Student Outreach

Shortcuts to Success: Get A Perfect Fit for Graphics

2013-06-20T04:00:00Z

Sure, there are huge lists of InDesign keyboard shortcuts out there, but are you going to sit down and memorize them all? We're here to help you learn some handy new ones, one by one, making it easier to add them to your mental list. Each week, we'll highlight a different shortcut to help you work faster, better and smarter.

SPD-U SHORTCUTS OF THE WEEK

Fit Frame to Content

command + option + C

Fit Content Proportionally

command + option + shift + E

Fill Frame Proportionally

command + option + shift + C

Every graphic in InDesign has two parts: the content and the frame, and you'll often have to resize one or both when designing a layout. These shortcut triplets let you decide what you want to fit and how, and does it in seconds. Learn more after the jump.

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To fit a selected frame around the content inside it, type command + option + C.

To fit all of the content inside a selected frame without cropping, type command + option + shift + E. There may be some extra frame around the content. Use the first command to fix that.

To fill the entire frame while cropping into the content, type command + option + shift + C. This will center the content inside the frame and cut off the width or height, whichever is larger. Again, you can use the first command to fix that.

HOT TIP: You can work even faster if you select more than one graphic at a time and use these commands on them.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

Shortcuts to Success: One Step Scaling

2013-06-13T04:00:00Z

SPD-U SHORTCUT OF THE WEEK

Proportionately Scale both Container and Content

command + shift + drag bounding box handle

Every graphic placed in InDesign has two parts: a graphic frame, which is the container, and the placed image file, which is the content. Making them bigger and smaller is a big part of doing a layout, but working with each part individually takes more time than it needs to. To proportionately scale the content and container together, while holding down the command and shift keys, click hold and drag a handle of the bounding box with the Selection Tool (black arrow).

HOT TIP: This works with text and text frames, too.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

Shortcuts to Success: Flipping for Ruler Guides

2013-06-06T04:00:00Z

SPD-U SHORTCUT OF THE WEEK

Change Orientation of a New Ruler Guide

option + drag guide

You probably know that you can make a new guide by clicking holding and dragging on one of the rulers, but did you know that as you do it, you can quickly convert a horizontal guide to a vertical one, and vice versa? To switch the orientation of a new ruler guide as you create it, hold down the option key while dragging it out.

HOT TIP: Check out our shortcut from January 2013 to see how to quickly show and hide your rulers.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

Call for Submissions: Student Publications

2013-06-05T17:01:19Z

Our SPD-U Spotlight is now officially closed to entries, but if you have work from your campus magazine, newspaper, yearbook or other official student publication, we'd love to consider featuring it in our "New Work: Student Publications" blog series (like we did with last year's Inside magazine from Indiana University and SMH Magazine from NYC College of Technology).

Much like the "New Work" series over on the main SPD homepage which features the most recent work from professionals, this student version of the series highlights what your campus publications have been up to.

If you think your publication is worthy of recognition, then send us samples and tell us the backstory (check out our previous entries for examples on what to write). Magazines, yearbooks, newspapers, zines, literary journals, newsletters ... if it's an official student publication, we want to see it and hear about it! There's no deadline as this is an ongoing series, but the work does need to have been published within the past few months.

Please reduce your layout images to no larger than 1200 pixels wide, and don't forget to include all relevant credits and a little background about the publication. Send submissions or questions to spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com.

(Even if you entered the work in our SPD-U Spotlight, you can still submit it to this blog series.)

(Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that your publication will be featured.)

SPD-U Spotlight: Deadline Extended till Wednesday!

2013-06-03T14:55:00Z

As you know with our Student Design Competition, we NEVER extend our deadline. But between all the graduations and internship-finding and summer plans, it sure seems like summer's flying by without enough time to do anything! So we're giving you a bit MORE TIME to enter our SPD-U Spotlight ...

The Extended Deadline is now WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 AT NOON (EST).

So if you're having trouble tracking down your professor or getting your files together, you get a little more time. Download the Call for Entries here and see all the frequently-asked-questions here.

