This was my first InDesign tutorial as part of my process and production module. I did not expect to learn much from this tutorial as it was just the basics and I have already been using InDesign for a few years now, however I was enthusiastic in as I expected to learn quite a few handy tips and tricks.
First we started off creating an A4 document and setting the master page and the elements on it. I have never used master pages so this was helpful to know. I added page numbers which automatically changed themselves, and to add this feature I had to go to the Type menu and select it as a special character. We then talked about text alignment and changing the colour of text which I knew all too well. We then used the line tool to decorate the page and break down the hierarchy. We were then told about the stroke and full and how to change the styles of your stroke, like having a dotted line etc. I did not like the typeface the tutor suggested so I opted for Garamond due to its legibility and serifs. We were then told about arranging elements, preview modes and other means of copying elements like holding Alt and dragging the element. The tutor suggested having 10pt text but I opted for 8pt to save on room for larger images later on, 8pt is still clearly legible. We were told next about page guides, selecting master page items. We were then told to create the typography and graphics at the top of the page, I did this but I did it to my preferences and I thought it looked cleaner and let the typography have some breathing space. This way the layout looks more inviting rather than harsh and cramped. We were than taught about indents and space after and various ways to place text such as: auto flow, and manually setting text boxes and threads. We learnt about drop caps and single paragraph drop caps however I do not like the look of drop caps so I left it out. When placing the headings I manually set the tabs so the separate parts of the text had even looking gaps and spanned the main chunk of the page. To finish off out document we were told how to place images and set a text wrap to them, I made my image much larger than advised as I thought it would break up the page because it looked to have too much text for the front cover of a paper. We then added a pulled out quote and were told how to write inside a path and then along a path.
I learnt a lot through this tutorial. I learnt about master pages, stroke styles and auto flow text. All of which will help me with my future layouts.
