MAGAZINE FEATURE PAGE - DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD STEP 1 – THE FINISHED PRODUCT

This is a step by step guide to creating a flexible layout grid using the tools in Adobe InDesign and the application of a specific layout to it. This tutorial walks through the creation of a ficticous double page spread for a non-existent music publication.

STEP 2 – FINDING PHOTOS

In Google do an advanced search to find 5 photos of your favorite band. Use the advanced feature to find photos that are large and good quality. The main photo will have to cover both pages so it must be high quality. It also must be a landscape photo. Save these photos to a new folder called “Band 2 Page Spread”.

STEP 3 – CREATING A NEW DOCUMENT

1. Open Adobe InDesign 2. Select Print Document 3. Set the number of pages to 2 4. Set the page size to A4 and orientation to portrait 5. Set column number to 9 and then inside the Gutter input,

type 1p1 6. In the margins area, making sure the link icon is selected as

shown, type 3p0 into one of the margin entry fields. 7. Save as BAND MAGAZINE SPREAD.

STEP 4 – PAGES PANEL

1. Locate the Pages panel

2. Open the panel menu option and uncheck Allow document pages to shuffle.

3. In the main body of the pages panel two pages should be displayed as shown in Step 2. Click and drag on one of these pages positioning it so that it's interior edge meets the interior edge of the other page, when the position is correct the black page separator will change to a bracket shape. The 'bracket' will look something like this ].

4. Releasing the mouse button at this point should result in the pages being displayed as a double page spread.

5. The project should now be as displayed. Nine columns

should be visible on each page with gutters and margins marked out with guidelines.

STEP 5 – SETUP GUIDES

1. Move the mouse pointer over the ruler visible at the top of the

InDesign workspace. Hold CTRL Click and drag down into the page creating a new horizontal guide. Release the mouse button to confirm. (By holding CTRL, the guide will go on both pages.)

2. With the new guideline still selected, locate the Y entry at the top of InDesign. In this entry box type 23p4 and press return.

3. Create another new guide repeating the steps as above. 4. With the second new guide still highlighted type 46p8 and press

return. 5. The document should now have 2 horizontal guides dividing the

page into three horizontal strips of the same height as shown.

STEP 6 – ADD COLORED STRIP

1. Add a bleed area to the document by opening the

document setup panel, click file at the top of InDesign and select document setup. Expand Bleed & Slug if necessary. Making sure the link icon is selected enter 0p8.5 into any of the bleed entry fields, this should be duplicated to the remainder.

2. Locate the rectangle tool in the left hand tool panel and select it.

3. Click and drag out a rectangle over the document. Adjust the rectangle by selecting the selection tool from the tool bar and by moving the handles around the rectangle's edge. Have the left and right edges of the rectangle meet the bleed lines at the extreme right and left of the spread respectively. Have the top of the rectangle meet the lower of the two guide lines added in Step 6 and the bottom edge of the rectangle should meet the bottom margin guideline.

4. Add a color to the rectangle make sure the fill swatch is uppermost at the bottom of the tool panel and select a color from the swatches panel found in the on the right of the screen.

STEP 7 – ADD A RECTANGLE FRAME

1. Select the rectangle frame tool from the tool panel

and drag out a new rectangle.

2. Manipulate each edge of this new rectangle with the selection tool so that each of it's edges meets it's respective bleed line.

STEP 8 – ADD BACKGROUND PHOTO

1. To add the background, select place from the file

menu at the top of InDesign and browse to the location of the desired image (it is a good idea to collect all images to be used together in one folder and to keep this in a similar location to the InDesign project).

2. To fill the image frame locate object menu at the top of InDesign and select fitting and then fill frame proportionally.

3. The image can be further adjusted without moving it's containing rectangle by using the direct selection tool from the tool panel. The image should be placed so that focal points in the image are located as closely as possible to the upper of the guidelines created in Step 7 and remembering to keep any important elements away from the center fold.

STEP 9 – ADD SIDE PHOTOS & FORMAT

1. Create and manipulate a new image container with the rectangle frame tool and the selection tool so that

it is placed in the upper right corner of the document. The upper edge of this rectangle should meet the top bleed line, the rectangle should span three columns and be slightly taller than it is wide.

2. Using place (file > place), fitting (object > fitting and the direct selection tool as before and in that order add the first feature inset image into the layout.