Questions? Email us at SPDUspotlight@gmail.com.

SPD-U Spotlight Q&A: What qualifies as "editorial design"?

2013-05-31T13:56:00Z

I want to enter an annual report I designed in your SPD-U Spotlight ... would that be considered "editorial design" or is it only for magazine design?

Yes, annual reports are definitely editorial design and therefore are totally eligible for our Spotlight show. So are newspapers, newsletters, book projects, zines, catalogs, brochures, and of course magazines as well ... anything that has editorial content is totally eligible and we want to see it!

Remember, the deadline is THIS MONDAY, by 5pm EST. You can enter up to 3 pieces that you created as a student anytime since January 2012, and it's totally FREE to enter. So send us your work now!!

See other Frequently Asked Questions here or email us at SPDUspotlight@gmail.com if you have other questions. And then download the Call for Entries here.

Good luck!!

Shortcuts to Success: Dollars and Cents

2013-05-30T04:00:00Z

SPD-U SHORTCUT OF THE WEEK

The Cents Sign

option + 4

Many of us write prices that include cents as $0.25 for the simple reason that we don't know how to access the cents sign. In fact, each font has a version of it that was created specifically by the type designer. Type option + 4 to insert the cents sign.

HOT TIP: This is a Mac OS shortcut, so it will work in any application.

DID YOU KNOW? The c in the sign stands for cents, and the line through it is to distinguish the currency symbol from the letter c in the regular alphabet.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

SPD-U Spotlight Q&A: What If I've Graduated?

2013-05-29T00:31:00Z

I'd love to enter the SPD-U Spotlight gallery show, but I just graduated ... can I still enter even if I'm no longer a student?

YES!!! As long as you produced the work while you were a student, you can enter regardless of your current status. And we're accepting any work done from January 2012 through now. So even if you graduated last year, you can still enter work that you did during your final days as a student.

You do have to get an instructor to sign off on your submissions, so be sure to gather your stuff together with enough time to get that approval.

Can't wait to see your work! Get all the submission details here and remember the deadline is THIS MONDAY, June 3rd!

Announcing our SPD-U Spotlight Judges!

2013-05-23T16:00:00Z

The June 3 deadline for our SPD-U Spotlight Online Gallery Show is coming fast, and our super-fabulous panel of judges are ready and waiting to see all your amazing work.

Remember, there are NO RULES for this one ... no fees either, it's TOTALLY FREE to enter! All you do is send us 3 of your best pieces of editorial design (any type of editorial design: magazines, newspapers, newsletters, books, journals, zines, brochures, etc) ... you can enter anything you've designed since January 2012. Then our judges pick the best of the bunch and we showcase 'em here and everywhere we can, getting you and your work tons of exposure.

And now let's meet the amazing judges who will be looking at all your great work...

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CHELSEA CARDINAL

Art Director, GQ

Chelsea is a Canadian graphic designer and illustrator. She has been proud to call herself a member of the art department at GQ Magazine since the spring of 2007 where she currently holds the Art Director title (editors' note: and they just were named SPD Magazine of the Year!). Her work has been recognized by SPD, The Type Director's Club, Communication Arts magazine and Graphis.

SUSANNAH HAESCHE

Art Director, Women's Health

Three years at the award-winning Plutomedia (now Modus Operandi Design) set Susannah's publication design career in motion, as she helped to redesign magazines such as Cooking Light, Kiplinger's, Brides Honeymoons and Weddings Away, Nylon, Boston Home, Boston Weddings and New England Travel. Within that time she also helped to launch several publications such as 02138, Tango and Success. After art directing at Boston magazine where she assisted in their award-winning redesign of 2009, Susannah moved to New York to design at O, The Oprah Magazine. She finally landed a gig at Women's Health where she is now the art director. Susannah is a graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and currently lives in Brooklyn.

