Candice Hall provides an overview of 11 things she learned about creating publications from her PR publications class. Some of the key lessons include the importance of design elements like contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity; using high quality images; leveraging white space; knowing your audience and distribution channels; and tools like InDesign for layout. She also discusses typography, parts of letters, online publications, and how color can impact readers. The overall summary focuses on best practices for publication design and layout.
1. Top Ten List “10 Things I learned this semester in PR publications” By: Candice Hall Georgia Southern University
2. #1 Four elements of good design Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity Robin William's C.R.A.P Method
3. Incorporating these four elements into your publications can really make the final product look more polished and easier to navigate through 1The contrast between Oprah’s dark hair and dress against the light background makes her stand out. Also the larger text catches readers eye’s before the smaller text 3 It’s easier for readers to read left to right. The O magazine logo and the story titles are placed left justified for easy reading 2 Repeating the same font in several places on the cover makes it easy for readers to navigate through and know what is what. Using yellow for titles and white for descriptions is also helpful for readers. 4 The smaller description placed close to the title makes it easy for readers to know what type of story this title is referring to
4. #2 Typography Fonts can be used in publications to create different moods Font Conference Find fonts to install
5. #3 Image Quality The images you choose to include in your publication should be high quality images to ensure that your finished product looks clean and professional. TIFF files are best to use for print publications.
6. The same image saved in 3 different file formats.. See the difference?
7. #4 White Space The white space in your publication is not just “empty” space, it can have as much impact as space with images and color. The placement and use of white space is very important to the overall effectiveness of your publication and how it is read by viewers.
8. #5 Knowing your audience With every publication it is important to know who will be looking at it. When creating any type of publication, it is essential to know the purpose of your publication as well as who you are making it for.
9. #6 Distribution It’s important, when creating a publication, to know how and where it will be distributed. How your publication will be distributed will determine how you print it, how much you will spend on printing, paper choices, binding, etc.
10. #7 The Eagle Print Shop The Eagle Print Shop is a great resource to use to print publications even after graduation. Eagle Print Shop Website The print shop prints name badges, invitations, business cards, brochures, posters, etc. They can also laminate, cut and bind your publications.
11. #8 The color Readers are attracted to the color red more than any other color. Red is read by readers as more modern than blue pages. All readers seek red when they are bored. This information is from our class text: Strategic Publications: Designing for Target Publics
13. There’s more to fonts than I thought… Bit mapped fonts – form letters from dots that look ragged on diagonals and curves of letters Typeset fonts- produce smooth lines on diagonals and curves of letters. Serifs are finishing strokes placed at the right angles to the stem or hairline.
14. #10 Online Publications Blogging For online publications bullet points and numbering rather than paragraphs can be very helpful to readers. 1.) make use of the white space on your online publications. 2.) incorporate more images rather than a lot of text. 3.) with online publications comes a larger viewing audience. know who is viewing your publication.
15. #11 InDesign InDesign has proven to be a very helpful tool when creating publications. Download InDesign This InDesign help website saved my life! InDesign allows you to create great, professional looking publications that can be easily printed or uploaded online. It’s capabilities for making publications are really endless.
