Sunday, May 17, 2015

Draw Shamrocks and Four Leaf Clover in Windows...

Copy Your Curve Then Paste a CopySelect, copy, then paste your curve. Select, copy, then paste your curve.

? J. Bear Use the Select tool. You can use Rectangular selection or Free-form selection. For our purposes, Rectangular selection works just fine. Once selected, copy your curve (Control+c) then immediately paste a new copy (Control+v).

Don't click away from your drawing yet. Unlike more sophisticated graphics program, your objects don't remain as individual, moveable objects once you click outside of the selected object. Keep it selected for the next step. Introduction: Draw Clover with Paint 7 Introduction: Draw Half of Leaf Use Transparent Selection this page Flip and Rotate Position Second Half of Leaf Copy and Position More Leaves Add a Stem and Fine-tune Color Your Shamrocks and Four-Leaf Clover

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What Color is Beryl?

Question: What Color is Beryl?
The mineral beryl comes in many shades from clear to blue to green (emerald) to gold or yellow to red (rare). The color name beryl is a blue or blue-green color.
Answer: Beryl, as a color name, usually refers to an aquamarine or turquoise shade of blue and green.

Some shades of blue and green that might be considered beryl include: Aqua (Cyan) | Hex #00FFFF | RGB 0,255,255 Aquamarine (Web color) | Hex #7FFFD4 | RGB 127,255,212 Sea Foam or Green (Web color seafoam) | Hex #2E8B57 | RGB 46,139,87 Teal (Web color) | Hex #008080 | RGB 0,128,128 Turquoise (Web color) | Hex #40E0D0 | RGB 64,224,208 Beryl is a cool color. Combining the cool, calming qualities of blue and green, beryl can symbolize nature, water, freshness, peacefulness, and a touch of mystery or storminess (especially the darker sea green shades of beryl. if(zSbL

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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Free Fonts Library

This free fonts library is a Font Presentation Site for free fonts and a few shareware fonts. Free fonts are those fonts that the font author or type foundry has specifically made available at no charge for personal and/or commercial use. If you're looking for just the right font with slab serifs or something with fun, girlish curls here's where to start your search. Fonts are presented by category, theme, and alphabetically.The theme directories include links to sites outside of About Desktop Publishing that specialize in specific types of free fonts.

Handwriting Fonts | Historical Fonts | Holiday Fonts | Sci-Fi & Alien Fonts | TV & Movie Fonts | Typewriter Fonts

Terms of Usage: Some fonts may be for personal use only. Others have few or no restrictions. Please honor the terms of usage for each package. Not all free fonts are really free. When browsing font collections outside of this site be aware that many shareware and commercial fonts are erroneously listed as freely available (out of ignorance or misunderstanding or in knowing disregard of copyright and intellectual property rights). About.com Desktop Publishing and About.com do not condone this practice. If any fonts found for download on this site are found to be misrepresented as free fonts, please contact me at desktoppub@aboutguide.com.

Alpha Index:
Know the name? See if it's here.
Alphabetical List of Free Fonts #-Z

Formats: Almost all Font Library downloads are Windows TrueType. See the Notes section of each font for availability (at the author's site) of Macintosh fonts or Windows Type 1 fonts. A few newer additions have direct downloads of Mac versions.

How to Use Fonts: Whether you get them free or pay for your fonts, learn how to use them to best advantage. The design and use of typefaces as a means of visual communication from calligraphy to the ever-developing use of digital type is the broad use of the term typography. Typography is sometimes seen as encompassing many separate fields from the type designer who creates letterforms to the graphic designer who selects typefaces and arranges them on the page. Explore the many Typography Tutorials at this site.


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End of the Book Components

The number and type of sections that follow the final chapter vary by the type of book. Technical publications generally have more of these end of the book components including an index and an appendix. Appendix
Material that doesn't fit within the body of the book is often included in an appendix. In a software manual, a table of shortcuts might appear in an appendix. A craft book might have an appendix listing names, addresses, and other contact information for craft supplies and other resources mentioned in the book. A technical manual that must include lengthy warranty information might put it in an appendix instead of in the title page. Bibliography
Often found in scholarly publications, the bibliography is a list of resources related to the subject of the book. The bibliography may list other books, magazines or specific articles, and Web sites. Endnotes
When footnotes (see Text Block elements) are consolidated at the end of a chapter or at the end of the book, they are called endnotes. Glossary
The glossary lists acronyms, words, and phrases relevant to the subject of the book along with a brief definition. The format may vary but two typical glossary formats are:
1 column: The glossary term in bold followed by the definition.
2 column: The glossary term in one column with the definition across from it in the second column. Index
Arranged alphabetically and by subject with page numbers, the index breaks the book down into all the many sub-topics and ideas covered in the body of the book. Desktop publishing software can often handle the creation of simple index pages. More complex indexing is often accomplished with third-party software and the services of a professional indexer. Colophon
Sometimes found in the front matter and most often found in older books, the colophon is a list or description of typefaces, type of paper, printing method, and possibly software used to produce the book. Reader-response Form
Could be an actual page bound into the book or it may be a separate page or postcard slipped into the book that asks the reader to respond with comments or questions about the book. Today's books may include a Website URL (clickable in the electronic versions) where readers can leave comments, discuss the book, access supplemental material, and learn about other books from the same author or publisher. Teasers / Excerpts
Fiction books especially may have pages that look like ads describing other books by the same author or the same publisher, sometimes with ordering information. Excerpts or the first chapter from the author's next book or the next book in a series may appear at the end of the book.