JASON LANCASTER

Senior Design Director, ESPN the magazine

Jason's love affair with type and design led him to RIT and Rutgers University. He has occasionally taught typography and design at the School of Visual Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology. As an art director and designer, he has worked for Discover, Time Inc Custom Publishing [including custom titles such as Citigroup Pb, Sony Style, Target, Cingular, Avon and McDonalds], Time, People, American Homestyle and Gardening, and Family Circle.

MIKE LEY

Deputy Art Director, Bon Appétit

Mike Ley is the Deputy Art Director at Bon Appétit in New York. Before joining Bon Appétit, he worked at Sports Illustrated, Field & Stream,and Popular Mechanics. In addition to publishing artist editions under his studio, mlproject, Mike has worked with clients including Transworld Snowboarding, Arkitip, The Onion, Room 100, and Tracko. Mike currently resides in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

MARSHALL McKINNEY

Art Director, Garden & Gun

Marshall is the Art Director of Garden & Gun magazine, which received the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2011. Before coming to G&G, he launched Outside's Go, for which he won the Art Director of the Year Award for New Launches from Media Industry Newsletter (MIN). Marshall began his career at Outside magazine in 2001, after receiving his master's in journalism from the University of Mississippi. Through the years, Marshall has received a variety of design and photography awards and recently co-chaired the Society of Publication Design Awards Pub 48 in NYC. Born in Jackson, Miss., and raised in Memphis, Tenn., Marshall has lived, worked, and played all over the U.S. and now resides in Charleston, S.C., where he can often be spotted surfing small waves on Folly Beach.

JENN McMANUS

Deputy Design Director, Martha Stewart Living

After graduating from Boston University with a degree in magazine journalism, Jenn began her career at Health magazine in Birmingham, AL, where she learned to love sweet tea as much as a beautiful type treatment. She moved to NYC in 2006 and has since worked at More, Glamour, Women's Health, and Brides. In December 2012, Jenn joined Martha Stewart Living to work on the magazine's upcoming redesign. She is also responsible for managing the art department on a day-to-day basis, as well as designing features and beauty pages. When she's not at work, Jenn spends much of her free time running in Prospect Park, re-arranging her Brooklyn apartment, and trying to convince her husband to get a dog.

THANKS TO ALL OUR AMAZING JUDGES!!

Now it's all up to you: how else will you be able to get your work in front of so many incredible art directors? And if your work is chosen, it'll be in front of so many more!!

ENTER NOW!

Shortcuts to Success: Learn to Kern and Track

2013-05-23T04:00:00Z

SPD-U SHORTCUT OF THE WEEK

Adjust Kerning or Tracking

option left or right arrow

The keys you need are the left and right arrows, not the greater than or less than arrows, which are above the comma and period.

Kerning is adjusting the space between a pair of typographic characters, and doing it right is a sure sign that you're a pro. Tracking is the same, but that term applies to the process when more than one pair is involved.

KERNING: To tighten the space between two characters, click between them with the Type Tool to insert your cursor, hold down option and type the left arrow. To open the space, hold down option and type the right arrow.

TRACKING: To tighten the spaces between more than two characters, click hold and drag to select and highlight them with the Type Tool, hold down option and type the left arrow. To open the spaces, hold down option and type the right arrow.

Learn more, and watch a 1 minute video about kerning after the jump.

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Add the command key to kern or track in larger increments.

Change InDesign's Units & Increments preferences to 5/1000 em for more control. The default is 20/1000 em. Change the preferences with no documents open, and they'll be set for any new document you create. This works for any preference!

Use our shortcuts to get to your type tool and preferences, fast.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

Shortcuts to Success: Zip through Panels

2013-05-16T19:00:00Z

SPD-U SHORTCUT OF THE WEEK

Move to Next Field in a Panel

tab

Move to Previous Field in a Panel

shift + tab

This week's shortcut is a twofer. Let's say you're entering info in a field of a panel, and you want to move to the next field. Type the Tab key to jump to the next field of the panel you're working in. Need to go back? No problem. Hold down Shift and type Tab to jump to the previous field of the panel. Remember, though, that Tab is also a text character, so make sure you've moved your cursor out of live text, and into the panel you want to work with, or you'll end up with a typo.

