InDesign 3 - Interactive PDF

Our final Indesign tutorial showed us how to create interactive PDF's , this was an extension on generic pdf files as the interactive ones can contain internal hyperlinks , videos and buttons to create a different viewing experience. Our task was to create a PDF about music , specifically looking at Count Baise and Jazz.

I began the task by reconstructing an old percussion album cover on illustrator , we did this as we were to use it as our front cover , however the original image was far too low resolution. another reason was that changing it into vectors would allow us to link in buttons to the PDF. When creating the button i added a drop shadow that would activate when the button was hovered over so the user would identify the internal hyperlink.

This would link the reader to another slide of information , taking them through the pdf presentation in a more unique way to the conventional next button way. The slide that this led onto was about Count Baise , i didn't put any information in the text boxes , however i learnt about the placeholder text tool that would fill the box with random words to fill the page , i feel that this tool would be useful when creating a mock up for a project. 

The final step in the interactive text was to add the swing of change video to the PDF. I encountered a lot of problems with this step even though it was simple to do , i asked the tutor if there was a reason why the software would not place the video however we were unable to solve the issue. But to place a video in the indesign document you follow the same steps as you would for placing an image. when the user clicks on the video the video will activate and play. this would be useful when displaying animations we have created on a PDF for deadline hand in's.

Further Skills- InDesign

Within workshop week i caught up on the InDesign session that i missed a week ago due to a lecturer being absent. I really enjoyed this session as it showed me how to used some more advanced skills within InDesign. We mainly focused upon two page spreads and the techniques used to create a unique looking spread.

 Above is an example of the double page spread that i created in this session. One of the main techniques i used when creating this piece was how to type along a certain path or shape , that technique is how i created the left hand page. On the left hand page we also learnt more advanced options to edit text with , and how instead of creating separate boxes you can alter the layout using one single text box. The Left hand page then leads onto the right page creating leading lines for the eyes. I then used the type in text tool to create the circle which looks like the ball of yarn that the cat is playing with. 

We were shown that you can also import images and items from other adobe software (although i already knew this it was a handy thing for the group know). This is how we got the cat onto the document. We imaged traced pictures of animals and expanded them to create an editable vector image then exported them to the InDesign package where we could use the shape to our advantage. Other tools we were shown was the path finder tool and how it could be used to split objects or in this posters case wrap text around the image.

If i was to improve this poster i would edit the layout of the text more as i feel it looks very basic , however i didn't have enough tine therefore i left it fairly basic.

Afterwards we were shown how different settings on Adobe Photoshop can effect an image (Above). Starting from top left and through to bottom right;

RGB Colour - Used for screen display , colours will be vibrant but will differ when printed as RGB is used for display.

CMYK Colour - Used when printing CMYK colours are usually slightly darker than RGB and are used specifically for printing. CMYK stands for Cyan , Magenta , Yellow and Key (black).

Duotone Colour - This effect has been created using InDesign where you set the colour to only let specific colour of an image through. In this case the colours are black and red therefore it has made the image look completely red with some shading of the house still visible.

Greyscale Colour - Greyscale colour is just a more technical way of saying Black and white , Only black and white shades of colour will be visible in this mode.

Halftone Screen - Halftone screens are commonly used in screen printing however they can also have good effects visually on print media. The screen is made up of different shapes which you can choose on photoshop which the thickness of the lines creates the quality of the print.

Pantone colours on Halftone - I added two Pantone colours to the Halftone screen to create this Pop Art styled vibrant image , one of the colours substituted the white background and the other replaced the white giving me the vibrant effect.

Pantone is a standardized color matching system, utilizing the Pantone numbering system for identifying colours. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations can all reference a Pantone numbered color, making sure colors match without direct contact with one another. Pantone Colours cannot be printed unless the code is entered manually to the printer.

Below are Examples of posters I made using the Pantone colours and there codes for printing:

Modernist Posters - InDesign

Today we were introduced to the InDesign package from Adobe CC. I haven't used InDesign before today so this software was both new and interesting to learn. From the first moment i used the software I could see that the interface was very similar to Illustrator therefore I could find some of the useful tools rather quickly.

At the beginning of the tutorial we  started out with all the basics on how to create shapes, fill colours, stroked and using other tools such as the text and pen too. When we looked at the text tool we looked into how to change fonts, size , spacing and other

 techniques such as inserting placeholder text which can come in very handy in later work. One of the tools i found most useful was the step and repeat tool which was used to quickly copy shapes and patterns instead of having to constantly re-draw or duplicate layers. 

We were given a selection of posters in which we had to recreate some of them.With the Package having various similarities to Adobe Illustrator meant I didn't feel too lost in re-creating a poster, therefore , I decided to go home and re-create my own using the information we were given this afternoon.

Below are examples of the posters we were given to re-create

First Poster 

When creating this first poster I only used the rectangular tool to create the layout. This poster is a combination of thick and thin rectangles with no other complications. quite simple really. I used sample text to add some literature to the page just to give it some sort of character. I chose a cool blue scheme as i felt it made the poster look more calm and welcoming. I also experimented by using the dodge effect on the squares to get the opaque overlay effect.

Second Poster

This was the second poster i created. I started out by experimenting with the text box tools and realise i could distort the shape of the box and the text would follow the shape. This got me thinking that instead of using a shape tool i could use the text to create the shed instead. I settled with the triangle shape as when i mirrored it it resembled similarities to a paper plane. Hence why i used the title P.Planes. I then themed my poster around the aviation , i added jet streams made out of words and an American flag to give the background some characteristics.

Although my skills are still very new within InDesign i feel that they are quickly progressing and with more tutorials InDesign will become a powerful tool within the course.