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Design Guides

Online and Desktop Publishing

Professional quality design at home or work

We assembled this site after reading what was available
for in-house designers. These sites were too vague or too detailed. The
sites that explained design principles well gave few examples. Sites
with great examples gave shallow explanations of what made the featured
designs work. The site you are now reading represents our best efforts
to balance details with usability.

For the novice designer, we offer proven advice with
specific instructions. Intermediate designers receive explanations of
theories and how to put these theories to work. Advanced designers can
appreciate the finer details we have included on fonts, layout grids,
and commercial printing.

As you read this site, experiment along with us. This
site is meant to be educational and fun —
not a mere reference.

Topics

Most pages are incomplete, as we migrate the contents
from a printed manuscript to the Web. Pages at the
“draft” stage are indicated with an asterisk (*), while others
are being formatted as time permits. None of the pages are
“finished.”

Introduction

A site of this nature is only useful if it facilitates quickly locating
information. Sections are as concise as possible, without sacrificing
depth.

Developing an Image

Document Types

Design should match the document type and purpose.
Singles pages, short documents, long documents, and online materials
have diferent design constraints and traditions.

Ads, Flyers, and Posters

  • Advertising
  • Flyers
  • Posters

Newsletters and Brochures

Long Documents

  • Types of Books
  • Planning
  • End Results
  • Catalogs

Electronic Media

  • Websites
  • Online Help
  • Presentations

Computers and Commercial Printing

Foundations of Design

We begin with brief explanations of the terms, concepts,
and theories used throughout this book. This section does not discuss
complete documents, but rather the building blocks of all documents.

Computers and Commercial Printing

Computers make in-house design
– and this site – possible. The information in these chapters help
determine how you prepare documents.

Developing an Image

Logos, business cards, and letterheads are the staples
of business communication. Because of the fundamental nature of these documents,
we use them as the starting point.

Flyers and Posters

Single-page designs are among the most complex. Look
at great posters and you will understand how important typography, art
work, and layout are to the effectiveness of a complete design.

Newsletters

Often the first project of an in-house designer, newsletters
appear deceptively simple. With complex grids, multiple fonts, and difficult
artwork choices, newsletters and other medium-length documents pose serious
challenges.

Long Documents

Manuals and catalogs outlive other documents by days
or even months. Their longevity requires that they convey your identity
better than other business documents. Thankfully, these documents are
based on repetition, making them much simpler to design than shorter
publications.


Trademarks and Rights

Throughout this site, we refer to products and designs
that are not our property. These references are meant only to be informational.
We do not represent the companies mentioned and were not paid promotional
fees. However, if these companies would like to send us evaluation copies
of future products, we would be thrilled.

References to products are not endorsements, but reflect our opinions
in some cases. Computer software products mentioned are the property
of their respective publishers. Instead of attempting to list every software
publishers and brand, or including trademark symbols throughout this
book, we assume that you know these product and brand names are protected
under U.S. and international laws. Fonts and designs are the intellectual
property of the design artists. Although U.S. copyright laws do not protect
font designs, we consider them to be the property of the designers and licensing
agencies.