Planning Your Publications with a Storyboard

Hi designers! I'm super excited to share a behind the scenes look at my current workflow for planning publications. You'll see the tools I use - including my custom storyboard - in client meetings to quickly plan out the content needs for a magazine and how I use this plan to quickly start the design process.

This method has been life-changing for:

Client meetings where we are just starting the publication planning process
Quick mockups of layout options
Highlighting what content I have available and what I still need
Working out different content flow options
Client sign-off and approvals

There are links and other helpful goodies below!

►Storyboard Template
►GoodNotes App *

STORYBOARDS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:
↠ Plan your client photo books before designing them
↠ Create a high or low fidelity mockup of your portfolios

STORYBOARDS FOR DESIGNERS:
↠ Plan all content aspects of your publications such as magazines, programs, bulletins and more
↠Create a high or low fidelity mockup of your portfolios

STORYBOARDS GENERAL USES:
↠ Print a blank version of the template pages and hand write your content plan
↠ Use the divider lines to plan available ads sizes, images, text content and more
↠ Drop in photos for a high fidelity mockup
↠ Use colored rectangles to mark ads, images and placeholders

*IOS only. Try Microsoft's OneNote for other tablets. It lets you insert a PDF and write on it in a similar fashion as GoodNotes.

How to Design a Book Cover Jacket in InDesign

Go behind the scenes of how I designed a book cover jacket for my photo book released last November! You'll learn how to use a common book jacket template to start your design process. I also share some custom tips to make the design process super fast and easy.

Extras

Download source files ► http://bit.ly/book-jacket-source-files
Order your copy of the book ► http://bit.ly/luminance-book
Previous Book Jacket design tutorial► https://youtu.be/8VZzcl69jEg

Learn How to Quickly Import Character Styles From any InDesign Document

Did you know you can import character styles from any InDesign document? As long as the document is using character styles, you can import them into any current or new InDesign document. This is a great way to save time recreating styles, allows you to maintain consistency across documents and gets you up and running much faster with the styles you love to use again and again!

You’ll Learn:

How to quickly import character styles from any InDesign document
Use cases for this technique
How to format character styles for a menu

Let's Create an Event Program Booklet

In this in-depth tutorial, you will learn how to set up a standard event program, add photos, style text and export your final design for either printing professionally or in-house!

This lesson is perfect for beginners and anyone tasked with designing church bulletins, recital programs or any special event program. This tutorial is full of awesome tips to get you started with InDesign.

You’ll Learn:

How to import photos and text
Style your text and save those styles for easy access with Character Styles
How to work with and style tabs
Use gradient fades on an image
How to export your final document for printing in-house or via a professional printer

Duplicate Elements Quickly in InDesign w/ Step & Repeat

Ever find yourself needing to duplicate a text box or object across your InDesign document? I needed to do this with a set of custom-sized labels and the Step & Repeat function made this process so much easier! Dive into this quick tip tutorial to see it in action.

You’ll Learn:

How to duplicate text boxes using the Step & Repeat function in InDesign
Duplicate different items in one document
Apply custom settings for complete control of your duplicated items
Perfect for labels!

How to Design a Calendar in InDesign

It's that time again when we prep to say goodbye to one year and welcome the next. Why not enter the new year in style with a custom calendar! In this lesson, discover how to design a calendar in InDesign.

You'll Learn:

How to format your calendar in InDesign
Insert an image
Work with tables
Save your calendar for professional or printing in-house

Let's Create a 3 Page Magazine Spread in InDesign

Hello designer! This in-depth tutorial is minimally edited so you can follow along with my entire workflow for a 3 page magazine spread with a full page ad. This includes goofs we are bound to hit along the way because not everything works the way you expect when you are designing!

Enjoy bonus nuggets of info as I make decisions on color, layout and complimentary design elements.

YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO DESIGN A MAGAZINE SPREAD AND:

How to setup a 3 page magazine spread with an additional full page ad
How to make decisions based on the images available
How to flow text from one page to another
How to size an image across spreads
How to pick up color inspiration from your images
How to setup a simple magazine footer on a master page
How to format a two-column text box
How to style a block-quote
How to design a full page ad on the fly
How to creatively crop and place images
How to create a gradient fade on light images to place text on top

Looking for more magazine layout tips? Dive into these in-depth tutorials.

— Magazine Feature Article Layout in InDesign
— Understanding Magazine Signature & Page Count
— Magazine Article Text Tips

Understanding Page Count & Signatures in Magazines

You start designing your magazine or publication, add pages as needed only to get to the Print to Booklet time and realize you don't have enough pages. What gives right?

This tutorial will drastically change the way you start your publication designs and help you keep your page count in check from the very beginning.

Here's what you'll learn:

Make sure you always have the correct page count for your booklet with my number one pro tip.
Find out what printer signatures are, how they affect your magazine page count and why we use them as designers.