Parts of a Book > Text Block > End of the Book Components


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Dropping Drop Shadows Into Place

A tweet of a psdtuts+ tutorial from last year on drop shadows made me realize that lately I've gotten a bit lazy about my drop shadows. I'll often add them without giving any real thought to what they represent. This, despite having written an extensive tutorial awhile back on the proper use of drop shadows. So, this morning I've rounded up ?series of articles that address the use of drop shadows. Your challenge is to start building better drop shadows for all your new projects.

Drop shadows enhance illusion of layering.

After you've learned the science of drop shadows as discussed in the tutorial, above, learn how to create them in the software of your choice:

Yes, I realize the list, above, is very Adobe-centric. Here's a round-up of tutorials (some are very basic) that cover several other popular software packages and ways of using drop shadows:

After you have a handle on drop shadows, move on to cast or perspective shadows. Let the texture and color of the background show through cast shadows.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

C Folds

Definition:

When folding paper into three parts (a tri-fold), c folds have 6 panels (counting both sides of the paper) with two parallel folds in a spiral fold configuration.

The c fold is a common type of fold for brochures, letters, self-mailers (such as newsletters), and even other paper products such as paper hand towels.

Important Layout Consideration for C Folds: To allow the panels to nest inside each other properly, the folded-in end panel is usually 1/32" to 1/8" narrower than the other panels. This difference in panel sizes, though slight, needs to be taken into account when setting up guides in page layout software and when composing text and images for a brochure or other document. Otherwise, margins will appear uneven or text and images may fall into the creases.

When purchasing pre-scored brochure paper for desktop printing it is important to feed the paper into your printer in the correct position so that the correct parts of the layout are printed on the ever-so-slightly smaller folded in panel.


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Don't Miss Out on These Fun, Free 4th of July...

Show your patriotic side with one of these free Stars & Stripes fonts. Use your graphics program to colorize the black & white fonts to create red, white, & blue works of art, such as in the example on this page.

Q. Font examples on the Web are in color. Why are my fonts not in color?
A. Fonts have no color. They have positive and negative sapce, usually seen as black and white... [Read More]

American Dreams Font (ZIP file, Windows TrueType)
This sans serif font from Melle Derieppe Claude has a drop shadow and features a US Flag pattern on each character.The lowercase are a smaller size of the uppercase capitals. (Upper USA in illustration is colorized version)Patriot Font (ZIP file, Windows TrueType)
This sans serif font by J. Fordyce is a wavy stars and stripes design with 1 to 2 stars in the upper portion of each character and the wavy stripes in the bottom portion. This is an All Caps font. (Lower USA in illustration is colorized version)Young Star Font (download from DaFont)
This decorative font features a star in the upper left of each character and stripes on the remainder. It's a Windows ZIP archive.Independence Font (download from DaFont)
This all lowercase decorative font features a single star cutout in each character. It's a Windows ZIP archive.
If you were in the marching band in high school in the U.S. then chances are you learned John Philip Sousa's "The Stars & Strips Forever". Did you know it has lyrics too? About.com Music Education Guide Espie Estrella has the history and facts about our flag: "The red and white and starry blue Is freedom's shield and hope."
Index / Colors This page Stars & Stripes Fonts Graphic Headlines Flag Pattern Template for Star Decorations Flag Fan Template Candy Wrapper Firecracker Templates Candy Bar Wrapper Template Photo Credit: ? J. Bear; licensed to About.com

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Exclamation

Definition:

The exclamation - ! - is a punctuation mark used in English and other languages to denote an exclamatory statement such as extreme happiness, shouting, or surprise. Also used in some math and computer programming languages. The mark used as an exclamation was originally a way of writing IO, a Latin word meaning exclamation or expression of joy.

