A.     The three kinds of vector points the artist will use to control line and shape. They include the curve point, the angle point, and the connector point that joins a straight line with a line that curves in any direction from a point.

B. How to draw basic shapes including the rectangle, the ellipse (oval or circle), and the polygon.

C. How to connect lines into shapes and shapes into shapes

D.   Line characteristics, and how to create a variety of line styles and thicknesses.

E. The fill tools that include solid colors, shaded or graduated fills, textures and programmed fills.

F. How to work with layers to create more complex objects.

G. How to draw a simple object that utilizes all of the characteristics demonstrated in the first six steps of this lesson. 

H. How to draw a complex object with multiple shapes, lines, fills, and layers.

I. Importing other graphic elements or files into FreeHand including from PhotoShop, Microsoft Excel (a business graphic), and PowerPoint.

J. Exporting FreeHand objects into other applications including PhotoShop, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

K. The file formats available in FreeHand, including TIF, JPG and EPS and which is most appropriate for the Web, a document, a PowerPoint presentation, and a pre-press project for a commercial press.

A. How to create and edit type elements in FreeHand

B. How to manipulate type elements in FreeHand including converting type to editable shapes or paths, using the envelope tool, attaching type to curved shapes and paths.

C. Page Layout using objects

D. Combining graphic files from other applications, especially PhotoShop

A. Working in RGB (red green and blue) color mode.

B. Working in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) color mode.

C. Creating a color palette appropriate for your target application.

D. Working with Pantone Colors and converting RGB to CMYK and finding Pantone Color Matching System equivalents.

A. create a logo from scratch in FreeHand,

B. export the shape to PhotoShop, set the resolution for pre-press print quality, rasterize the shape and once in PhotoShop,

C. further enhance the image with PhotoShop’s image manipulation tools.

A. An original graphic produced in FreeHand

B. A headline created and manipulated in FreeHand

C. A bitmap image (photo or graphic) imported from PhotoShop

D. Copy imported from Microsoft Word and formatted in FreeHand

E. The completed layout must be saved in a file format compatible with the publication’s specifications for submissions to their advertising production department.

 

1. A color graphic created by you from scratch using either Photoshop, FreeHand or both. You will have saved that graphic in a suitable format and color model to make it compatible with a pre-press application (CMYK and TIF or EPS formatting).
2. A photograph (either color or grayscale) imported from PhotoShop and in the appropriate size, resolution and color model appropriate for your design.
3. Type elements which are created directly in Quark Xpress.
4. Keylines, our outlines to delinate the edge of the layout on the entire sheet, or elements within the layout.
5. Headline or display text to call attention to the contents of the page.

Working With Microsoft Office as a Design and Production Tool

In an office setting which has available high-speed printing capabilities (The Print Center at the School District, for example which uses only dry-toner print technology and digital or on-glass reproduction methods), you may only have available to you Microsoft Office, which includes Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. These are the only business graphic production tools one might find in almost every office in corporate America. It may be all the tools you have available in your capacity with a particular company.

In this lesson we are gong to create a newsletter template and actual two page layout entirely in Microsoft Word. However, we are going to develop some graphics for our page layout in FreeHand and PhotoShop.

1. We'll be working in RGB color mode on all graphics because Microsoft Word cannot be used with a commercial pre-press project (it does not allow a designer to work in CMYK for color separations that one would need on a commercial press.). We must prepare graphics in a size and resolution compatible with Microsoft Word, and that means medium resolution standards (150 dpi). because Microsoft embeds graphics in the file which can make for unwieldy file document file sizes.
2. We will prepare a template in Word using text boxes and objects rather than normal text positioning or single or multi-column page layout.
3. We will create a business Graphic in Microsoft Excel
4. We will create photos and a banner logo in PhotoShop and export them to our template.

This is the State of The Art in Online Design Services

Meet your competition!

This is http://www.logo2you.com. This company uses a spam technique to market itself. I'm checking with them from time to time to see if this marketing strategy... mailing to thousands of e-mail addresses really works or at least produces leads.

The most important thing to see on this site is the a la carte pricing. They have packages that range in price and services provided... very reasonable, too. But when you stop to consider this firm is on the web with probably very little overhead, you can afford to be competitive.

This is LogoDesignFX. It's a complete web-based design service specializing in logos and brand graphics. They have locked down a la carte pricing from a menu of services. In one click you can view comparable portfolios and see exactly what you would pay for and what precisely you would get for your money. What's more, you can do the whole transaction online with a credit card, Visa, Mastercard or Discover. Here's the best part. This company is doing business right here in Dubuque with one of are area's most up and coming businesses.

This was a wonderful website... not I said "was." Last I looked, it was gone. I have no idea why. But alas, that's the way of the web. Nonetheless, I still thought this was a fantastic idea even though they may no longer be with us.