Looking for more booklet and magazine tips? Dive into these in-depth tutorials.

— Booklets in InDesign
— Adobe Distiller & Print to Booklet Tips

Tour My InDesign & Photoshop Workspaces

Here's your chance to see how I set up my InDesign & Photoshop workspaces. My method is geared toward the multi-tasking designer, photographer and web designer across a variety of screen sizes and setups.

I have dual monitor setups in my office, a widescreen in my home office and a laptop for on the go. I am also working in a variety of projects from editing photos to mocking up web designs and working on publications. My workspaces accommodate this sporadic work style, offering a complete and efficient workflow.

Watch the video to recreate my InDesign & Photoshop workspaces and continue below for a brief overview of how to create your own workspaces.

Workspace Basics

Working with Panels

To dock a panel, drag it by its tab into the dock, at the top, bottom, or in between other panels.
To dock a panel group, drag it by its title bar (the solid empty bar above the tabs) into the dock.
To remove a panel or panel group, drag it out of the dock by its tab or title bar. You can drag it into another dock or make it free-floating.

Moving Panels

As you move panels, you see blue highlighted drop zones. These indicate areas where you can move the panel. For example, dragging panels to dock left of the tool bar will highlight in a vertical blue line on the far left. Docking panels below other panels will highlight with a horizontal line between the panels. If you drag to an area that is not a drop zone, the panel floats freely in the workspace.
Note: The position of the mouse (rather than the position of the panel) activates the drop zone, so if you can’t see the drop zone, try dragging the mouse to the place where the drop zone should be.
To move a panel, drag it by its tab.
To move a panel group, drag the title bar.
If you don't see a panel, you can open it from the Window drop down menu.

Learn more about workspaces from Adobe.

Let me know your preferred workspace setup in the comments!

10 InDesign Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed up Your Workflow

Let's up that productivity in InDesign with these 10 lesser known keyboard shortcuts for MAC & PC. These shortcuts are in my rotation constantly and really impact how quickly I perform some common tasks in my print projects. Check out the complete list below and watch the video to see the shortcuts in action.

1. Duplicate & Constrain Position with ALT+SHIFT

This is my favorite shortcut and takes the typical duplicate shortcut ALT and puts it on steroids! By adding SHIFT to ALT, you can constrain the position of your item while duplicating it at the same time.

2. Switch Between Normal and Preview Mode with "W"

You see me pull out this shortcut a lot if you have seen any free tutorial here at Design Procademy. This easy shortcut lets you quickly swap between normal and preview mode. Preview mode is like looking at the final result if it were printed. This mode removes all guides and lines blocking a clear view of your design. As you get better and more comfortable with InDesign, you may find yourself designing in this mode more and more!

3. Fit Your Design in View with CMD/CTRL + 0

This quick trick helps center and show you the entire page without having to zoom out or use any other key. Quickly see your progress with this shortcut.

4. Zoom in & Out with CMD/CTRL + or -

This shortcut feeds off number 3. Take control of your zooming needs with your plus and minus keys and CMD/CTRL instead of using the zoom tool from the tool bar.

5. Add Tracking to your Text with ALT + Right and Left Arrows

This is such a time saver when working with text. If you want some extra space in between your text, don't hunt around the Character pallet. Simply SELECT YOUR TEXT then hold down ALT and tap your RIGHT ARROW to increase space or your LEFT ARROW to decrease space.

6. Transform an Item in Place with ALT/CMD/SHIFT on a MAC or ALT/CTRL/SHIFT on PC

This is a shortcut you may need to see in action. These 3 key combos quickly transform an item larger or smaller while keeping it in the same place. This shortcut essentially transforms the size of your object from the center instead of the corners keeping it where you put it.

7. Remove Color with /

If you ever have the need to quickly remove the color from an item, the BACKSLASH / tool is your friend!

8. Toggle Between Fill/Stroke with X

If you aren't sure whether your fill or stroke is activated, just hit X. This handy shortcut will keep your items stroked and filled with ease! No more accidental fill or stroke.

9. Swap Fill/Stroke with SHIFT X

Take the shortcut in number 8 to the next level by adding SHIFT. With an item selected, this will quickly swap between fill and stroke right on the item.

10. Find and Change Text with CMD/CTRL + F

This shortcut saves a ton of time if you have a multi-page document such as magazine or book. Say you need to swap 2016 for 2017 across several catalog pages. Use the CMD/CTRL + F to use the Find/Change feature. Not only can you quickly find a piece of text in a multi-page document, you can also change it to whatever you want no matter how many instances you have in your document. You can also change only one page or several across your document. Be sure to watch the video to see this one in action!

Now it's your turn! Let me know some of your favorite InDesign shortcuts in the comments!