart Objects
      2. Creating and Applying the Displacement Map
      3. Creating the Stage Background and Lighting Effect
    4. Putting It Together in InDesign
      1. Setting Up the InDesign Mechanical
      2. Placing Your Artwork
      3. Black vs. Rich Black
      4. Laying Out the Inside Panels
    5. Formatting Your Text
      1. Choosing the Right Typeface
      2. Major Type Classifications
    6. Choosing Compatible Type
      1. All in the Family
      2. Mixing Serifs with San Serifs
      3. Type and Color
        1. Monospaced vs. Proportional Type
    7. Preparing Text for Formatting
      1. Organizing Typographic Content
      2. Establishing Typographic Hierarchy
    8. Final Formatting and Adjustments
      1. Using Special Characters
      2. Kerning and Tracking
      3. Setting Type Preferences in InDesign
    9. Typesetting with Adobe Illustrator
    10. Project Wrap-Up
  6. 3. Designing a Corporate Identity System
    1. What Is a Logo?
      1. From Cave Paintings to Coats of Arms
        1. Wordmarks
        2. Symbols
        3. Monograms
      2. What Makes a Good Logo?
    2. How to Develop a Logo: A Quick Case Study
    3. Choosing the Right Design Tool
    4. Creating Your Logo in Illustrator
      1. Setting Up Your Document
      2. Beginning the Design
      3. Coloring the Design
        1. Live Color
        2. Live Paint
    5. Laying Out Business Cards in InDesign
      1. Composing the Card Elements
      2. Adding Type to the Card
      3. Getting Ready to Print
        1. Adding Crops and Bleeds
        2. Laying Out the Page
      4. Automatically Updating Business Cards in InDesign
        1. Automating the Process of Adding Data to Business Cards
        2. Formatting Business Card Data
    6. Creating Letterhead and Envelopes
      1. The Art of Letterhead Design
      2. Adding the Watermark
        1. Copy and Paste vs. Placing Art in InDesign
        2. Creating Tint Swatches
        3. Composing the Watermark Design
      3. Polishing Your Letterhead
    7. Laying Out Envelopes and Labels
      1. Printing or Converting Envelopes?
      2. Laying Out Labels
    8. Project Wrap-Up
  7. 4. Creating Newsletters and Forms
    1. What Makes a Good Newsletter?
      1. Who Needs Newsletters When You’ve Got the Web?
      2. Newsletter Varieties
    2. Paper Newsletter Preproduction Checklist
    3. Developing the Newsletter
      1. It Starts with the Nameplate
      2. Creating the Nameplate in Illustrator
      3. Laying Out Master Page Items
      4. Designing the Front Page
      5. Placing Key Elements
    4. Work Smart with Styles
      1. Understanding Paragraph and Character Styles
      2. Creating Paragraph Styles
      3. Creating and Nesting Character Styles
    5. The Zen of Baseline Grids
    6. Adding Interactivity
      1. Adding Hyperlinks to the Masthead
      2. Adding Text Anchors to the Table of Contents
    7. Working with Graphics
      1. Adding Photos
        1. Understanding Image Size
        2. Using the Effective ppi
        3. Cropping Creatively
      2. Getting the Most from Stock Photography and Graphics
      3. There Is Such a Thing as Good Clip Art
    8. Charts, Forms, and Tables
      1. Pie Charts à la Mode
      2. Summer Camp Registration Form
      3. The Local Restaurants List
    9. The Acrobat 8 Professional Component
      1. Sending the Newsletter for Review and Comment
        1. Types of Reviews
        2. Initiating an Email-Based Review
        3. Viewing and Merging Comments
      2. Creating Electronic Forms
    10. Project Wrap-Up
  8. 5. Designing Magazines and Newspapers
    1. What Makes Great Magazines and Newspapers?
      1. Designing for Magazines and Newspapers
      2. Typography for Magazines and Newspapers
      3. Parts of a Magazine
    2. Let’s Design a Magazine
    3. Setting Up the Document
    4. Adding Footers
    5. Choosing a Color Palette
      1. Keeping Cool with kuler
    6. Beginning the Layout
      1. Correcting Distortion in the Opening Image
      2. Adding Some Drama
      3. Sharpening the Image
      4. What Makes a Good Opening?
    7. Pouring Copy
      1. Getting Your Team on Board
      2. Learning to Love Character Styles
      3. More About Microsoft Word Documents
      4. Type and Tone
    8. Project Wrap-Up
  9. 6. Books and Longer Documents
    1. What Makes a Good Book?
    2. How to Begin Designing a Book
    3. The Strategy of Working with Long Documents
      1. Structure and Navigation: Master Pages
      2. Staying Inside the Lines: Margins and Columns
      3. You Are Here: Page Folios
      4. Setting Standards with Text and Object Styles
    4. Using the Book Panel
    5. Synchronizing Styles
    6. Adding Object Styles
    7. Styles in Sequence
    8. Automating Folios and Headers with Text Variables
    9. Cruise Control: Automated Tables of Contents
    10. Mass Production: Preflight, Packaging, and Exporting a Book
    11. Keep It Organized and Back It Up
    12. Project Wrap-Up
  10. 7. Designing Annual Reports
    1. Creating a Custom Workspace
    2. Numbering and Section Starts
    3. A Tasty Cover: Using Live Paint
    4. Focus on What’s Important in Images
    5. Documents as Artwork
    6. Maximum Flexibility: Smart Objects and Smart Filters
    7. Importing and Formatting Spreadsheet Files
      1. Formatting Tables
      2. Using Table and Cell Styles
    8. Project Wrap-Up
  11. 8. The Personal Portfolio and Interactive PDF
    1. Why PDF When We Have the Web?
    2. Exploring Interactivity in PDFs
      1. Hyperlinks
      2. Bookmarks
      3. Buttons
      4. Movies
      5. Sound
    3. Exploring Distribution Strategies
    4. Getting Started with Interactive Options in InDesign
    5. Using Bookmarks to Create Destinations
    6. Creating Buttons and Setting Button Options
    7. Adding Visual Feedback with Button States
    8. Adding Hyperlinks
    9. Adding to the Experience with Movies
    10. Saying It with Sound
    11. Exporting the Finished PDF
      1. Compatibility
    12. Project Wrap-Up
  12. 9. Making Your Workflow Work
    1. What Makes a Successful Print Project?
      1. The Print Production Checklist
      2. To Supervise or Not to Supervise
    2. Begin the Beguine
      1. Color Settings and Calibration
      2. Choosing the Proper Workflow
      3. Synchronizing Color Settings
    3. Designing a CD Package
      1. Look to the Content
      2. Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator?
    4. Setting Up the Front Panel
    5. Designing the Front Panel
    6. Designing the Tray Card
      1. Adding Margins and Columns
      2. Creating the Fold Marks
    7. Creating the CD Label
    8. Proofing Your Work
    9. Project Wrap-Up and Conclusion

Product information

  • Title: Professional Design Techniques with Adobe Creative Suite 3: Develop Expert Design Skills Through Hands-On Projects Using Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator
  • Author(s): Scott Citron
  • Release date: December 2007
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780321549679