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InDesign CS3 and later

Design amulti-pagemag feature

Art editor Jo Gullivershares her pro shortcuts,

tips and advice or creatingpace and variety withoutbreaking your house style

As art editor on Computer Arts, laying out complex

features in InDesign is a daily part of my job.Using a seven-page article rom a recent issue o the magazine, Im going todemonstrate some o the key processes that I go through, rombuilding a grid and creating a template, through to the nishingtouches that add style and complete your editorial layout.

Ill touch on what I eel are the most important stageswhen planning, showing you how to tackle each eature, and giving

you an insight as to why things are done in certain ways. For themore experienced designer, there are also some valuable tips andshortcut tricks that will help to speed up your workfow.

Building a grid is the starting point or any text-basededitorial design, and the oundation on which to build your design,helping to maintain consistency throughout the layout so Imstarting with that.Im using the Akkurat typeace throughout thistutorial, but i you dont have it, you can substitute it or somethingsimilar, such as Helvetica.

Jo GulliverHighly commendedas PPA Designer o theYear,Computer Artsart editor Gullivercommissions coverartwork rom theworlds most excitingdesigners.She will begiving one-to-one olioadvice at the GraduateShowcase Exhibition

Seminars.www.computerarts.co.uk

SkillsPlan a layout grid

that its your needsCreate a high-impact

opener with a clear ocusWork with character

and paragraph stylesMake the most

o key visual assetsAdd interest with

boxouts and pullquotes

52 Project one Print design

Computer Arts Projects _October 2010 www.computerarts.co.uk

On your discYoull ind the PDF othe inished articleromComputer Artsissue 174 on yourcover disc,in theResources section

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03 I always apply my baseline grid at this early stageo building a template, so that I can get it to t the measure omy live text area perectly. It also allows me to leave an area owhite space at the top o the page that I dont want body copyto encroach on. Go to InDesign>Preerences>Grids, change theIncrement Every box to 3.5mm, and choose where to start yourgrid. Ive gone or just over 78mm to leave an ample amount o

white space at the top o my layout, but also to ensure thebaseline grid lines up with my document grid.

04 With most magazines theres an amount o regularurniture that runs on every page, and now is a good time toadd this to your A-Master pages, xing them to the same spoton every spread. Im adding automatic page numbering, drawnwith a live text box. Go to the Type>Markers>Current Page

Numbers this will add the letter A to your Master, whichwill appear as the correct page number on your layout.

01 The rst step when creating a grid is to choose yourbody copy ont, and its point size. The baseline grid dependsupon the leading needed or your chosen ont the larger thex-height, the more leading it will need. In Computer Arts we useAkkurat 8.5pt on 9.921pt leading. This is the metric equivalento 3.5mm, the measurement we use or our baseline grid.

02 Once youve decided on the ont, begin to build yourgrid. Make sure you apply your preerences to the A-Masterpages by selecting the spread in your Pages palette: this willapply your grid to all the pages in the layout. Go to Layout>Margins and Columns to open the dialogue box, and apply

your chosen margin measurements. Here is where I pick upthe 3.5mm measurement rom step one again, using it orthe gutter width o a seven-column grid.

Design a multi-page mag eature 53

www.computerarts.co.uk October 2010_ Computer Arts Projects

Rule of thumbHere are a ew basic rules to consider when creating a

grid. First, have the border dimension at least double the gutter width,and the gutter width the same as your leading or double, i you preer.Ideally, you want to keep the column widths o your body copy between40 and 80 characters in length to maintain good readability.

Create templatesIts good practice to create template documents or grids

you plan on using over and over again. These templates will be reshdocuments containing all the correct measurements and styles youvepreviously set up. This maintains consistency, but also minimizes the

risk o error that can occur when working over previous documents.

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05 The best place to start when tackling a layout is to preview all the visualassets that you have to work with in Photoshop, or Bridge i you preer. Take some timeto colour-correct and check the sizes and quality o any images, as well as having aread through the copy. Not only will this give you a good understanding o the contento the eature, but it might also inspire some design concepts and colour palettes.

06 To make adjustments to your images, youre going to need some basic Photoshop knowledge.Check the size o the image youll be using, making sure its good enough or print quality. You want 300dpiCMYK images, the bigger the better as it gives you many more options or how to use and crop the image.Resizing your image is simple: with your image open in Photoshop, select Image Size under the Image Menuand enter 300 pixels/inch in the Resolution eld, making sure you have Constrain Proportions ticked beoreclicking OK. To convert images to CMYK, select Image>Mode>CMYK Color.