We've got a Job: It's from the Dubuque Area Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse

"We are putting together a billboard and would like the following information on the billboard:"

We didn't come with owner's mauals.
To get yours, please call: (563)557-8331 or 1-866-516-7948

Sponsored by: Dubuque Area Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse

This is deal: All students are eligible to compete for the honor of designing this billboard. We want to see your ideas, but never submit more than three.

What You'll Need

Outdoor Bulletin Format Template

Your sign must combine photography with bold use of type.

Your design must be 300 dpi and fit on a 8.5x11 letter size sheet.

You can work in spot color or full color.

Contract:

Lynn Boffeli, CPSII
Helping Services for Northeast Iowa
2728 Asbury Rd., Suite 510
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
(563)582-5317
lboffeli@helpingservices.org

See the Gallery of Student Work on This Project

Lesson Links Updated on January 31, 2003

We've got a Job! And it's a Design Competition!

Here is the Gallery for the Outdoor Sign Project

See the Gallery for the Personal Logo Project!

• The Assignment Grid and Class Roster
• Design Basics: What Your are Expected to Know
• The Logo Lesson: using FreeHand and PhotoShop together
• How To Create interesting Designs in FreeHand Using, Lines, Shapes, Fills, and Layers
• How to Develop a Look & Feel
• Lesson: Macromedia DreamWeaver and Preparing Files for The Web
• Microsoft Word and Page Layout
• Production Workflow for Large Project Management
• The State of the Art in Online Design Services... Meet Your Competition!

Software We'll be Using in This Class

We are using versions of this software in class. The inevitable question is, "Do we have to purchase all of these?" The answer is no... not now. But once you've completed this course and embarked on your career, you will probably want to own them all. I own them all These are essential tools in my arsenal.

Bibliography and Resources Material We'll be Using in This Class

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Adobe® Photoshop® 7 by Mike Wooldridge Wiley Publishing. Author: ISBN: 0-7645-3682-6 Paperback 320 Pages July 2002 Covers the most important features of Photoshop including: importing photos from digital cameras and scanners, retouching and repairing damaged photos, enhancing digital images, add custom 3-D effects, editing images for posting on the Web, creating a Web photo gallery, incorporating graphics into desktop publishing programs, color management, using palettes, compositing, using layers, applying gradients, and setting type and filters.

Macromedia FreeHand 10 for Windows and Macintosh by Sandee Cohen Macromedia Press; ISBN: 0201750422; Book and Cd-Rom edition This book/CD-ROM package shows Flash and Web designers how to create illustrations using FreeHand. It offers step-by-step lessons for a series of real world graphic design projects. Lessons are accompanied by b&w illustrations and screen shots on every page. The accompany CD- ROM contains files for lessons, as well as finished projects.Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR

Expectations: What Students Must Accomplish to Complete this Course Successfully:

The Project and How Your Grade Will be Determined

I have organized this course upon a "project" or "workshop" curriculum rather than a course based on your recollection of facts learned in class to be regurgitated on a test or quiz. This is more of a hands-on learning experience where you will learn by doing. What you will be doing is producing a variety of graphics and page layouts, optimizing them for production in a variety of target media. At the conclusion of the course, your grade will be based on your ability to produce a quality result based on the tools and techniques you learned in class.

Every class will begin with a lecture based on the learning points in the class outline at left. Since we really don't meet that often through the course schedule, these lectures and class discussions are extremely important (see absences below).

1) Course objectives: You will learn how to produce effective page layouts and graphics for various target media (the Web, pre-press, presentation, office document), each of which has its own special characteristics.

2) Methods of assessment for these objectives: Your grade will be determined by the instructor based on four criteria:

1. The technical skills you will acquire in this class and to which the student applies it to his/her project. The quality of these skills will be evident in the final product and will be assessed by the instructor: 1 to 25 points.

2. The student's ability to work well with others, namely the student's partner: 1 to 25 points.

3. The students participation in class: A personal note: Your arrival on time, and how much maintenance you require to reach a successful outcome will all be considered. Make no mistake, I am dedicated to teach you how to be a capable designer, and I will do everything in my power to see that this happens. However, if you make it difficult for me to do this by being late, not present, or if you attempt to suck the life and joy out of this experience by excessive neediness, it can't help count against you. However, I pride myself as being a person who can work with virtually anyone to divine a satisfactory result. But try to avoid testing my patience or my charity. I'm privileged to be teaching at Clarke and to have you as a student. On the other hand, you should consider yourself somewhat fortunate to have someone of my experience and breadth of knowledge in this field teach you: 1 to 25 points.

4. Creative and Artistic Quality of Your Final Project: This is subjective, but creativity is important to the overall success of the project whether it is for class or a client. 1 to 25 points.