HOT TIP: This works across Adobe applications, and beyond. Use it in Microsoft Office, in a web browser, and pretty much anywhere.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

Congrats to Our 2013 Student Design Competition Runners-Up!

2013-05-13T09:00:00Z

We're continuing our announcement of 2013 Student Design Competition with this year's Runners-Up. We had an awesome group of finalists, making those top placement positions an extra-hard decision. Congrats to these talented students for their great work ... check it out after the jump.

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2013 Student Design Competition Runners-Up

Check out the top winners in the links below. And if you think YOUR entry shoulda won, or if you have other editorial projects you've done this past year that you think deserve some recognition, enter them in our SPD-U Spotlight ... your work could be included in this online juried gallery show! Get all the details here.

See the other winners of our 2013 competition here:

FIRST-PLACE: Jenny Savage, Portfolio Center

SECOND-PLACE: Ben Grandgenett, School of Visual Arts

THIRD-PLACE: Darby Minter, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

FOURTH-PLACE: Zipeng Zhu, School of Visual Arts

FIFTH-PLACE: Veronica Cordero, Auckland School of Design - Massey University

SIXTH-PLACE: James E. Mocko, Drexel University

SPD-U Spotlight Q&A: Is It Free?

2013-05-10T09:00:00Z

I am interested in entering the SPD-U Spotlight gallery show and am curious if there is an entry fee. I don't see anything mentioning one on the Call for Entries. --Colton Schools, Susquehanna University

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Thanks for the great question, Colton. There's no fee! It's completely FREE to enter, and you can submit up to 3 entries.

Do you have a question about entering our SPD-U Spotlight Online Gallery Show? Email us at spduspotlight@gmail.com.

Shortcuts to Success: Number Pages Automatically

2013-05-09T04:00:00Z

SPD-U SHORTCUT OF THE WEEK

Current Page Number

command + option + shift + N

Manually adding page numbers to a document in sequence, a process know as paginating, can be tedious, especially when the order of the pages changes. Save yourself lots of time and effort and let InDesign do the work for you. Click in a text frame with the Type Tool, and type command + option + shift + N to insert the Current Page Number Marker.

HOT TIP: Do this on the file's Master Page(s), and any existing or new Document Page based on those Master(s) will automatically paginate, even if moved to a different position.

PS: If you haven't done it yet, download a free poster with our first 25 Shortcuts to Success!

Got a favorite keyboard shortcut you'd like to share with everyone? Email it to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com and we'll include it in our series, along with your own commentary if you'd like.

This week's shortcut brought to you by Joseph Caserto.

Congrats to Our 2013 Student Design Competition 6th Place Winner!

2013-05-07T09:00:00Z

We're continuing our announcement of our 2013 Student Design Competition winners today with our Third Honorable Mention, James E. Mocko. Read on to see the rest of his 6th-place winning entry and for links to our other winners... ]]>

(click on image for larger view)

THIRD HONORABLE MENTION // SIXTH PLACE

James E. Mocko

SCHOOL: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

LEVEL: Junior

INSTRUCTOR: Kathy Anderson

CATEGORY: City/Regional

Congrats to James, Veronica and Zipeng on their Honorable Mention wins! Look for the runner-up entries to follow.

And if you think YOUR entry shoulda won, or if you have other editorial projects you've done this past year that you think deserve some recognition, enter them in our SPD-U Spotlight ... your work could be included in this online juried gallery show! Get all the details here.

See the other winners of our 2013 competition here:

FIRST-PLACE: Jenny Savage, Portfolio Center

SECOND-PLACE: Ben Grandgenett, School of Visual Arts

THIRD-PLACE: Darby Minter, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

FOURTH-PLACE: Zipeng Zhu, School of Visual Arts

FIFTH-PLACE: Veronica Cordero, Auckland School of Design - Massey University