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Creative Desktop Publishing Projects with Jerry Smith

Dive deep into the art of desktop publishing through engaging projects that focus on print promotions and real-world applications. Learn to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop creatively to design flyers, brochures, magazine covers, banners, and more. Explore tools and techniques to enhance your design skills.

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Creative Desktop Publishing Projects with Jerry Smith

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  1. Desktop Publishing The Art of Sneaky Teaching with Print Projects Presented by Jerry Smith Office Technology Instructor Breathitt Area Tech Center

  2. Keep It Real • Even the best software tools mean nothing without a distinct purpose • Learning to use the software is secondary • The best way to achieve a thorough understanding of Desktop Publishing is with good projects

  3. Promotions • Treat DP as a print promotions class • Good promotions focus on specific markets • Good projects force the students to consider the audience!

  4. Presentation Road Map • The tools I use • Task List • Projects • Flyers • Brochures • Magazine Covers/Ads • Banners • Posters • Calendars • Children’s Book • Newsletters • CD Labels/Covers • Letterheads • Order Forms/Invoices

  5. The Tools I Use • Adobe Indesign CS • Indesign CS Classroom in a Book • Adobe Photoshop • Digital Camera • Scanner • MS Word • Google/Yahoo Images (Internet) • Imagination!

  6. A Word on Microsoft Publisher • Pros • Lots of professional looking templates • Interface is very familiar (Microsoft Created) • Slim learning curve • Cons • Underpowered • Home-Centric • Poor images editing/manipulation • Cookie-cutter documents

  7. Flyers • Students get their feet wet • Most basic tools can be learned • Small in size and scope to help build confidence • Extremely customizable

  8. Example Flyers • Yard Sale (frames) • Lost Dog (graphic frames) • House for Sale (5 w’s) • Grand Opening (shapes) • Dr./Dentist/Laywer Office • Local Festivals (drawing tools) • Most Wanted (digital camera) • Concert Promotion • Wrestling Promotion

  9. Brochures • Advanced layout techniques • Can contain lots of content • Students do the writing • More difficult

  10. Example Brochures • Company • Theme Resort • Career • Using the online Occupational Outlook Handbook

  11. Magazine Covers/Ads • Extremely market (audience)-centric • Fictitious Magazine Cover targets students unique interests • Forces students to put a great deal of information into a small space • Ads force students to consider interests of target markets and not just themselves

  12. Example Magazine Covers/Ads • Covers • Fictions Theme Magazine • Ads • Cola Marketing • Teens • Baby boomers • Stickman action figures • Students draw poseable stickmen using drawing tools • Ad is meant for boys and girls

  13. Banners • Great way to foster community involvement • Local Festivals • Kiwanis • Parades • Charity Events • Requires large format printer (or plotter)

  14. Posters • Also fosters community involvement • Power Verbs poster for local grade schools • Advertising for school events • Car Show • Open House • School Schedules • As with banners, requires large format printer

  15. Calendars • Ultimate project for learning tables • Calendar for October, November, December because all the holidays • In Indesign, tables are non-intuitive

  16. Children’s Book • Students create a children’s book based on images they find in clipart or on the Internet • Sections, pagination options, & master pages • Usually 6-8 pages, less than 100 words per page

  17. Technical Manual • Students create a technical manual for a simple task • i.e. make a peanut butter sandwich, shaving • Utilizes complex book features • Indexing, glossary, etc. • Students draw illustrations on paper, scan them, and import them into the manual

  18. Newsletters • Excellent group projects • Covers all task lists items dealing with columns • Can be simple or complex

  19. Syndicated NewsletterGroup Project • Mini-Newspaper • Split students into groups of three • Have them go to news sites with AP articles and “syndicate” some of the content • Gossip column, headline stories, horoscopes, sports, weather, etc.

  20. Newsletter (cont.) • Any content that does not fit must be shortened to fit in the allotted amount of space • Students work together to create character and paragraph styles, pick a color scheme, and layout • At the end of the projects, team members rate one another

  21. CD Covers • Students create a band, then create the front, inside, and outside cover for a CD case • Smaller form-factor project • The band info sheet helps students learn how to associate ideas with imagery

  22. Letterheads & Invoices • The beginnings of DP • Letterheads are not complex • Invoices, timesheets, etc. are usually very complex • Usually give students a vanilla copy of an invoice which they must mimic and customize

  23. Photoshop Remarks • Number 1 most important skill: Cutting images out • Online tutorials work fine • http://www.good-tutorials.com • Choose carefully as some are not well written • Play with Photoshop yourself • If you can’t do it blindfolded, how can you teach your kids?

  24. Some Photoshop Tutorial Suggestions • Create fire text • Splice multiple pictures together • Model “air brushing” • Collage • Texture filters

  25. Things to Remember • Walk around the room continuously while the students work on projects • Remind students of techniques they have learned • Sometimes, point out a design flaw • Not always, since students learn from mistakes • If a project is going bad, stop and re-introduce in another way

  26. Things to Remember (cont.) • Be patient • You didn’t learn DP in one day • Nobody is perfect • Use constructive criticism • Don’t make fun of a student’s work • Push, push, push the students to stay on task • When a student does good work with good designs, make a HUGE deal out of it

  27. Thank You! Any Questions?

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