Two theories as to the form of the exclamation are:

1) Scribes saved space by putting the I above the O with the O eventually becoming a filled-in dot;

2) It was originally written as an O with a slash through it but the O eventually disappeared (or became the dot) and the remaining slash evolved into today's exclamation mark.

Also Known As: exclamation point | exclamation mark | exclamation note

Various slang terms: bang; pling; smash; soldier, control; screamer

Wow! Unbelievable! That's great! Stop jumping on the bed this instant!

Use exclamation marks sparingly in text. Multiple marks such as "Good Grief!!!!!!" are not standard usage.

Although exclamations can take many forms, the examples here (sidebar) show typical styles: Rounded/tear drop with circle; Rectangle/Tapered over diamond; Rectangle/Tapered over square; Rectangle/Tapered over circle.


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4 DTP Software Groups

You will use a word processor to type and edit your text including spell and grammar checking. You may even be able to format specific elements on the fly and include those formatting tags when you import text to your page layout program, simplifying some formatting tasks. While you can do some fancy, advanced layouts in your word processor software they are best suited to simply working with words, not for page layout. Additionally, if your intent is to have your work commercially printed, word processing file formats are generally not suitable. Choose a word processor that can import and export a variety of formats for maximum compatibility with others.
Examples: Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect


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A Designer's Guide to Using Shades of Brown and...

Brown Colors - ? J. Bear Earthy shades of brown.  ? J. Bear
Brown is a natural, down-to-earth neutral color. It is found in earth, wood, and stone.

Shades of Brown: These words are synonymous with or represent various shades of the color brown.

Sienna, bay, sand, wood, dapple, auburn, chestnut, nut-brown, cinnamon, russet, tawny, chocolate, tan, brunette, fawn, liver-colored, mahogany, oak, bronze, terra-cotta, toast, umber, cocoa, coffee, copper, ecru, ginger, hazel, khaki, ochre, puce, snuff-colored.

Nature and Culture of Brown:

Brown is a warm neutral color that can stimulate the appetite. It is found extensively in nature in both living and non-living materials.

Brown represents wholesomeness and earthiness. While it might be considered a little on the dull side, it also represents steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, dependability, and health. Although blue is the typical corporate color, UPS (United Parcel Service) has built their business around the dependability associated with brown.

Awareness ribbons that use shades of brown include: 

Other Awareness Ribbon Colors

Using Brown:

The color brown and its lighter cousins in tan, taupe, beige, or cream make excellent backgrounds helping accompanying colors appear richer, brighter. Use brown to convey a feeling of warmth, honesty, and wholesomeness. Although found in nature year-round, brown is often considered a fall and winter color. It is more casual than black.

With Other Colors:

Shades of brown coupled with green are an especially earthy pair, often used to convey the concept of recycling or earth-friendly products.

Very dark brown can replace black, adding a slightly warmer tone to some palettes. Brighten brown with a mellow yellow or rusty orange. Go smart but conservative with a mix of brown and deep purple, green, gray, or orange-red.

Brown Color Palettes:

These color palettes feature shades of brown combined with other neutrals as well as red, orange, green, and pink.

In Other Design Fields:

Language:

Familiar phrases can help a designer see how their color of choice might be perceived by others, both the positive and negative aspects.

Good brown

Brown bottle - beerBrown - cook or burnBad brown Brown-nose - someone who attempts to ingratiate themselves with people of authorityBrown study - someone who is aloof, indifferentBrown out - partial loss of electricity
Red | Green | Gold | Turquoise | Blue | Purple | Pink | Black | Orange | Yellow
View Results for Your Favorite Color Poll

More Color Meanings


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Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Byline

Definition:

The byline is a short phrase or paragraph that indicates the name of the author of an article in books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, content Web sites, blogs, or other publications. In some cases, bylines may be used to give credit for photographs or illustrations.

The byline commonly appears between the headline and start of the article, prefaced by the word "By" or "From" or other wording. The byline could also appear at the end of the article, sometimes as part of a mini-bio of the author.


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Saturday, April 25, 2015

The Problem With Color: We Can't Agree On What...

Choosing Colors from the Color Wheel - Jacci Howard Bear You can create pleasing color combinations from one area of the color wheel or choosing colors from opposite sides.  Jacci Howard Bear

The sky is blue. Grass is green. A rainbow is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Except when they aren't. Often the colors we see aren't the same colors that someone else sees. Color blindness, light and shadows, surrounding colors, image quality, printing methods, viewing device for on-screen images, and other factors affect our perception of color.

Disagreements over a certain shade of red — is it blood red, scarlet, deep red, bright red, or crimson — are common.

