Top 10 Design tips

When you take a look at the document on your screen, all you find is the frame edges, mess, and guides scrambled everywhere on your pasteboard. But, it is not the way the document is going to look at its final stage. If your intention is to take a better look at your document without wasting the papers and follow the process to create a PDF file, InDesign has got you covered. At a press of the key W, InDesign will take you to the preview mode removing the gray out guides, frame edges and every component that won’t be present in the final document. Another way to look at the final document is by the press and hold the Preview icon in the toolbar. It displays multiple preview modes, including slug, bleed, and new presentation mode. InDesign is a huge software with numerous options that can come in handy to designers and layout artists from diverse industries. The article intends to present some of the easiest and effective tools that will come to use for as many professionals as possible. We hope the set of features discussed will let you explore more possibilities out of InDesign.

The use of photography can be tricky if there is not a photographer available to take the shots of exactly what you need. There are ways to work around not having a photographer at hire by incorporating stock photos that are royalty free from places like Pixabay, Unsplash or Pikwizard. The only risk is that using stock images can look uncreative and, frankly, cheesy. That's why you need to take care when deciding which images to use. Be sure that the photos you use have a consistent style and lighting. Try to pick photos with the same lighting effects, same backdrops, same amount of dark areas, etc. It's important to stick to a certain style as images that clearly don’t fit the set will distract from the information being communicated. If you're going for a simple modern use of photography, use only images with flat colour (or white) backdrops. If you're going for a neutral newspaper approach, use only black and white images. Source. Photos that take up a majority of space in your infographic, which can distract from information. This issue can be solved by using a cropping such as circle frames. Return to Table of Contents

Make sure your custom or branded fonts are in PowerPoint. If your fonts aren’t installed on the computer you use to run your presentation, PowerPoint will automatically replace your font with a default font and screw up your alignment and the overall look of your presentation. Here’s how you do it:

• Go to File > Options > Save.
• Go to the section, ‘Preserve Fidelity when sharing this presentation’ then tick on the ‘Embed fonts in the file’ box.
• You’ll have two options here. You can either (1) embed only the characters used in the presentation, or (2) you can embed all characters if you want other people to edit the file too.
• Hit the OK button.

Let’s face it, not everyone can bust out a beautiful, hand-drawn script on a whim. Just because you’re a designer doesn’t mean you’re an awesome illustrator or typographer (though it helps). If you fit this description, fear not, there’s nothing preventing you from making awesome logos. In this situation, remember these four powerful words: keep it simple stupid! Simple but powerful logos permeate the business world and always prove to be the best icons for standing the test of time. In considering how to construct one of these types of logos, let’s discuss the Apple logo. The silhouette of an apple is nothing special or memorable: It’s that missing bite that takes it to the next level. It gives the logo character, makes it unique, and drives the meaning deeper (computers and bytes, get it?). Without the bite, the apple is boring, with it, the apple is suddenly iconic. Always think about how you can go that extra mile and turn your boring logos into unmistakable brand marks.

They’ve been popular for years and clients love them. But there is a problem with the homepage slideshow: visitors might only see the first slide. There have been a lot of studies that come to the same conclusion. Messages on subsequent slides are less likely to be seen and calls to action are unlikely to be clicked. Just look at the click through rates for the slides on a university website. They may be popular because they’re easy to get approved. Different stakeholders from different departments all get some pixels above the fold. They’re good for internal politics, not for visitors.

Homepage slideshows are good at keeping people from stabbing each other in conference rooms.

So what to do instead?

• Stack the slides, so the visitor can see each by scrolling down the page. They will suddenly become much more visible.
• Use a featured image, using the one most impactful slide as the hero. Give it a good call to action!