Corel Draw 5/Corel Draw 5 CD1.iso/ventura/vpstyle/mag.txt

Text File | 1994-09-30 | 12KB | 235 lines

@PARAFILTR ON =

@HEADLINE = EN<R>
IPS<R>
<P28MI><_><J231>for<P255DJ0><R>
YPOGRAPHY<R>
YROS

@1ST PARA = <F2P44B>H<F255P255D>ave you noticed how ugly your junk mail
has gotten over the last couple of years? People seem to discover
the benefits of desktop publishing and forget that they ever cared
about what their stuff looks like.

@LEAD GRAPHS = Our newfound enthusiasm for DTP blinds us to the basic
guidelines for producing professional-looking documents. Yes, love
can be very blind.

@LEAD GRAPHS = <B>Tom:<D> <MI>Look at this price sheet! Just came
off the printer and I did it myself! Doesn't it look great?<D>

@LEAD GRAPHS = <B>Dick:<D> <MI>Wow, you did that? I didn't know we
could do all those kinds of letters!<D>

@LEAD GRAPHS = <B>Harry:<D> <MI>And that's only using five. I think
we've got thirty more!<D>

@LEAD GRAPHS = My mission (yes, I've decided to accept it) is to point
out some of the better known basics of typography, with respect to
how they relate to Corel Ventura Publisher.

@BYLINE = by Heidi<R>
Waldmann

Of those who run a small business or work in a corporate setting,
I would bet there are very few who have never had a twinge of MacEnvy.
But when it comes to typography, I wouldn't trade Ventura for anything
available on the Mac.

Ventura offers a terrific amount of control, so you can turn out documents
that rival all but the most elegant examples of traditional typography.
But you need to understand what you're trying to accomplish. So, forthwith,
here are ten tips I'd like to include with every Ventura package.
I'd do this for even a .1 percent royalty.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>1<F255D><~>Look Around!

Because good typography is transparent, we tend to take it for granted.
Like the air around us, it goes unnoticed until it stinks. So the
first thing you need to do is become conscious of it. Begin keeping
a file of pieces you really like. Pull them out whenever you have
a spare moment and look at them carefully. To make things easier,
start with stuff that isn't too avant garde looking. One of the best
types of documents for this kind of study is an annual report. Large
companies in particular will typically spend a tremendous amount of
time, money, and talent on this piece, and it usually serves as a
model of good, conservative taste. Look at the overall design. Notice
how many, or  probably how few, typefaces are used. Look at the way
the type sizes relate to each other. Think about the use of color
and special effects like reverses and screens. You may even want to
try to recreate the piece in Ventura Publisher. Aside from giving
you the feel of how design elements work together, you'll get some
terrific Ventura training. And consider using these elements and techniques
in the next piece you produce. Design ideas, after all, are not copyrighted!

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>2<F255D><~>Begin at the Beginning

With any design problem, consider the purpose. I don't mean to be
negative when I call it a problem<197>if you think of designing as
problem-solving rather than decoration, you'll go a long way toward
achieving good results. A document whose purpose is to sell tractors
is going to look very different than the menu from El Restorante Ritzo.
A sign warning workers of radioactive hazard probably won't be taken
too seriously if done up in a Park Avenue wedding script.

Consider first the purpose of the piece. Then think about the audience.
See if you can imagine a typical reader. Male or female? Under what
conditions will this person be reading your document? Now that I'm
40, I never fail to be annoyed when I have to read, by candlelight,
a certain menu that's set in 10-point, rose-colored type on a pink
background.

Think of the age and educational level of your prospective reader.
Younger readers have stronger eyes and can handle smaller type sizes.
But <MI>Sesame Street<D> and MTV have conditioned them to quick sound
and video bites, so long, dense blocks of text will probably stay
unread. Unless of course, the long text block begins, <169>Congratulations,
you've just won...<170> and is followed by Ed McMahon's signature.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>3<F255D><~>All in the Family

Chances are, any good piece of design in your file uses no more than
three families of type, regardless of its length. By family, I mean
the several weights associated with a given name. The Palatino family,
for instance, would include a book or text weight, bold, italic, and
bold italic.

In fact, many annual reports will use only two families: one for text
and another, usually a condensed sans serif, for numerical data. This
article, and the bulk of the entire magazine, uses two: Stone Serif
and Stone Sans.

Take a tip from these experts and limit yourself to no more than two
families for any piece you do. By the time you have enough expertise
to handle more, you probably won't want to.

If this sounds restrictive, consider Hazel Gmach, a professor at the
Minneapolis College of Art and Design. During one of the first courses
in a term, she asks each student to choose a type family. Then she
notifies them that they are to use only that family for all of their
work for the rest of the entire semester. Ms. Gmach points out that
the assignment is an excellent way to become aware of the nuances
of a particular family, and to begin to appreciate what you look for
when choosing a typeface.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>4<F255D><~>The Ends Justify     the Means

Now you have a good idea of what you want the piece to do, and who
it's going to do it for. But you're still not ready to load Ventura.
Now you have to consider how the piece will be produced, for this
is a function of purpose. Something that's going to be circulated
around the office probably doesn't merit the time and expense of an
outside service bureau. And if it's not going to Lino, or the paper
is dark or rough, you'd better stay away from 6-point type or smaller.

