Home Blog Tutorials
Design Tips & Tutorials
These are a random assortment of tips and tutorials about design that I have either found useful, effective or just really cool. I hope it helps and let me know if you enjoyed them.


What is overprint fill? PDF Print E-mail

I would bet, especially in the publishing industry, that overprint fill causes more print errors and headaches than any other print function. Here is an explanation of what overprint fill does and how to avoid possible problems with it. The tricky thing is that it seems that Illlustrator applied this attribute to elements randomly. So an element you never applied this to may suddenly show up with this attribute applied.

attibutes_palette

 
Create a vector ray burst PDF Print E-mail

A quick and easy way to create an all-vector ray burst in Illustrator (like the one shown below)

burst_thumb

This effect is used to create a pattern in the background of many graphics. It is nice to know how to do this quickly as it provides a nice background that draws the eye toward an element and it can be customized many different ways to get a unique look.

 
Indesign Apply Next Function PDF Print E-mail

InDesign has several key features for applying formatting to large blocks of text with just a couple of clicks. The easiest of which is the Apply Next function. To do this you have to have well built paragraph styles, so if you are unfamiliar with paragraph styles, check out the adobe help section that outlines how to use paragraph styles.

The "Apply Next" function is very handy when you have many paragraphs of text that always follow the same order or structure. So for example: author, title, date, headline, body, etc.

This could loop as many times as you want but it always has to follow the same order and structure. Well structured documents are necessary in order to get the most out of this function.

 


Design Articles

AIGA: RSS Feed
  • What Aspiring Designers Need to Know About Strategy

    If you’re going to run a design-led business, it’s inevitable that you will need to talk strategy with your clients. Here are some of the types of strategies you might create as a design businessperson, plus some thoughts on how these different strategies might support the efforts of your clients.

  • A Place Where I Thrive

    I’ve been an AIGA member since I moved to Raleigh in 2009, and in that time I have gained so much through what I have given to the chapter. As a chapter, our mission is to create a place where design thrives. What I found through my involvement with AIGA Raleigh is a place where I thrive, too.