Talk given at HELP University College for their School Magazine Workshop (7 Mar 2009) by Pik Quinn, GTI Specialist Publishers

1.  Make your school magazine look professional!

2. Hello! My name is Pik Quinn.

5. The importance of good layouts          

6. Good layouts make people want to read what you have to say The importance of good layouts          

7. Good layouts engage readers The importance of good layouts          

8. Good layouts are comfortable to read The importance of good layouts          

9. Good layouts add value and perspective to your story The importance of good layouts          

10. Wares (soft & free!)          

11. For layouts: • QuarkXpress • Adobe Indesign • Scribus (this is free!) Wares (soft & free!)          

12. For photo & image editing & effects: • Adobe Photoshop • GIMP (this is free!) Wares (soft & free!)          

13. For illustrations & vector art: • Adobe Illustrator • Free version? Pen, paper & scanner :-) Wares (soft & free!)          

14. First things first          

15. Grids First things first           Type

16. Example a of 3-column grid First things first – grids          

17. First things first – grids           1 2 3 a (double-page) spread columns

18. First things first – grids           a (double-page) spread margins

19. First things first – grids           a (double-page) spread gutter

20. margins First things first – grids          

21. gutter width First things first – grids           how many columns

22. Serif or san-serif ? First things first – type          

23. Times New Roman is a serif font. Arial is a sans-serif font First things first – type          

24. For large bodies of small (reading) text, serif fonts are usually used because details (serifs) of the type make it easier to read and recognise. First things first – type           serifs

25. However, there aren’t any rules against using sans-serif fonts for the same purpose. First things first – type          

26. The right type, the right mood. First things first – type          

27. However, keep the number of types used in a single magazine to a maximum of 3. First things first – type          

28. Example of type selection First things first – type           Header/ titles Body text Abstract/ standfirst

29. Too many fonts make layout unprofessional & messy: First things first – type          

30. • Try several layouts • Get feedback • Finalise template – set style sheets First things first          

31. Tips to improve design          

32. Pull quotes to break the monotony of text Tips to improve design           Mark sections clearly Don’t forget page numbers!

33. Box up facts, figures, interesting things Tips to improve design           Consider the spread Consider the spread Drop caps to indicate start of write up

34. More tips: • Add variety to templates Tips to improve design          

35. More tips: • White space is good, less is more Tips to improve design          

36. More tips: • Crop photos Tips to improve design          

37. More tips: Crop photos Tips to improve design          

39. More tips: Crop photos Tips to improve design          

41. More tips: Crop photos Tips to improve design          

43. More tips: • Black & white are colours too! Tips to improve design          

44. More tips: • Sensitivity to typography makes a difference! Tips to improve design          

45. The cover !          

46. Decide on: • What must be on the cover? School logo, yearbook name, year, tagline/theme? The cover !          

47. Decide on: • A theme for the year? What is the spirit you want to achieve? The cover !          

48. Consider: • A photo or Illustration? Artwork a students or collective of students. A competition to decide? The cover !          

49. Consider: • A few variations Give yourself many options and eliminate The cover !          

50. What goes where ?          

51. Develop a page plan What goes where ?          

52. Develop a page plan What goes where ?          

53.  Technical & cost-saving tip! What goes where ?           Magazines are made up of sections called ‘ signatures ’ Each signature typically consists of 16 pages

54. What goes where ?           Pages 1 – 16 Pages 17 – 32 Pages 33 – 48 Pages 49 – 64 Pages 64 – 80 …etc  Technical & cost-saving tip!

55. Other technical stuff!          

56. The printing process in a nutshell… Going to press!          

57.  Trimmed to size Other technical stuff! – The printing process            Exported as PDF  Native layout file Eg Scribus  Color proofs produced  Color proofs checked  Bound (binding process)  Printed  Sent to print PDF

58. Check: • Bleed • Crop marks • Safe type area • High resolution pics Other technical stuff!          

59. Page layout with no bleed and no crop marks Other technical stuff!           

60. In-accurate trimming may cause white space (and sad face)  Other technical stuff!          

61. Text outside the text-safe area (very close to edge of paper) Other technical stuff!           

62. Important info could get chopped off due to inaccurate trimming. Other technical stuff!          

63. Page layout with bleed and with crop marks Other technical stuff!           

64. High resolution= 300 d.p.i. (dots per inch) Other technical stuff!          

65. The Jonas Brothers, in low resolution. Other technical stuff!          

66. The Jonas Brothers, in high resolution. Other technical stuff!          

67. The timeline          

68. Design | 10 days (80-page mag)* Checking & changes | 2-4 weeks * Colour proofs | 3 days Checking & changes | 5 days * Printing | 7-10 days *Depending on how fast you work The timeline          

69. Web 2.0          

70. What could you do with… Web 2.0          

71. What could you do with: • Your school’s site ? Web 2.0          

72. What could you do with: • A blog ? Web 2.0          

73. What could you do with: • Facebook groups ? Web 2.0          

74. What could you do with: • Flikr? Web 2.0          

75. Link s          

76. • www. scribus .net • www. gimp .org • www. dafont .com • docs.google .com • www. ehow .com/how_2252958_ make-good-school-yearbook.html Link s          

77. These slides will be available on: doctorjob.com.my/ events/help-talk Thank you, and questions please!  Link s          