Objective

To see how type size, leading, and line length affect the appearance of a block of text. To learn to optimize these parameters for effectiveness. To learn how to align type visually.

We will be creating this postcard:

Procedure

1. download starter files
2. launch InDesign; open a New Document (command-N)
3. pages=1; facing pages=no; page size=51p0 x 33p0 (or "half letter"); columns=2; gutter=2p0; margins=2p0
4. file > save as "yourname-X4.indd"; continue to save after each step
5. file > place kandinsky.jpg, aligned with top margin, scale to fit column width (cmd+shift+drag)
6. file > place kandinsky.doc in the right column
7. spec 10/12 Futura Light; hyphenation=off
8. cut and paste "Kandinsky" from right column to below image
9. increase leading (opt+up arrow) for readability and alignment
10. add RETURN after quote to push the reference to the next line
11. spec quote: bold oblique (cmd+shift+B and cmd+shift+I),
    reduce size by 1pt
12. spec reference: 9pt small caps, align right (cmd+shift+R)
13. select text frame; type > story: Optical Margin Alignment=yes
    (note hanging quote)
14. adjust text frame width for optimum line breaks
15. select "Kandinsky" under image, spec bold, all caps (cmd+shift+K)
16. increase size to fill column width (cmd+shift+< or >)
17. force the K to align with the image, hang the diagonal of the Y
18. file > print (page 1 only, centered, with crop marks)
19. file > adobe PDF presets > smallest file size, crop and bleed marks, and drop in Angel for grading

Note: this file will be used for the next exercise