A lot of this, when you think about it, boils down to common sense.
If you consider your audience and the purpose of the document<197>and
you design the piece to fulfill its function<197>you're not likely
to go wrong. Keep telling yourself that design is not decoration.
Your job is to make the piece work.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>5<F255D><~>I Need My Space,     Man

Watch your leading and word spacing. Make sure that the space between
lines is greater than the space between words. Otherwise, your reader's
eye will tend to drift down to the next line rather than following
across to the next word. And watch how subheads relate to the text
that follows. They should be closer to the text that follows than
to the text that precedes. Otherwise the subhead loses its relationship
and meaning and seems to float.

Word spacing is more often a problem when lines are justified, as
Ventura adds space first between the words in order to fill out the
line. This becomes downright obnoxious if you've got hyphenation turned
off, so don't even plan to justify the text if your client (or boss)
doesn't want words hyphenated. This is also why you have to unlearn
the habit of following punctuation such as periods and colons with
two spaces. You can imagine, if spacing in justified text is problematic
to start with, how ugly it will get with two spaces.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>6<F255D><~>Rules, Rules, Rules

Ventura gives you more control over hyphenation in its Alignment dialog
box than is probably good for you. Good typography requires that there
be no more than two hyphenated lines in a row, no more than three
in any one paragraph, and no fewer than three letters before or after
a hyphen. It's also best to avoid hyphenating words at the end of
a page or column if you possibly can.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>7<F255D><~>A Pinch, a Morsel,<R>
<~><~>and Three Dashes

Hyphens are not en dashes are not em dashes. Hyphens are used only
for hyphenating. En dashes, created in Ventura with the <<196>> code,
are used in place of the word <169>to<170> in order to show a duration
of time or sequence of numbers, such as 7:00<196>10:00, September<196>November,
etc. Em dashes, code <<197>>, are used to set off phrases<197>like this<197>in
the middle of a sentence. In typewritten material, you usually see
them as double hyphens, and with the Set Preferences dialog box, you
can instruct Ventura to translate double hyphens into em dashes automatically.

You can make life easier by using a utility like PubStar from Metroplex
Digital to enter these codes in your word processor. Or you can use
what I call Q codes<197>Q followed by another letter to indicate a
code to be searched and replaced later. For instance, I might type
7:00qn10:00 and replace the qn automatically with the en dash code.

I use Q codes for all kinds of search and replace tasks. Q comes in
handy in English because it is always followed by U. That means that
you can search for Q plus anything-<->other- than-U with complete
confidence. If someone else, unfamiliar with Ventura, is doing input
for me, I often have them use Q codes. In an outline, for example,
I'd have them begin all the first level paragraphs with QQ1, the second
level with QQ2, and so forth. Then, I can replace the QQ1 with a tag
name in the proper format, such as <169>@level 1 = <170>.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>8<F255D><~>Don't Misquote Me!

Inch marks are not quotation marks. This is probably the single most
common offense, as well as the most obvious telltale sign of amateur
desktop publishing. It's also among the most avoidable for Ventura
users, as all you have to do to guard against it is use Set Preferences
to automatically convert your inch marks into true quotation marks.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>9<F255D><~><BU>Don't Do This<D>

Avoid underscoring your typeset documents. If it's the name of a book,
play, movie or other artistic work, set it in italics. If it's a headline
or subhead, make it stand out with other treatment<197>a different
weight of the same typeface, larger point size, complementary face,
or a rule. Rules are different from underscores and have much more
variety. Try using a ruling line <MI>above<D><|>a subhead. That tends
to relate the subhead to its text rather than separate it.

@SUBHEADS = <F129M>10<F255D><~>Have a Good Figure

Decimal alignment of lists of numbers is another given for decent
typography. Short lists, with fewer than 10 items, won't show this
feature, but in the long run it's easier to get into the habit of
using a standard tag for numbered lists.

The most effective way to produce this is to create a dual-tag system,
one tag for the numbers, and a second tag for the text that follows.
<MI>(Editor's Note: all numbered steps in this magazine were produced
with two tags.)<D><|>That way, you have total control over the positioning
of the numbers, including aligning them on their decimals.

@BULLET = <195>

There's still a whole world of type and design to explore from here,
but you'll pick it up as you go along. Once your eye becomes trained,
you can really have fun by assembling another file of published documents<197>this
one full of the worst examples you can find. On bad days, it can provide
you with a needed shot of encouragement at how much better your stuff
looks. Or, at the very least, a few good laughs.

Here's hoping none of your pieces end up in that kind of a file.

@END OF STORY = P

@BIO1 = <%-2>Heidi Waldmann

@BIO2 = hosts Typography for Neophytes on Day 2 at 1:30, as well as
the Perils of Post- Production on Day 1 at 3:30.