3. To add the outline, clear any fill present in the

fill swatch at the bottom of the tool panel, make sure the outline swatch is uppermost and select the white swatch from the swatches panel on the right.

***Make sure the stoke color is paper (white) and the fill color is none. You may have to swap

them.

4. Locate the stroke panel on the right side panels.

In the weight entry box enter 3. Align the stroke to the inside of the image container by clicking the middle icon on the align stroke row in this same panel.

STEP 10 – ADD MORE SIDE PHOTOS & ALIGN

1. Repeat most of the actions in Step 9 or copy and

paste the existing image several times as required so a column of images is created down the right hand side of the layout as pictured.

2. Add the required images into the rectangles, or replace the copied image by using place as before.

3. Line up the image containers vertically by dragging the container to the guideline to the left of the first image container. With the help of the align panel, (Window/Object & Align), make sure these inset image containers are all evenly spaced by selecting them all simultaneously and clicking the distribute vertical space control button. To simultaneously select these images use the selection tool, click one image container and then holding the shift key click on each of the other image containers in turn, this should allow all to be selected at once.

STEP 11 – ADD MORE SIDE PHOTOS & ALIGN

1. Select the type tool. Click and drag to create a text

rectangle. Arrange this rectangle to span three of the guide columns as shown.

2. Duplicate this text rectangle four times making a total of five rectangles. Place these rectangles aligned horizontally along the colored rectangle each spaced to span three guide columns.

STEP 12 – ADD BODY COPY

1. For the copy, use www.lipsum.com. Generate the

Lorem Ipsum dummy text (5 paragraphs) to be used. Copy the text.

2. In InDesign select the type tool and click the text rectangle on the left.

Copy Text 3. CTRL + V will paste the content text into the

leftmost rectangle. 4. If the content text overflows the containing text

rectangle a small white box containing a + symbol will appear towards the lower right corner of the text rectangle. Clicking this symbol will append a preview of the text block to the mouse pointer. Click into the next left text rectangle and the overflowed content text should appear in this next text area.

5. Repeat the last stage until all five text rectangles are filled with text. These should resemble the illustration shown.

STEP 13 – ADD CHARACTER STYLES

1. To format the body text locate the character styles

panel. (Window/Styles/Character Styles) Select new character style.

2. Name the character style as required. Select the desired font family (your choice) and font style (your choice) in each respective field, set the size field to 12pt and the leading field to 14pt. The values used in the demonstration design are shown here.

3. Set the color of the body text by selecting character color from the left hand menu bar in the character styles window and then selecting the desired swatch.

STEP 14 – APPLY CHARACTER STYLES

1. The newly created character style should appear as

a new entry in the in the list area of the character styles panel.

2. Select the type tool and click into any of the text areas. Use CTRL + A to select all of the body text. Click the new character style listed in the character styles panel. The body text should now display as desired.

STEP 15 – ADD TITLE & SUBHEADING

1. Create two more text blocks, one for a main heading

and one for a subheading. Arrange them as shown making sure that their left edges are aligned with the left edge of the left most body text area.

2. Style the heading text as desired by either manipulating the values in the character panel or creating a new character style in the character styles panel and applying it as before.

3. Make sure font sizes are regular values (one of the preset values) and that the leading applied to each is either 14pt or a multiple of 14pt.

STEP 16 – ADD PAGE NUMBERS

1. Add new text rectangles to the lower outside

corner of each page and type page numbers into each.

2. Style the page numbers as before. 3. Align the left edge of the left hand page number

rectangle with the left margin. Align the right edge of the right hand page number rectangle with the right hand edge of the inset picture column, with this rectangle selected locate the X entry at the top of InDesign. Keeping the present value of the X entry field, append - 14pt. This should move the right hand page number rectangle to the left by exactly 14pt.

4. Alternatively, if desired, the right page number rectangle can simply be positioned against the right page right hand margin.

STEP 17 – ADD OTHER INFORMATION

1. If desired the page can be finished with a corner

block with some meta information. This can be created using techniques already covered.

2. Have the corner block the same fill color as the rectangle behind the text blocks.

3. Make the rectangle three guide columns wide and aligned at the top to the upper bleed line.

4. Add a text box over the rectangle. Sizing it so there is a margin on each side. Remember proximity & white space.

STEP 18 – EXPORT & FINISH

1. Export the document as an Adobe PDF (print).

File/Export, change the file type to Adobe PDF (print)

2. This completes the design and the tutorial.