3) Anticipated outcomes for students: Students will reach a level of measurable competency in designing a product identity graphic package, a page layout, a Web page, a multimedia presentation, and students will learn creative and production techniques by applying class learning goals to an actual project that demonstrates competence and a grasp of the software and hardware tools.

4) Rubrics (The criteria for grading students) There are three levels of expertise or learning objectives that the student must accomplish, in order, to meet the course's overall objective which is to produce an acceptable graphic design. A student cannot advance to the next level without attaining a level of competency in the previous stage of learning. There are four criteria upon which the students will receive point values. Each segment has a total point value of 25 points. The instructor will score the student on each of these criteria. Maximum points = 100% and an A. I will determine intermediate grades when all points are assessed.

Absences

So it is imperative to attend every class. Absences, un-execused, will count against you. For every un-excused absence (which is not showing up without a valid excuse negotiated with the instructor beforehand) you will be docked a grade point.

Academic Schedule

Assigned projects must be completed by the conclusion of the course.

The instructor reserves the right to modify or supplement projects and course content.

Design Basics: What You are Expected to Know

Learning takes place in this course on two levels: Graphic Design Theory, and Graphic Production

Graphic Design Theory Visual Communication: Students will learn the following basic tenants of visual communication and design.

Four Primary Elements of Design:

• Line (the simplest form of all which is used to organize, connect, divide, decorate, or create mood.
• Type: The written word when translated into a type style gains power as a visual element
• Shape can be individual elements in your total composition, such as photos, illustrations, blocks of color, values, even a block of text is considered a shape.
• Texture conveys a feeling, a mood, a message. It can cover your entire space, or texture can be imbued in other design elements including type, line and shape.

The Four Primary Design Principles Are:

• Balance: a composition can be comprised of elements in balance or out of balance. Either way, a design can benefit. Don't confuse balance with symmetry. You want to avoid symmetry in design which can lead to boredom.
• Contrast: Use of contrasting elements is key to designing with visual impact. Extremes in contrast give a design interest and keep it from being static. Contrast can be used to lead your viewer's eyes to a single point of visual interest. Contrast can help you tell a story in a single image.
  
• Unity: Unity is represented by visual elements assembled in a somewhat harmonious arrangement that emphasizes a unification of vision. An example of unity in page layout is the application of a grid upon which objects can align with one another.
  
• Value and Color: Both value and color can create a mood, a feeling, and it can also help in unifying your design elements.

Graphic Production: The Digital Environment

Students must learn how to put their designs into a finished product. This is a more vocational approach in applied technology. Students will learn:

How to Build a Web Page Portfolio and Virtual Studio.

How to Design Logos, Trademarks, Logo Type and Simple but Effective Single Page Layouts in FreeHand, PhotoShop, Quark XPress, and Microsoft Word.

The Bigger Picture

At the conclusion of the course, students will have a practical knowledge not only how to visualize their message, but how to produce it and prepare it for a variety of applications including

Web and multimedia
Print and publications

Our mantra for this class is "Design Once, but Publish Everywhere."

How To Create interesting Designs in FreeHand Using, Lines, Shapes, Fills, and Layers