But what about when red is gray or green or burnt orange?

#TheDress
The problem with color became an Internet sensation with the heated debates over a photograph of a white dress with gold trim. Or was it a blue dress with black lace? There were strong opinions on each side of the issue.

I originally saw it as white with gold. Was confused when I saw the exact same picture but the dress was now blue and black. Imagine my increased confusion when a day later I saw the dress change from white and gold to blue and black while I was looking at the photograph. My boyfriend, like many others, stayed firmly in the white and gold camp unable to understand why some of us were so confused.

Many opinions were put forth on why there was such a discrepancy in the colors. The actual dress is indeed blue and black but the photograph was of poor quality and depending on the device on which it was viewed and the color vision of the viewer, it sometimes appeared as one color and sometimes as another. Some of the theories are discussed in these articles:

 

Along these same lines, some of the issues with color perception of all kinds and working with color in desktop publishing include:  

Solving Color Problems in Desktop Publishing
Most differences in color perception are more subtle than the white/gold/blue/black dress but no less important. In the world of desktop publishing and graphic design, the problem with color is that how it appears on screen and how it appears in print can vary greatly. There are color differences among devices for online viewing and differences due to printing methods, types of ink, and even the kind of paper or plastic you are printing on.

Fortunately, many color issues can be resolved or at least minimized with a variety of tools including color calibration and choosing the right printing method for the end product.

Calibration Creates Consistent Color
Printed colors can change based on the printing method and device. A color on a laptop screen may appear quite different on a cell phone screen.

Some businesses go to great lengths to insure a consistent color identify as reflected in logos, product packaging, and marketing materials. Publications often require extremely accurate color reproduction of photographs.

Even when precision color is less critical, we don't (usually) want pink Santa suits or turquoise grass. Color calibration is one way to help maintain consistent color from screen to print and across various devices.

When Choosing Color Printing
For a great many print projects, millions of colors are simulated by the careful combination of just four colors of ink: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Basically, the printing press or inkjet printer places dots of ink in specific patterns that trick the eye into seeing many other colors. This printing method is ideal for full color photographs.

CMYK isn't the only option for printing in color. Depending on the number of colors, specific colors, and precise color matching desired (and money available for the printing) a designer or client may opt for 6 or 8 color printing or the use of spot colors.

Making the Right Color Choices
Before attempting to achieve color consistency, another problem with color is color selection. This can be far more difficult than making sure your on-screen and print colors match up closely. With millions of colors from which to choose and sometimes conflicting information on color meanings, how do you know what color scheme will best support your message?

Beyond Color
There is no such thing as the perfect color for every situation. As designers we do the best we can with color selection, calibration, and the inks and other methods available for color reproduction. There is always going to be a certain segment of the population who don't like our color choices or see entirely different colors than what we see or what we intended. But the alternative is no color at all…

Using Grayscale Images, it's also called monochrome or black and white.

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Develop Your USP

USP is your unique selling point. Also called your unique selling proposition, it is what sets you and your business ? or you as an individual ? apart from your competition. It can be an actual fact or a perceived difference or specialty. Every business needs one.

Your USP may be expressed as a summary of what you do and how you do it better or differently than others. Often, a USP can be summed up in just a few words that become something of an advertising jingle or catch-phrase.

No matter how you express it, your USP should focus on how it benefits the customer. Here are a few well-known examples:

Burger King: Have it your way
They build on the premise that it's easy for a customer to request changes. Benefit to the customer: Satisfaction. No hassles (for trying to change the standard burger offerings) and a hamburger that's just the way you like it.Enterprise: Pick Enterprise. We'll pick you up.
While Avis made a name for itself with its "We're number two, We try harder" slogan that emphasized customer service, Enterprise focuses on one key selling point - customer pick up. Benefit to the customer: Convenience. You don't have to worry about taking a cab or bother with finding some other way to go get your rental car. It comes to you.Bounty: The Quicker Picker-Upper
Many products, such as paper towels or toilet tissue, have similar qualities. Bounty makes their mark by saying that their product absorbs spills faster. Benefit to the customer: Time-Savings. You get the dirty work done sooner and can get on to other more important matters.

What's Unique About You
When you're doing desktop publishing, on the surface you're offering the same thing that thousands of others are offering. How do you set yourself apart? Look at what you do and how you do it. Look at your current customers (or those you wish to attract).

