Designing the Business Card


Now that the design elements are complete, you can lay out and design the stationery. Although it's possible to create business cards inside Illustrator (and, in some cases, it makes sense to do so), for this example, you will use InDesign. Start by launching InDesign CS2.

Did you Know?

I like to start designing the business card first because it's normally used most often and because the business card is small and thus forces you to think and design clearly. If you create other items first, you might find that your design won't work in such a small space.


Create a New Document

Create a new document, setting the width to 2 inches and the height to 3.5 inches. Set your margins to 0.125 inches all around and click on the More Options button to set a bleed of 0.125 inches all around as well (see Figure 12.20).

Figure 12.20. Setting up a new document in InDesign.


Did you Know?

Because business cards are so common, you can save a document preset with these specifications to use again later. Simply click on the Save Preset button and specify a name. The next time you want to create a business card, you'll be able to choose the preset from the Document Preset pop-up.


Place the Photoshop file from Version Cue (see Figure 12.21). You'll have it bleed off the card, so use the Selection tool to resize the picture frame (see Figure 12.22). Switching to the Direct Selection tool, resize the image so that it's cropped nicely as the background of the card (see Figure 12.23).

Figure 12.21. Placing the Photoshop image from Version Cue.


Figure 12.22. Resizing the image frame to bleed off the card.


Figure 12.23. Cropping the image perfectly into the frame.


Enter the additional text information on the card. I used 9-point Adobe Caslon Pro Regular on 14-point leading to type One Healing Drive, Atlanta, GA 30329, (404) 555-1212. Center the text and turn on optical kerning (see Figure 12.24). Feel free to also add your name and make yourself the CEO of the company, if you'd like.

Figure 12.24. Adding the informational text to the card.


Now you can place the Illustrator logo from the Version Cue project. So that you can see the artwork better, choose View, Display Performance, High Quality Display. Scale the logo 50% so that it fits nicely within the image (see Figure 12.25).

Figure 12.25. Scaling and positioning the logo over the photo.


Although the card looks nice and colorful, the image in the background is demanding too much attention. Adding a nice fade to the photo will result in a more subtle background. You can edit the image by selecting it and opening the Links palette. Click on the Edit Original icon to automatically open the image in Photoshop.

In Photoshop, you will use a gradient as a selection to create the fade. Double-click on the Background layer and then press OK to rename it Layer 0. If your Foreground and Background colors are not set to black and white already, press the D key to set them back to their default settings.

Press the Q key on your keyboard to enter Quick Mask mode. Then choose the Gradient tool, specify the Foreground to Background gradient, and position your cursor directly over the top of the trees. Press and hold the Shift key while you drag the mouse up toward the top of the image (see Figure 12.26). Let go of the mouse when you're near the edge of the image (see Figure 12.27).

Figure 12.26. Starting to create the gradient mask.


Figure 12.27. The finished gradient, still in Quick Mask mode.


Now press the Q key again to exit Quick Mask mode. The gradient you just created is now a selection. Choose Layer, Layer Mask, Hide Selection to execute the fade (see Figure 12.28).

Figure 12.28. Adding the Layer mask reveals the fade.


From the File menu, choose Save a Version to save this change as a new version of your file. This enables you to go back to the version without the fade, if you would need to do so later. It also automatically updates the file in your Version Cue project. Add a comment regarding the changes you've made to the file, and click the Save button (see Figure 12.29).

Figure 12.29. Saving a version of the Photoshop file and adding a comment.


Quit Photoshop and return to InDesign, where you'll see that the image is automatically updated in the layout. Although the fade looks good, the image still makes the text a bit difficult to read. Make the words stand out with a minor opacity adjustment to the background image. Select the image with the Selection tool, open the Transparency palette, and specify an Opacity value of 40%.

Finish the business card with a tag line. Create a new text frame and type the words Relax. Revive. Refresh. Then set it to 12-point Adobe Caslon Pro Italic. Position the tag line near the bottom of the card. Press the W key on your keyboard to view the final business card in Preview mode (see Figure 12.30). Save the file into your Version Cue project and remember to add a comment.

Figure 12.30. The final business card.




Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Creative Suite 2 All in One
Sams Teach Yourself Creative Suite 2 All in One
ISBN: 067232752X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 225
Authors: Mordy Golding

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net