	Creating Drawings in FreeHand is More Like Sculpting You work with vectors, lines, create shapes, fill the shapes, make the lines thin or thick, and introduce color of graduate fills in the shapes you create. How would you build an interesting graphic like this using FreeHand? It's pretty simple, really. It's a series of simple layered shapes. The shapes are assembled like a puzzle. Some are rectangles, which are easy enough to create, but others are freehand shapes. Working with FreeHand is more like sculpting or assemblage work than it is actually drawing.
Make Shapes, Copy, Paste, Rotate, Layers The clock face consists of an oval with freehand shapes of hands. Actually only one had had to be drawn, copied, resized, rotated, and assembled one on top of the other.
	Shapes, Fills, Layers... Here's an interesting view of the clock's pieces, all assembled, But all the shapes in this view have been filled with white, and the line color designated is black. Remember, every shape must contain a color. The inner shapes in this design are white, and the outline shape in the back layer is black. Look below at the finished FreeHand clock and see if you can't identify which shapes are white and which are black.
Layers upon Layers... As you can see by this illustration, FreeHand is all about working in layers. There really is no limit to the number of shapes or layers you can assemble into a shape. But notice here that this illustration is comprised of only four layers. Layer control is the key to productivity when working with large, complex shapes. Note that the hands are on a top layer, the clock face (black) on the second layer, the white portion of the clock tower on the third layer, and the black shape that serves as the illustration's icon is the bottom layer.
How to Develop a Look & Feel
Farber Bag Co. Catalog Look & Feel Project he first thing I consider when doing a new identity program is the history of the company. How old is the company? How does the current owner perceive the company's look? In this case, Farber Bag Co., a firm that has long been a manufacturer of natural and synthetic fiber bags conducts a mail-order and now online supply business for the nursery market. The core business (and what the firm is known for) is, of course, burlap bags, manufactured and imprinted in many cases with the purchasing firm's logo (feed and seed). Farber makes millions of bags. The company in recent years has branched into hand tools and all manner of supplies for the nursery industry which largely involves trees and shrubbery. This is still a family business, and the owner enjoys emphasizing the company's long history that is published in every annual catalog. In the office are old photos of the business, grandparents photos, old vehicles, and various (now historic) buildings in which the business resided. Today, the company occupies a sprawling new facility in an industrial park... perhaps all the more reason to cling to the past, revel in the company's long-term relationships with customers, and generally cherish the company's past. Exploring Texture, Line, Shape, and Type In my mind is the material the company was founded upon.... burlap. Upon close inspection, coarsely woven fiber bags provide an interesting texture that I know I can incorporate into this logo in some way. In my mind's eye, I have a concept brewing early in the creative process. It's sometimes difficult to explain or even describe how inspiration strikes. With me it happens fast. I get an idea right away, and I exploit it. Sometimes, but not often, the first idea may prove impractical, and then I'm on to another one. This is not productivity lost. Everything I do is equity that I may use later, with another client, perhaps. IN my world, nothing goes to waste. No time is wasted, not materials are wasted. As we discussed, creating and manipulating shapes can lead to some interesting new lines or shapes when used in combination with one another. I'm now experimenting with simple geometric shapes to be used in some way, perhaps a border design, against the burlap texture background. I'm thinking about an Indian motif. The alternating triangles and circles combine to create an interesting border I may be able to use. The colors of a raspberry red, which is a cool red, and a "Kodak yellow" which is a warm yellow, almost orange, give me just the right rhythm of color.   There is always a better type style. Among these is a winner. Which logotype is completely inappropriate for a company that celebrates a corporate culture that goes back about 92 years? Unless the company is venturing into bags for outer space, one of these logotypes has to go. I'm working in FreeHand, by the way. It allows me to rapidly prototype some typestyles and approximate layouts. But I want to experiment with nesting the complete type set which is "Farber Bag & Supply Co." The typestyle I land on is called Wasserman. It's a variation on the typestyle copperplate (second from the top) only much bolder. Above, I switch to Adobe PhotoShop because it has a wonderful text curving tool that allows me to arch or arc the type along an ellipse. I can do something similar in Macromedia FreeHand, but it's not as quick. What is cool about working with the PhotoShop type manipulation tool is I can export the font outlines as vector graphics and reimport them in FreeHand where they will be infinitely scalable. This is important for some graphic projects that will need scalable vectors, like screenprinting, sign making, and the client wants to make bag graphics. We need a scalable vector version of this logo in FreeHand or Adobe Illustrator. Here's the final logotype block I've created. Actually the type was created and manipulated letter by letter and line by line in PhotoShop and then the vector graphics were exported to Macromedia FreeHand where I could fine tune the vectors. Now we are back in FreeHand for this globe. I drew a circle first using the ellipse tool, then I drew the continents using the pen tool making sure I made complete shapes so I could color them accordingly. I'm not getting too fancy here. I want flat colors and good black outlines. It will be clear later why I want distinctive outlines. In FreeHand, I make circles and curved paths to which I attach the type. EARTH FRIENDLY is attached to a circle around the globe. You can see the circle which was created with the ellipse tool. The type around the bottom of the globe has to be attached to a curve which was carefully plotted using the pen tool once again. To curve type around the inside of an ellipse, I like to create a separate curve. This way I can fit the type better. There are other ways to do this, I suppose. But I am most comfortable with my method. I just love this texture. Believe it or not it was totally created in PhotoShop using a tan rectangle which was then textured using the texturizer filter. By controlling depth and angle of light, I can create a patch of burlap that look utterly real, even with flaws in the weave. Of course I could photograph a real piece of burlap.... but then I would have to drag out the lights, get the digital camera.... which I would gladly do if I could get better results than this. I want you to note something critical here. Note how the graphics upon the bag texture show the texture as if the graphics were screen printed on the burlap. If I just put solid graphics on this texture, they would look fake and inorganic. With layer control and transparency options for each layer, I can create this look in PhotoShop easily. I even used the texturizer on the graphics to ensure the look I am after which is "screen printed on burlap." My PhotoShop tricks with transparency controls is paying off particularly with the black type. By make the type transparent, it looks more like burlap. This is exploiting texture to its full extent. Here's the finished product, and below how it was used in a catalog cover. What other PhotoShop layer styles did I use to get the full effect?

Cool, no? Now let's go to the Farber Logo Web Page so you can see all the versions of the logo the client will need to promote it's look and feel throughout its marketing plan.