What do you do? If you have a broad offering, can you focus on one or two key services that are most in demand? List your specialities or niche areas.How do you do business? Is there something special, unusual, or significant about the way you do business? Do you offer 24 or 48 hour turnaround? Do you deliver for free?Who are your customers? Look at the demographics - age, interests, location (local, all over the world).What do your customers want? Is it low-price, your personality, your location, your reputation, or something else that attracts customers to your business? List the benefits that customers derive from you. There may be very little difference between your product and your competitors' ? but if you can't find a way to communicate uniqueness and connect it to a need of your target, you might as well quit fighting your competition and sell out to them. ? BusinessTown.com

Your Assignment
Answer the four questions, above, about your business. Pick out at least one key point from your answers to each question. Which one stands out in your mind? Run your ideas past a few trusted friends to find the one that best expresses what is special about what you offer. Now, take what's unique about your business and express it as a benefit to your customer.

For inspiration, here are some examples* that a desktop publishing business might use:

Deb's Designs specializes in taking files created by her customers in programs such as Microsoft Word, Publisher, and PowerPoint and getting them commercially printed. Her USP and the benefit to the customer is her ability to take files that commercial printers traditionally don't like and get her customers the professional-looking results they want without the hassles.Orion's Best Logos do meticulous research in their city to find out what logos are being used and strive to create unique designs for the small local businesses they do work for. Their USP is summed up as "No Other One Like It" with the benefit to the customer being a unique logo that makes their business stand out from the competition.The owner of Maverick Desktop Publishing is fluent in French, English, and Spanish. The bulk of his business now comes from clubs, schools, and some businesses that want to produce bi-lingual newsletters (his specialty), brochures, and other similar documents. He's even considering either hiring employees or teaming up with other bi-lingual desktop publishers to offer more languages to better match his slogan of "We Speak Your Language." The benefit to the customer is consistent design and appearance of materials in the languages they need it in ? without having to hire additional writers to do the translations.

*These are fictional businesses.

Freelance Design > Start a Desktop Publishing Business > Developing Your USP


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Is this a plum perfect color for romance?

Named for the fruit, traditionally plum is an average of the purple and red colors of a plum.

Answer: On the red side of purple, the Web color plum is lighter than the traditional plum color derived from the plum fruit.

... a feminine color
... a romantic color
... a royal color
... a Springtime color
... an Easter color Plum | Hex #8E4585 | RGB 143,0,255Plum (Web color; next to violet) | Hex #DDA0DD | RGB 221,160,221Plum 1 (Web; a pale pink) | Hex #FFBBFF | RGB 255,187,255Plum 2 (Web) | Hex #EEAEEE | RGB 238,174,238Plum 3 (Web) | Hex #CD96CD | RGB 205,150,205Plum 4 (Web; dark plum) | Hex #8B668B | RGB 139,102,139

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InDesign Page Setup Basics

Open a new document: File > New > Document. Now have a look at your New Document window. The first thing you see is the Document Preset section. Did you see that? Good. Ignore it because we will cover it shortly.

Look at the rest of the window. Everything is pretty much straight forward. You will see that in Page Size you have several page settings (letter, legal, tabloid, etc.) You can choose the size of your page from that menu or you can enter a custom size yourself. If you want to know what the word gutter in the Columns section means, go to the About Desktop Publishing Glossary entry for gutter.

You will probably also wonder what the Master Text Frame option is. First of all you need to understand what a Master Page is. A master page is a special page which will not print, unless you tell InDesign to do so. It's a page where you can set a basic layout and then all of the other pages that you will add to your document and which are based on that master page will look the same.

You can add or take off items from any page that is based on your master page and you can have more than one master page. We will have a look at the master pages a bit more in-depth in another lesson. Right now you just need to know what they are.


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Best Fonts for Books

Best Fonts for Books Unless you're designing a specialty book, the best font choices are good, serviceable serif or sans serif faces.

? Jacci Howard Bear; licensed to About.com

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Friday, April 24, 2015

How to Create Trademark and Copyright Symbols...

In addition to proper application of the various copyright symbols and trademark symbols you will often have to fine-tune them for the best visual appearance. Learn how to type the copyright, trademark, and registered tradmark symbols found in most standard Mac and Windows fonts.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: A few seconds to type or code copyright symbol.

