Page 15 - CC2018_ID_Look_Inside

Stage 1 Setting up the Workspace

The best way to start any new project is to prepare your workspace. As you learned in the Interface
chapter, InDesign gives you extensive control over your workspace — you can choose where to place
panels, whether to collapse or expand open panels, and even to save workspaces with sets of panels
in specific locations. Because workspace issues are largely a matter of personal preference, we tell you
what tools to use, but we don’t tell you where to keep the various panels. Many of our screen captures
show floating panels so that we can maximize the available space and clearly focus on a specific issue.
Likewise, we typically don’t tell you what view percentage to use; you should use whatever you are
comfortable with to accomplish the specific goal of an exercise.

define A neW lAyout file
Some production-related concerns will dictate how you design a letterhead. In general,
there are two ways to print letterhead: one-offs on a desktop laser or inkjet printer,
or commercially in large quantities. (The first method typically involves creating a
letterhead template, which you then use to write and print letters from directly within
InDesign — a fairly common practice among graphic designers.) Note:
If letterhead is being printed commercially, it’s probably being printed with Some desktop printers
multiple copies on a large press sheet, from which the individual letterhead sheets will have a minimum margin
be cut. Most commercial printing happens this way. This type of printing typically at the page edges; you’re
means that design elements can run right off the edge of the sheet, called bleeding.
usually safe with 3/8″.
If you’re designing for a printer that can only run letter-size paper, you have to Many newer inkjet
allow enough of a margin area for your printer to hold the paper as it moves through printers have the capabil-
the device (called the gripper margin); in this case, you can’t design with bleeds. ity to print 8.5 1 11″
The most basic process in designing a layout is creating a new InDesign file. The with full bleed. Consult
New Document dialog box has a large number of options, and the following exercise your printer documenta-
explains all of those. Don’t be overwhelmed by the length of this process; in later tion to be sure.
projects, we simply tell you what settings to define without re-explaining every field.

1. Download GCMarket_ID18_RF.zip from the Student Files web page.
2. Expand the ZIP archive in your WIP folder (Macintosh) or copy the archive
contents into your WIP folder (Windows).
This results in a folder named GCMarket, which contains all of the files you need for
this project. You should also use this folder to save the files you create in this project.
If necessary, refer to Page 1 of the Interface chapter for specific information on
expanding or accessing the required resource files.

3. In InDesign, choose File>New>
Document.
You have several options for
creating a new file:
• Choose
File>New>Document;
• Use the associated
keyboard shortcut,
Command/Control-N; or
• Click the Create New
button in the Start If the Start workspace is visible,
workspace. click the Create New button to
open the New Document dialog box.

Project 1: Letterhead Design 25