Design Phase

Prior to the actual creation of the document is the design phase. This is an on-going process but initially it involves determining the basic form of the desktop publishing document. Some of the sub-tasks involved in the design phase will overlap with other stages of the desktop publishing process. Although presented step-by-step, desktop publishing is not an entirely linear progression. You'll find yourself going back and forth many times between tasks and between each phase.

Do the following tasks, as required. You'll find corresponding tutorials, exercises, or resources for further study, as available. Items marked with an * are not yet in lesson or tutorials format but do provide informational resources. Document format decisions
Identifying the form and function of your document
What are you going to design? Conceptualization/Layout Options
This is where you develop ideas for layouts, try out themes, brainstorm on how to best present information.
Thumbnail Sketches
Visual Signposts Color selection
Color Basics for Print and Web
* Color Symbolism
* Color Palettes
Extend Color Use with Spot Colors
Easy Ways to Get Color Without a Color Printer Font selection
Number of Fonts
Fonts for All Caps
Headlines
Body Text Image selection
Amount of Clip Art
* Graphic Images Types
Rights Controlled/Custom Artwork
Frames, Boxes, Borders
How to Use Pictures of People

The desktop publishing really gets underway in the next phase as you set up your document based on the decisions made during the design phase.

Next Phase > Document Setup

The Desktop Document > Design Phase

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Using Page Margins

Some "rules of thumb" governing margins can help the designer break away from the defaults while still providing all the functions required of margins.

Margin Rule of Thumb #1 Avoid using the same margins on all sides of a publication. In facing-page documents, the inside margin should be smaller than the outside margins. The bottom margin is usually larger than any other margins.

Margin Rule of Thumb #2 In publications with facing pages, the outside margin of each page should be double the inside margin.

Margin Rule of Thumb #3 For best appearance, margins should be sized progressively from smallest to largest: inside, top, outside, bottom.

Putting all these "rules of thumb" together might give us a set of margins such as those shown in the image at the top of the sidebar.

These proportions can produce many different looks. In this second illustration, the page size and the proportions of the margins remain the same as in the first but the the margins are wider overall, leaving less area for text and graphics.

Although you should never let strict formulas keep you from finding the right balance of margin to printing area, they can provide a convenient starting point. In the two spread examples, the margins follow these proportions: Inside to Outside 1:2
The inside margin is 1/2 of the outside margin. Top to Bottom 1:2
The top margin is 1/2 of the bottom margin. Inside to Bottom 1:3
The inside margin is 1/3 of the bottom margin. Outside to Bottom 2:3
The outside margin is 2/3 of the bottom margin.

In addition to finding the perfect fonts and moving graphics around on the page, give careful consideration to the margins of your next project. Try decreasing and expanding the margins to achieve different looks. It may be empty space but it can throw a design completely out of balance or bring it into focus.

Basic Desktop Publishing > The Desktop Document > Document Setup Phase > Margins

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What Is DTP Software?

Desktop publishing software is a tool for graphic designers and non-designers to create visual communications for professional or desktop printing as well as for online or on-screen electronic publishing.

Answer: The term desktop publishing was originally coined to describe Aldus (now Adobe) PageMaker and among professional designers refers primarily to high-end page layout software applications including Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress. However, an explosion of consumer programs and the associated advertising hype stretched the use of "desktop publishing software" to include sofware for making greeting cards, calendars, banners, and other crafty print projects as well as all the peripheral programs for handing fonts, graphics, and later Web design. It also resulted in a wider range of low-cost, easy-to-use software that didn't require traditional design and prepress skills to understand and use. Other applications and utilities often lumped into the "desktop publishing software" category are better classified as graphics, Web publishing, or presentation software, and any number of utilities and plug-ins for specific related tasks such as color calibration, font management, or imposition. The DTP software lists below are those that do the core task of desktop publishing - composing text and graphics into page layouts for publishing.

Desktop Publishing in the 21st Century further expands the meaning of desktop publishing and thus broadens the definition of desktop publishing software to include software for Web design and other forms of visual communications beyond print design.

The main players in the field are Adobe, Corel, Quark, and Serif with products that stick close to the original use of desktop publishing software for professional page layout. Additionally, Microsoft, Nova Development, Broderbund and others have been producing consumer or print creativity and business desktop publishing software for many years. Xara is increasingly topping the lists with their hybrid graphics/page layout software.

Adobe makes many software packages used by designers. You've probably heard of Photoshop, for example. But these other programs are not page layout software applications for print publishing. They are graphics software, Web design software, programs for creating and working with the PDF format, such as Adobe Acrobat, and other related software tools. The primary desktop publishing software or page layout software applications are:

Corel is best known for its graphics suite that includes CorelDRAW and Corel Photo-Paint. In the past it has produced creative printing or home publishing programs used for desktop publishing too but the primary page layout software from Corel is:

Microsoft produces Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and various consumer graphics and creative printing programs used alone or in conjunction with other applications to do some form of desktop publishing. Their entry into page layout for print is:

Quark has other software but the one most closely associated with desktop publishing is QuarkXPress and its many XTensions (produced by many third party vendors) that enhance and expand the basic capabilities of QuarkXPress.

Serif produces a suite of applications for graphics and Web design but the core desktop publishing software application is:

Broderbund produces a number of design and publishing programs in the consumer desktop publishing arena. Although some users do use these programs as freelance designers, the programs are not typically considered professional or high-end tools. The primary audience for Broderbund creative printing software are individuals wanting to create personal projects. The two titles most closely associated with desktop publishing are:

Xara Group has been making software since 1981. The current Xara product line combines print and Web graphics and design capabilities. Xara Designer Pro (2011 About.com Readers' Choice as Best Desktop Publishing Software) Xara Photo & Graphic Designer

Specialty programs primarily designed just for greeting cards, calendars, or other specific print tasks are also frequently changing names, changing hands, and changing focus. These include programs such as Calendar Creator and Scrapbook Factory.

In addition to the sometimes fuzzy division of desktop publishing into professional, home, and business categories, there are other types of software closely associated with desktop publishing. Of the four types of software for desktop publishing, the Page Layout category encompasses the programs also known as desktop publishing software. The others are specialized or auxilliary tools used in desktop publishing. But the lines are blurred. Much of the best design software is used for both print and Web and sometimes doubles as both page layout and graphics software or creative printing and business software or other combinatons.

For the most complete list, see the A-Z Really Big List of Desktop Publishing Software.

All the FAQs: Career & Business | Software | Design & Layout | Graphics | Type & Fonts | Prepress & Printing

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Found on the Web: InDesign FX

If you use Adobe InDesign (any version) and have been thinking about signing up for lynda.com, here's a bit more incentive. The InDesign FX series with Michael Rankin features 2 to 10 minute videos that focus on the graphics and special effects capabilities of InDesign. Did you know you can do chiseled text, drop shadows and cast shadows, feathering, metallic and glass effects, and star bursts without cranking up Photoshop or Illustrator? Several of the videos are available for free.

More InDesign Training:

Screen grab from video InDesign FX 025 Simulating Carving and Chiseling; lynda.com

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EFI Auto-Count Integrated with Heidelberg POLAR Cutters

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