Final Project
Adobe Illustrator Introduction
Illustrator is a professional graphic design program that is compatible with most printing services. It is a very powerful program with many features. All graphic design programs perform the same basic tasks. If you've used another adobe program in the past, you will need to learn only where the various tools are located and what they are called in Illustrator to create your newsletter.
Current Events Newsletter
1. Open a blank brochure from template in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Save as NL_YourFullName to your h-drive.
3. Research 4 major current events and compose a summary in your own words for each event on a google doc. Checking out www.cnn.com is a great place to start your research!
4. **Each summary should be:
· About 200 words
· Include an introduction paragraph(2-3 sentences)
· Include a body paragraph (5-7 sentences)
· Include a concluding paragraph (2-3 sentences)
· You also need to cite your sources at the end of each summary
5. Once you have entered your current events summaries in your newsletter, you need to add the following:
· A Newsletter Title (Masthead)
· A title for each summary- at least one mirrored title and one skewed title (PhotoShop OR Illustrator)
· Pictures to accompany your summaries-at least one feathered image and one with a clipping mask in PhotoShop
· Text borders, wrapped text around images
· Highlighted quotes from your summaries
· Change the background colors
· Borders around pages, text boxes, and/or pictures(line or art)
6. When you are finished save to the media drive!!
Basic Design Principles
Choose fonts that are easy to read. Arial is a good choice for text. Headlines can be more creative, but be sure they are readable. Feel free to mix headline fonts. Make the font relevant to the story. Do not use more than three fonts on one page to avoid making your design look "cluttered."
Create a visual balance when adding text and photos. Overall, the eye should flow down the page, being led from one element to another. Avoid large blocks of text.
Collect newsletters you like and re-create some of the elements into your own design. Maybe you like the way one uses shading to enhance a special feature or the way photo captions are all right justified. Create a file of ideas to draw from.
Use elements such as pull-out quotes and boxes to create visual interest and break up monotony. Try using oversized quotation marks or something "catchy." Break longer stories into parts by inserting subheads.
Add variety by making some columns double wide and others single wide. However, try not to mix the two styles in the same story. To stretch a text box, click on the edge of the box and drag it to the size you'd like.
Samples:
Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTO5W8UELDE&feature=channel