DesignSchool Podcasts

Learn how to use the Refine Mask feature in Photoshop CS 5.5. Masking fine detail is no longer a chore. Make a quick selection with which ever tool you want. Then use the Refine Mask feature to make it just right.

Learn how to mask artwork which goes beyond the bleed line. When artwork goes beyond the bleed, you should hide the excess. You can either use Pathfinder to actually trim it, or you can create a clipping mask. Learn how to do this here.

Illustrator has really useful tools to manipulate grouped items. The group selection tool allows you to select objects within a group without ungrouping it.

Learn how I set up the Finder in a new Mac. Some of the default settings by Apple are highly questionable. I'll show you how I set up every new Mac I get my hands on.

Learn common Finder keyboard shortcuts to speed navigation. Moving the mouse around is really slow. The more keyboard shortcuts you know, the faster and more efficient you'll be.

Learn how to create a story ender graphic in InDesign. Often, magazine stories can jump to a another page. A story ending graphic can help show the reader that they have indeed reached the end of the article.

Learn how to properly indicate a story jump. When a story starts on one page, but continues on another in a magazine, you need to clearly lead the reader to that next page. InDesign provides functionality for this with the "Insert Next/Previous Page Number" command.

Learn how to control overset text in InDesign. Just how much do overset text do you have? Don't know? This will keep you on top of things.

Learn how to use Keep options to ensure titles stay with their text in InDesign. Part #2

Learn to use the Pencil Tool, the Smooth Tool and the Eraser Tool.

Learn how to create a proper drop capital in InDesign using nested Character Styles. To do this properly, the Character Style must be created first. Then it is put into action inside the Paragraph Style. It's not applied to the text directly.

Learn how to use Keep Options to ensure titles stay with their text in InDesign. When flowing text into a long document in InDesign, titles can often be separated from the text they introduce. They can end up at the bottom of the previous column, while the text continues in the next column. Learn how to avoid this with Keep Options.

InDesign's default settings for word spacing, letter spacing and glyph scaling are rather rigid. Learn how to adjust these to set better copy. Achieving good page colour, even with justified text is much better with these adjustments.

Learn to use the mostly ignored Magic Wand tool in Illustrator. Photoshop's Magic Wand tool is one of it's most popular. It has been around since the first days of the program. Illustrator's hasn't. It's still very useful. See how it works in this podcast.

Learn how to set up a multi-column text frame with a background colour in InDesign. By then end of this tutorial, you'll be able to create a multi-column text frame with a background colour and a spanning title.