Here's How:

Create the TM trademark symbols ? using Option-2 on the Mac. Under Windows, create TM trademark symbols ? using ALT 0153 (hold down the ALT key and type 0153 on the numeric keypad).Create the circled C copyright symbols ? using Option-G on the Mac. Under Windows, create circled C copyright symbols ? using ALT 0169.Create the circled R registered trademark symbols ? using Option-R on the Mac. Under Windows, create circled R registered trademark symbols ? using ALT 0174.Create TM trademark symbols in HTML with & #0153; (ampersand-no space, pound sign, 0153, semi-colon) or with Unicode: & #8482; (no spaces).Create circled C copyright symbols in HTML with & #0169; (ampersand-no space, pound sign, 0169, semi-colon).Create circled R registered trademark symbols in HTML with & #0174; (ampersand-no space, pound sign, 0174, semi-colon).In some fonts the copyright symbols may need to be reduced in size to keep from overpowering adjacent text.The TM trademark symbols are superscripted. If you prefer to create your own trademark symbols, type the letters T and M then apply superscript style in your software.The circled C copyright symbols ? should be on the baseline, not superscripted. The circled R registered trademark symbols ? can be on the baseline or superscripted (raised slightly and reduced in size). If unable to see certain copyright symbols or if they display incorrectly, check your font. Some fonts may not have some of these copyright symbols mapped to the same position. The circled P copyright symbol for sound recordings is not standard in most fonts. It can be found in some specialty fonts or extended characters sets. Although not yet widely supported in Web browsers, & #8471; (with no space) is the Sound Recording Copyright Symbol in Unicode ?.

Tips:

For copyright symbols that rest on the baseline, try matching the size to the x-height of the font.For copyright symbols that are superscripted, reduce their size to about 55–60% of your text size. ? ? ?. In some browsers some of these copyright symbols may not appear correctly depending on the fonts installed. Windows users can use Windows Character Map to locate the copyright symbols in any font.Although often used on the Web and in print, (c) — c in parentheses — is not a legal substitute for the circled c copyright symbol.

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Best way to choose fonts?

Question: What is the Best Way to Choose or Mix and Match Fonts?
There are no absolutely right or wrong ways to choose fonts or mix different fonts in a design project. However, there are a few accepted standards that can speed up the font selection process and generally result in typographically attractive and readable compositions.
Answer: These guidelines won't always work for you, but nine times out of ten they'll give you the results you want with the least amount of trial and error. Use them when you're in a hurry or when you've hit a mental roadblock and need to jumpstart a design project. Use Serif Text with Sans Serif Headline
When in doubt, pair a serif font for body text and a sans serif font for headlines.

This is not a rule. This is simply a good starting point for when you're stuck for ideas or can't seem to find the right mix. In most cases a serif plus a sans serif provides good contrast and doesn't overwhelm with too many fonts.

Use Contrasting Styles
Avoid mixing two very similar typefaces, such as two scripts or two sans serifs. There is not enough contrast and the small differences will cause a visual clash.

This is one reason that pairing a serif with a sans serif font works so well. There's generally good contrast.

Use Fewer Fonts
Limit the number of different typefaces used in a single document to no more than three or four.

With too many different fonts you run into problems with not having enough contrast between similar font styles plus a lack of consistency and even a feeling of choppiness because there are too many distractions. Using just one typeface can be better than two or three or four or more.

Use Proportional Fonts
Avoid monospaced typefaces for body copy. They draw too much attention to the individual letters distracting the reader from the message.

The best body copy fonts are the least distinctive. They generally have less extreme parts or unusual character shapes. This is one place where boring can be better. Use fonts with more distinctive characters in headlines and pull-quotes and other places where you want to grab attention and pull the reader into the story.

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

if(zSbL

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Your Packages and Your Wallpaper May Have This...

Desktop Publishing Terminology - # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ Printing | Alpha Index to Full Glossary:.  # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ

With gravure printing an image is etched on the surface of a metal plate or cylinder so that the image you want to print is in the recesses or depressions not the raised part of the plate (unlike relief printing where the image is raised). The recesses are filled with ink and the raised (non-printing) portions of the plate or cylinder are wiped or scraped free of ink leaving the ink only in the recesses.

The paper or other material is pressed against the inked plate or cylinder and the image is transferred to the paper.

Like engraving, gravure is a form of intaglio printing. It can produce fine, detailed images and can be used for short or long run printing. It can be used for CMYK printing with each color of ink applied with its own plate or cylinder with drying steps in between.

Also Known As: rotogravure

Examples: Like flexography, gravure printing is often used for high-volume printing of packaging, wallpaper, and giftwrap using fast-drying inks.

Although less common, gravure printing may also be used for printing magazines, greeting cards, and high-volume advertising pieces.


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Put the Accent on Your Words With Diacriticals

An accent mark is a mark or addition to some characters to denote a specific pronounciation.
Accent marks or diacriticals are rare in English but are a common occurrence in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and other languages. Some of the more commonly seen accent marks include acute, cedilla, circumflex, grave, tilde, and umlaut or diaeresis*. Many "Americanized" foreign words may be found written with or without their accent marks, such as cafe, naive, or facade (caf?, na?ve, fa?ade).

* See page 2 for clarification on umlaut vs. diaeresis for differences that are not reflected in the accompanying chart and graphics.

