Denver InDesign User Group Home Meeting Summary Archive

Meeting Summary

IDUG Denver: Design Deconstruction
Tue, Oct 6th, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Front Range Community College: Westminster Campus
Event Details

Denver InDesign User Group Meeting Notes
October 6, 2009

A. Meeting Business
Don't forget about all of your member benefits, such as a 2-year subscription to InDesign Magazine for only $39! Member benefits can be found in the Member Area at www.indesignusergroup.com.

Have a meeting topic that you are dying to know about or would you like to do a presentation? Please send an e-mail to admin@idugdenver.net.

B. Presentation
1. Deconstructing Design
Presenter: Brian Reyman, IDUG Denver Co-Chair

Presentation Summary:
Brian took a completed project (a family cookbook) and deconstructed the design process for us from start to finish. This project included creating the text content, taking the photos, all the way through the final step of self-publishing the finished project.

Planning
Planning for a project and laying out a road map up front saves time later. Some of the considerations in this stage include determining the audience, the size and orientation of the pages, and general specifications. Brian took into consideration what the final piece would be used for: cooking while using the book.

Layout and Automation
One of the characteristics of this particular piece is that there was a lot of repetition and common elements. By using InDesign's built-in automation features, much of the repetitive tasks could be done automatically. Some of the features discussed included Master Pages, Automatic Page Numbering, and Styles.

Each section of the cookbook was a different color and different repeating elements. By using the above features, the style stayed consistent, while the individual chapters could change effortlessly. Also, by automating the process, changes (which there are bound to be lots of) can be handled quickly and consistently across the publication.

Lastly, some clever uses of cross-references alllowed Brian to have a dynamic listing of the book's contents (without using Tables of Contents) and still do some heavy stylization.

The Final Product
Brian used the online self-publishing company Lulu (lulu.com) to create his professional final product. The biggest advantage to self-publishing, especially for a family project like this, is that there are no minimum amounts. The books are all printed on-demand. The cost per book, therefore, never goes down, but the convenience in printing and distribution (and not having unused books piling up at home) far outweighs that issue.

C. Wrap-Up
Thanks to Brian for showing us his project, and giving us a "behind-the-scenes" tour of how it all came together.

Thank you

Brian Reyman for sharing his project with us

Charles Holt and Melissa Ollila, Pebmac, for the delicious food at the meeting

Dan Mulligan, Yellow Dog Printing, for the awesome banner

All of our members for making our little InDesign community great!

Job Opportunities

Check out the IDUG Denver website for listings of job opportunities, training, and other industry events to stay current!

Comments from attendees

"Very helpful to go through an actual project."

"Good to see a start to finish project and especially planning."

"Excellent presentation. Good pace. Appropriate amount of material."

"The presenter was great! Engergetic and helpful."

Next Meeting

The next meeting is set for Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Networking starts at 6 and the meeting starts at 6:30. This will be our Annual Holiday Party/Meeting. The first half will be our usual meeting, and the second half will be the party. We will do a silent auction again this year. Check out the auction page ahead of time for item descriptions. The Help Desk presentation goes from about 6:15-6:30; feel free to continue networking during this time.

Check out www.idugdenver.net for the latest meeting information. Hope to see you all there! Don't forget to bring a friend — you'll get auction bucks and you'll be helping to grow our membership.