Plan your layoutPlanning is the most important stage

o any layout, and mapping out some ideasbeore you re up InDesign will make thetask o designing much easier

08 You may have anallocated page count to workwith, or you may be buildingthe layout rom scratch. Eitherway, knowing what assets youhave, particularly with regardsto word count and imagerequirements, will give you

a better understandingo how many pages youregoing to need especially iyou have boxouts or separateinormation to include too.

07 Your opening page, in this case a spread, is one o the most importantparts o a eature it needs to have impact, and draw the reader into wanting tocontinue reading. I you dont have relevant material to achieve this whether

supplied artwork or stock imagery you may want to consider commissioningor creating an illustration to do the job (see margin note, let).



Briefing illustratorsI commissioning illustration

or a eature, always try to give as muchinormation as possible. Details o size,resolution, required bleed and suggestedcolour palette are helpul, as is providinga rough template o the eature layout iyou have particular design elements that

need to be worked around.Heres one example o a

commissioned illustration or a eaturewe ran called New Adventures In Colour,which proled designers and illustratorswho are exploring and using colour indierent and exciting ways.

Its a compromiseWorking in a proessional editorial environment, laying out a page

isnt solely about what the designer wants aesthetically. Sometimes variouselements are required to t on the page, which wont always adhere to whatyou eel is the best design solution. You have to nd a compromise that worksbest to convey inormation, but also looks well-designed and considered.

CMYK all the wayAlways convert images to CMYK when working on a layout or print. CMYK printing cannot reproduce the

same range o RGB colours that are visible on screen, so this will give your a truer representation o the nal outcome.

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09 I like to begin with placing the text. On the template youve created, placeyour copy onto the pasteboard using shortcut Ctrl/Cmnd+D to locate the le. I youdont have any text to work with yet, try using Lorem Ipsum dummy text with an activetext box selected Ctrl/Right-click and select Fill With P laceholder Text.

11 Separate your key text elements header, strap and body copy intotheir own text boxes, and roughly place them on the page. Flow the body copy intoyour pre-drawn boxes, and double-check that theyre properly linked. Now you canbegin to style the text at this stage Id already have paragraph and character styles

set up as part o my template, but i you dont have this, use the body text size andont (8.5pt Akkurat) that you used as a oundation or your template in step one.

12 Once your textis styled, you can then saveyour preerences or utureuse as a paragraph style.With the body copy texthighlighted, select thedrop-down menu rom theParagraph Styles palette,and choose New ParagraphStyle. The Paragraph StyleOptions window will openup, with your previouslyselected options appearingautomatically. This dialoguebox contains several tabsthat allow you you to modiy

and save your styles.

10 Create text rames on your pages to fow in your body copy, working with the grid youve created,making sure you link your text boxes to maintain the correct copy fow. To do this, click on the small squarein the bottom right o each rame, and click on the next text rame to link them. For our eatures, we like touse a three- or our-column width or each rame, making two columns o text on the page. This helps todistinguish it rom the other sections o the magazine, within the same seven-column ormat.

Start to designOnce youve got the basis o your grid

and a decent idea o the content and directiono your eature, you can begin to place theelements on the page and start designing



Setting up paragraph and character stylesI youre starting a layout rom scratch with no template documents to build on, its a good idea to set up paragraph

and character styles as you progress. Once set up, they can easily be edited to adhere to any changes you make to the text byCtrl/Right-clicking on the style in the palette, and simply selecting Redene Style. Its a great time-saver, and also helps tomaintain consistency throughout your document.

Go with the flowRather than drawing individual text boxes, you can fow text automatically onto a

document by holding down Shit whilst clicking to place your text. This automatically creates newtext rames and pages until all the text is visible.It works to the columns youve set up in Preerences,so you may have to adjust it to t your seven-column grid, but it gets copy on the page quickly.

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13 Now introduce an intro body copy style, to make it clear where you wantpeople to start reading. Drop-caps are one option, but Ive chosen to bold up my rstparagraph. Add an indent to the start o every new paragraph to break up the columns,and make them easier to read. Explore dierent weights and point-sizes within yourchosen ont amily or the heading and standrst, which should always be the biggestand second-biggest elements on the page respectively. Save any new styles to yourParagraph and Character Style palettes, and align everything to your document grid.