Examples of Diacriticals

? Acute
? Cedilla
? Circumflex
? Grave
? Tilde
? Umlaut/Diaeresis

Keystrokes for Mac and PC
When using a standard English keyboard and fonts it is necessary to use special characters or keystroke combinations in order to apply accent marks. The basic keystroke combinations are:

Mac Option plus a key or key combination ? Opt+e, a for ?Windows ALT plus a numeric code ? ALT+0225 for ?HTML Ampersand plus character code followed by a semi-colon ? ? for ?

I've put together a simple table of diacriticals showing the Mac, Windows, and HTML codes for the six common accent marks encountered in English text. This table also appears at the end of this page.

Designing with Diacriticals
These rules apply especially to US designers and others designing in English for a predominantly English-speaking audience.

Italicize foreign words or phrases. Include the accent mark when your text includes foreign words, proper names, or common English words that are normally accented.Be consistent. If you start out using accents, continue to do so throughout the document.Pay attention to the available special characters in the digital typefaces you choose. Not all fonts contain these characters.You may want to use a larger typesize for body text or experiment with different faces to find a font where the accent marks don't appear to merge into the accented letters or show up as little "smudges."

More About Accent Marks and Languages

French Language
"It is essential to put accents in their proper places - an incorrect or missing accent is a spelling mistake just as an incorrect or missing letter would be. The only exception to this is capital letters, which are often left unaccented." ? Learn how to pronounce accented characters and all about reading, writing, and speaking French.

Spanish Language
"Typing accented characters using either a Microsoft Windows-based or Macintosh computer isn't all that difficult. But it isn't intuitive." ? Includes step-by-step instructions on how to add accented characters under Windows or on a Mac as well as lessons in learning Spanish.

German Language
This special character chart for German describes which accented characters are most common in that language and how to type them. Also see German Language Dictionaries to find a dictionary online to translate between English and German plus other resources for reading, writing, and speaking German including "Wir chatten... ?ber Deutsch und auf deutsch!" (German Chat).

Italian Language
Use this chart to find the accented characters most often used in Italian and how to type them.

CharacterMacWindowsHTMLCharacterMacWindowsHTMLAcute [resum?]Umlaut [na?ve]?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?Opt + e, A
Opt + e, a
Opt + e, E
Opt + e, e
Opt + e, I
Opt + e, i
Opt + e, O
Opt + e, o
Opt + e, U
Opt + e, u
Opt + e, Y
Opt + e, yALT + 0193
ALT + 0225
ALT + 0201
ALT + 0233
ALT + 0205
ALT + 0237
ALT + 0211
ALT + 0243
ALT + 0218
ALT + 0250
ALT + 0221
ALT + 0253Á
á
É
é
Í
í
Ó
ó
Ú
ú
Ý
ý?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?Opt + u, A
Opt + u, a
Opt + u, E
Opt + u, e
Opt + u, I
Opt + u, i
Opt + u, O
Opt + u, o
Opt + u, U
Opt + u, u
Opt + u, Y
Opt + u, yALT + 0196
ALT + 0228
ALT + 0203
ALT + 0235
ALT + 0207
ALT + 0239
ALT + 0214
ALT + 0246
ALT + 0220
ALT + 0252
ALT + 0159
ALT + 0255Ä
ä
Ë
ë
Ï
ï
Ö
ö
Ü
ü
Ÿ
ÿGrave [voil?]Circumflex [ch?teau]?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?Opt + `, A
Opt + `, a
Opt + `, E
Opt + `, e
Opt + `, I
Opt + `, i
Opt + `, O
Opt + `, o
Opt + `, U
Opt + `, uALT + 0192
ALT + 0224
ALT + 0200
ALT + 0232
ALT + 0204
ALT + 0236
ALT + 0210
ALT + 0242
ALT + 0217
ALT + 0249À
à
È
è
Ì
ì
Ò
ò
Ù
ù?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?Opt + i, A
Opt + i, a
Opt + i, E
Opt + i, e
Opt + i, I
Opt + i, i
Opt + i, O
Opt + i, o
Opt + i, U
Opt + i, uALT + 0194
ALT + 0226
ALT + 0202
ALT + 0234
ALT + 0206
ALT + 0238
ALT + 0212
ALT + 0244
ALT + 0219
ALT + 0251Â
â
Ê
ê
Î
î
Ô
ô
Û
ûTilde [ma?ana]Cedilla [fa?ade]?
?
?
?
?
?Opt + n, A
Opt + n, a
Opt + n, N
Opt + n, n
Opt + n, O
Opt + n, oALT + 0195
ALT + 0227
ALT + 0209
ALT + 0241
ALT + 0213
ALT + 0245Ã
ã
Ñ
ñ
Õ
õ?
?Opt + Shft, C
Opt + cALT + 0199
ALT + 0231Ç
ç

