News from Sunday, November 23, 2008 @ 9:33 AM, PSTIn this fifth post in our ongoing series on Creating DLa 23, we discuss the planning, layout and design of the 23rd edition of Dead Letter Art. In the past, layout consisted of cracking open a ready-made InDesign template, dropping in the processed images, and embellishing the design with a few text gradients, background fills, and decorative graphics. This time, however, the layout dimensions were completely different, there were nearly five times as many pages, and the entire issue was going to be printed in color.
Preliminary layout preparations included reading carefully the printing specifications and formatting guidelines given by Lulu.com, the online, on-demand book-printer that we had chosen for this issue. Configuring the master InDesign document for a professionally printed softcover-bound book requires considerably greater attention to detail. Involved in the layout calculations was everything from margins and gutters to crop marks and spine width. After several attempts at implementing the correct layout dimensions, the master template was finally ready for further design manipulation.
Designing the actual look and feel of the book was also challenging. In the past, we were liberated with the constraints placed upon us by working entirely in black and white (grayscale). With color now thrown into the mix, I found myself rather vexed by the infinite design possibilities. After several discussions with Thane and Ron, the aesthetic direction of this issue finally turned toward minimalism. With a much larger assortment of higher quality submissions than we had enjoyed with previous versions of DLa, we wanted to keep the emphasis on the content, focusing on the artwork, photography, and other creative works as much as possible. With such an excellent display of collective talent, we didn’t need to bury ourselves with extraneous design embellishments and other nonessential ingredients.
Moving forward with a minimalist design for the overall issue, there was still design work to be done within and between each featured section, article, and gallery. Given the diverse range of both subject matter and creative media, we found that the most logical way to organize and present the content was first by medium and then by artist. So, for example, the issue would feature several artwork and photography galleries, each subdivided into sections for each artist/photographer. And, as the majority of issue content consisted of digital photography, we decided to divide the photo galleries into three parts, appearing near the beginning, middle, and end of the book.
So, as this layout strategy began to emerge, the other sections of the book began falling into place. Individual media sections were united with a similar aesthetic theme, while more distinct, independent content regions (Jay Prior interview, ArtSpace, Artopsy, Tim Betz story, etc.) were tucked in between the primary media galleries. We then fleshed out this logical structure with the usual biscuits: the werdz page, table of contents, intro page, a couple of splash pages, Il Commentator, and so on. Finally, after several weeks of feverish design wrangling and layout wrestling, the visual and organizational framework of the entire book was complete and ready to be populated with all of that carefully prepared content. In other words, it was time for the real work to begin: assembling the content, formatting the text, and embellishing the details!
Next in the Creating DLa 23 series: “Part 6: Putting it All Together”
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[ Edited on: 03/16/09 ] | [ 0 ]
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News from Wednesday, October 01, 2008 @ 4:26 PM, PSTIn this fourth post in our ongoing series on Creating DLa 23, we examine the process of preparing our content for layout in Photoshop. This is the step where all of the images and graphics that will be used in the magazine are sized, cropped, color-corrected, and/or digitally enhanced. How the various graphical elements of the production were processed in Photoshop depends on several factors: original formatting and condition, intended implementation, and presentational and/or functional purpose within the finished project.
Once the images had been properly organized and archived, each contributor’s content was checked for accuracy (is it the correct image?) and functionality (does it open properly?). To do this, a folder of images would be opened into Photoshop and checked against the list of expected content for that particular contributor. Once all of the images were verified correct, several other properties were also checked. As these images were being prepared for publishing via printed media, ensuring the proper color settings was critical. For example, it is important that all color images are of the same general format, namely CMYK. Likewise, all black-&-white images need to be formatted in grayscale.
While verifying proper color format, we also spent some time adjusting various image properties for those that required it. For many images, several display parameters were manipulated in order to optimize the appearance of the content in printed form. These parameters include contrast, brightness, saturation, color balance and hue. Few images required extensive manipulation, but many did benefit from modest brightness and color corrections. For the most part, embedded color profiles were left alone, however ThaneC and I did spend several hours testing the printed output of various profiles such as SWOP, Adobe, sRGB, and so on. Although tedious, checking, correcting, and enhancing the visual properties of the DLa-23 image set required no more than 12 hours, and it definitely paid off in the finished product.
Other Photoshop processing included ensuring the proper dimensional attributes of the images. Referring to the general formatting and layout plans for the issue, we were able to determine a maximum image size (8.5"x8.5") and reduce overall archive size by eliminating extraneous image information. Further, as we already knew the precise placement of several of the images (e.g., Nimbus’ remarkable wrap-around cover, front and back splash pages, Yasuken’s pre-formatted content, etc.), more precise sizing and cropping could be done. With all of the images clean, trimmed, and resized, the DLa-23 working archive was looking much better. For the most part, DLa heads did a good job at preparing and formatting their own content, and this greatly facilitated the overall amount of time spent in Photoshop. If everyone were to have dumped off their stuff in “hardcopy” (*cough*) format, much more scanning, rotating, sizing, cropping, coloring, and enhancing would have been required.
Once all of the images were formatted, synchronized, and prepared in Photoshop, the Dead Letter Gun was fully loaded and it was time to aim our efforts at the next target: book layout and design..
Next in the Creating DLa 23 series: “Part 5: Laying it Out”
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[ Edited on: 10/01/08 ] | [ 0 ]
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News from Saturday, September 20, 2008 @ 2:00 PM, PSTUnderground Art Madness! This issue of Dead Letter Art features more incredible content than any of our previous efforts. We have eight members in our core collective showcasing myriad selections from their most recent werkz, plus a few precious relics resurrected once again for your viewing pleasures. Within this core collection of multimedia content, you will find everything from inspirational paintings and surreal illustrations to mixed-media collage and digital photography. Additionally, this issue of DLa features a plethora of special guest content, including hyper-realistic illustrations from Graham Smith, a multimedia creative artist from East Sussex, England. Guest content also includes the intriguing imagery of Chicago-Illinois photographer Seonaid Valiant; the impeccable oil paintings of Tokyo-Japan artist Chieko Hirose; the masterful craftsmanship of Spokane-Symphony’s Jay Prior; and the intense fiction writing of Moses-Lake’s Tim Betz.
Due to the extreme abundance of insanely fresh content, we are unable to provide our regular subscribers with their free issue of this zine - In its place we have made available and distributed a condensed version [DLA Mini23] with the choicest cuts and selected scraps. The Mini23 is available as promotional material, and in support of the full volume of work.
Ordering thru Lulu.com is possible;
Please, contact DLA to receive the included DVD produced by our own FCU!
Dead Letter Art OnLine Store @ lulu.com
*Paperback book $25.00
Printed: 128 pages, 8.5″ x 8.5″, perfect binding, full-color interior ink
88teeth
[ Edited on: 09/20/08 ] | [ 1 ]
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