14 Its a good idea to kern your header text manually remember, the larger the point-size, the moreattention itll need. Here, Ive varied the size o the three words, and nested them together with the T, u andr nicely aligned. You can quickly kern text by using keyboard shortcuts Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Right arrow to increase,and Let arrow to decrease the spacing. I youre nding the adjustment too extreme, make it more gradual byreducing the value in the Tracking & Kerning eld, which youll nd in Preerences>Units & Increments.

15 With the text styled up onthe page, you can now begin to addimages and boxouts, which you willideally have considered during yourinitial planning stage. Ive chosen toadd a two-column boxout on the outsideedge o my last page. Start by drawingand colouring a text rame on the page,with an inset spacing o 3. 5mm. Toadjust this, hit Ctrl/Cmnd+B to bringup the Text Frame Options dialoguebox, where you can also tweak generalsettings like columns and alignment.

16 With yourboxout in place, youcan now begin to add

the copy. Boxouts needa similar text hierarchyto your main eature,but nothing shouldever overpower themain heading andstandrst. Dierentcolours and weightscan help to highlightareas o importancewithin the copy, andagain, be sure to savethese styles to yourParagraph Stylespalette or later.



Perfect partnershipEvery layout needs to have a hierarchy o text, with an obvious entry point generally

the header, or headline. This needs to grab attention, and is normally something short and punchy.Following on rom this is the standrst, also known as a strapline, which summarises what youreature is about and usually also includes the byline, or authors name. These two elements needto sit next to each other on the page, as they work together to draw the reader in.

Grid within a gridSome boxouts may require their own baseline grid, especially i youre varying your text

size. This is easily done by drawing a text rame, then opening the Text Frame Options dialogue box(Ctrl/Cmnd+B). Switch over to the Baseline tab at the top, and you can give your boxout its ownbaseline grid, allowing it to work independently rom the main grid applied to the page.

Points of interestWith a lot o Computer Arts

eatures, we like to include other bodieso inormation that sit within a eature.These add points o interest or a readerto dip into, and can be anything rom asmall ino box on one page, to a ull pagein the middle o a eature. You do need toplan these careully, however:too manycan destroy the fow o a eature.

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18 Once youve added the images, you may need to add captions to briefyexplain what theyre about. Still adhering to your strict hierarchy o text, use a smalleront size than the body copy here, Ive used 7pt on 8.5pt leading. Rather than lockingit to the baseline, align it with the top o the text rame in the Text Frame Optionsdialogue box (Ctrl/Cmnd+B). As a rule, a caption should sit next to its correspondingimage, or be clearly numbered to reerence it. Ive chosen to emphasise each artistsname by changing it to bold, so it stands out rom the rest o the copy.

17 Once youve added all your boxouts, you can start to place your images. Keeping your document gridvisible at all times, align your image boxes to both the margins and the baseline grid to maintain the fow ostrong lines running throughout your eature. Its generally a good idea to get some dierent shapes, sizesand scales on the page you dont want everything looking the same, and your page needs a clear ocal point.I you dont have images yet to work with at this stage, use placeholder boxes on your spread instead.

19 Introducing pullquotes is another great way to highlight a particularlyinteresting aspect o the eature, and add another access point or readers. Cutinto one o your columns by drawing a new text box, and using the Subtract tool

in the Pathnder palette. Ive also added some oversized coloured quote marks converting the text to outlines to make these really stand out on the page.

20 One o the nishing touches I like to add is a navigation icon to lead thereader through the article. Turn arrows illustrate a continuation o text rom page to

page, and are particularly useul i you have boxouts breaking the copy fow. Finally,add an illustrated bullet point to clearly signiy the end o your eature. All done!

Picture perfectPicking the best images or your eature will invariably depend on their quality, size and relevance. Ater the

planning stage, you should have a strong idea o what images will work best, and how theyll create the greatest impacton the page. Aim to eature these most prominently in your eature layout.

Make a LibraryOnce youve

created all your boxoutsand navigation icons, itsa good idea to create aLibrary in which to storethem or ease o access.Select File>New>Library,

then just drag, drop, andname your assets or usein uture eatures.

Complementary coloursWhen adding touches o colour to your document, its always eective to select astrong highlight that complements the main images on the page. Personally, I like to pick coloursrom within a particular image using the Eyedropper tool, and then add them to my colour palette.Dont be araid to tweak its CMYK percentages until you get a colour that youre totally happy with.

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