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Wednesday, April 22, 2015

4 Parts of a Greeting Card

Make a Greeting Card - ? J. Bear Make a Greeting Card.  ? J. Bear
A greeting card is generally a simple document — a piece of folded paper with text or images on the front and a message inside. Although there are variations, greeting cards generally follow a typical layout. Folded on the side or the top, there's a front, an inside spread (usually only half is used), and a back.
Front
The cover or front of the card may be a photo, text only, or a combination of text and images. The front of the card is what initially grabs attention and sets the tone (funny, serious, romantic, playful) for the card.Inside Message
Some greeting cards are blank inside. You write your own message. Others may proclaim Happy Birthday, Season's Greetings, or some other appropriate message. There may be a fun or serious poem, quotation, or Bible verse, or the punchline for a joke that began on the front of the card. The inside of the card may repeat graphics from the front of the card or have additional images.

The inside message of a greeting card typically appears on the right hand side of the open side-fold card with the left side (reverse of the cover) blank. On a top-fold card, the inside message is typically found on the bottom panel (reverse of the back side or page).

Some greeting cards made with computer software are printed on letter-size paper that is then folded to create a quarter-fold card so that all printing is on one side of the unfolded sheet of paper.

Additional Inside Panels. Rather than the common folded card with a front cover and message inside, some greeting cards may incorporate multiple panels folded like a tri-fold brochure. They may have accordian folds or gatefolds to accommodate more text and images.Additional Inside Pages.Some greeting cards can be like small booklets to present an extended message or tell a story. Back
On commerically-produced greeting cards, the back of the card is where you'll find the name of the greeting card company, logo, copyright notice, and contact information. When making your own greeting cards you might want to include your name and date or a personal stamp or logo. It could also be left blank.Optional Parts of a Greeting Card
Flaps/Windows. Greeting cards of any size may have diecut windows without or without flaps that conceal/reveal portions of the inside of the card.Pop-Ups/Tabs. Some greeting cards might have pop-up elements or tabs that the recipient pulls to reveal a message or cause parts of the card to move.Embellishments. Greeting cards created by hand or on the computer may be embellished with ribbon, charms, glitter, or other items that aren't part of the paper card.Sound. Many greeting cards today incorporate sound. A mechanism built in to the card causes it to play music or speak when the card is opened.

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Working on Retainer

If you're looking for a way to smooth out the ups and downs of a freelance income, approach some of your clients about working on retainer. There are benefits on both sides beyond just the money.

Do you now or have you ever worked on retainer as a designer? Was it a good experience for you? Share your thoughts on the pros and cons of this type of working relationship in the comments, below.


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What to Say in Your Greeting Cards

Whether it's for Mother's Day or some other occasion, when you make your own greeting cards you may be focused on the the images and fonts but you'll need some words to go with those fonts. About.com Rubber Stamping Guide Kate Pullen has rounded up sentiments for greeting cards of all kinds.

You might want to use some of these fonts for your Mother's Day words. ?If you're making invitations for a wedding, set these Wedding sentiments in one of these?traditional Wedding fonts.

More: Cards & Invitations


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Logo Design

You don't have to know how to draw to create some seemingly complex illustrations. The logo designs and graphics shown here use only lines, circles, squares, triangles, and text.

Who needs clip art? A circle, a triangle, a square (the highlight), and a curvy line make a nice balloon. Repeat it a few times, changing the color and add a triangle bow. You could vary it even more by using an elongated ellipse for one or more of the balloons.

A checkerboard of squares is a versatile pattern. It could be a tile floor, a racing flag, or, as seen in the illustration, a tablecloth. Can you pick out the shapes used for the different eating utensils?
A simple shape (triangle) does more than just sit there. Can you tell what they represent in the above black and white logo design?

The SpiroBendo logo design in the illustration is nothing more than a rectangle, some circles, and some very thick lines with round ends (filled rectangles with rounded corners could work too) that combine to look like a spiral notebook.
Letters with a tail are fun. The tail on this Q (the circle) is a curvy line that does triple duty. It underscores the name, is the tail on the Q, and its curves suggest water — an obvious tie-in with the surf supply company.

Take the stack of circles from the Using Shapes illustration and turn 'em purple, add a "leaf" (distorted polygon shape), squiggly line, and some text for a nice logo. No art lessons needed.
Basic Building Blocks Lines Shapes Combine Lines & Shapes View the original article here