Essential Design Techniques

Posted on May 16, 2025 in Computers

Mastering Paragraph Styles

  • Create a Paragraph Style Based on Another

    • Double-click a word on the page to apply it.
    • Open the Paragraph panel by clicking the button on the right.
    • Click “New Paragraph Style”.
    • Double-click the new style and type the desired name.
    • Double-click again to open options.
    • Change “Based On” to the desired style.
    • Change alignment (e.g., Center Alignment).
    • Press OK.

  • Create a New Paragraph Style

    • Type > Paragraph Styles.
    • Create new style.

  • Dock Paragraph Styles Panel

    • Dock the Paragraph Styles panel with the Character Styles panel to create a new Tab Group.

Creating Character Styles

  • Create a New Character Style

    • Open the Character panel.
    • Click the “New Style” button.
    • Double-click the new style and change the settings.
    • Click OK.

Working with Objects

  • Import (Place) Text into a Frame

    • Select the frame on the page.
    • File > Place > Select document.

  • Change Fill and Stroke Color

    • Select the object.
    • Select the Swatches panel (and then the stroke of the object).
    • Select the Control Bar at the top of the screen.
    • Select the desired color for the fill.

  • Change Object Color Using Swatches

    • Select the center square object on Page 7 (Think Tic Tac Toe board – center square). Use the Direct Selection Tool.
    • Change the Fill color with the Swatch C=15 M=61 Y=100 K=0.
    • Change the Stroke color with the Swatch C=100 M=90 Y=10 K=0.

  • Change Image Opacity

    • Click on the image.
    • Use the Opacity setting in the Control Bar.

  • Create a Clipping Path

    • Object > Clipping Path > Options (e.g., Detect Edges).

  • Add Animation to an Image

    • Window > Interactive > Animation.

  • Wrap Text to the Right Side

    • Window > Text Wrap.
    • Select the text wrap option (e.g., Wrap around object shape).

Document Configuration Essentials

  • Add Bleed to Document Pages

    • Add a 0p9 Bleed to each page side in the document.
    • File > Document Setup > Bleed and Slug.
    • Click OK.

  • Change Document Color Settings

    • Edit > Color Settings.
    • Click the setting pull-down menu.

  • Change Ruler Units

    • Edit > Preferences > Units and Increments.

  • Export a Document

    • File > Export.

  • Web-Friendly Export Tool

    • The web-friendly export tool is HTML.

Page Layout and Structure

  • Create a Gatefold

    • Go to the Pages panel and move the page to the desired location.
    • To resize the page, select the page tool icon and then click “Custom” page size in the Control Bar.

  • Insert Placeholder Text

    • Type > Insert Placeholder Text.

  • Insert a Table of Contents

    • Layout > Table of Contents.

Managing Guides and Layers

  • Hide Guides

    • View > Grids and Guides > Hide Guides.

  • Lock a Layer

    • To stop editing objects in layers, lock the layer.
    • Click any blank square to the right of the eye icon in the Layers panel.

Display Performance

  • Change to High Quality Display

    • View > Display Performance > High Quality Display.

  • Use Display Performance Options

    • View > Display Performance.

Key Terminology Defined

  • What is Leading?

    The vertical spacing between lines of text.

  • When to Use CMYK Color Space?

    The CMYK color space is used for print.

  • What is a Spot Color?

    Name of a special premixed ink that requires its own printing press.

Creating Workspaces

  • Create a New Workspace

    • Create a New Workspace named “Styles”.

Creating Hyperlinks

  • Create a Hyperlink

    • Select text.
    • Go to Window menu > Interactive > Hyperlinks.
    • Click the “New URL” button at the bottom of the panel.