Celebrate with us as Be Aware will make its last post as a teenager. And what do teenagers like to do … give advice, rebel, know what is happening and rant. All of which are in this Be Aware. Enjoy!

Kyle Heinemann: InDesign Tip

Object Styles is one of the new features in InDesign CS2 that excited me the most. You can get to them by going to Window > Object Styles. If you work on anything template-based, and haven’t updated your templates to use them yet, I would urge you to try applying them. In my line of work, I’ve found two main uses for Object Styles: drop shadows, and caption spacing. Kinda boring, but practical in that it saves you time.

1) DROP SHADOWS: Like it or not, I have to follow corporate standards and use a drop shadow on just about any image and screenshot, including a .25 pt black stroke. I have one Object Style I use for shadows over colored backgrounds, and one for white backgrounds.

2) CAPTIONS: You can set your caption text frames to all have the same inset spacing on the top (and left and right, depending on where you place your text frame). Then all you have to do is have the text frame touch the bottom of your image—assuming it has a bottom edge, and you’re all lined up! I also turn on the style options for Optical Margin Alignment, and choose a Paragraph Style. Mapping it to a Paragraph Style is a real time-saver when you realize all your captions are suddenly too big after you just squeezed in a bunch of new text.

If you haven’t had the time to explore Object Styles yourself, start experimenting with these default object styles I use.

How do you use Object Styles?

Clinton Carlson: Design Quotes

I’ve been reading the book Nation of Rebels : Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture, by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter. It is a very interesting read… I think especially for designers and artists. If you get the chance, pick it up and at least read the introduction. The authors investigate the countercultural tone that I’ve often found in designers, artists, art/design schools, design annuals, and myself. They initially illustrate their observations through two cases (1) the success/conflict of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and (2) Adbusters “black spot shoes” which were designed to “uncool Nike”. Here’s one of their thoughts from the introduction:

“Adbusters never had a revolutionary doctrine. What they had was simply a warmed-over version of the countercultural thinking that has dominated leftist politics since the ’60s. And this type of countercultural politics, far from being a revolutionary doctrine, has been one of the primary forces driving consumer capitalism for the past forty years.”
“In other words, what we see on display in Adbusters magazine is, and always has been, the true spirit of capitalism.”

Paul Berkbigler: Design Education

For any BA readers that might find themselves in Rhode Island or in close proximity to it in the coming weeks, here’s a design education event that might pique your interest:

Graphic Design Debate, Rhode Island School of Design, Thursday, April 27th at 6:30PM

See Team Douglass Scott vs. Team Fish Bohn in the first RISD Graphic Design Debate! The main event: Doug Scott contends that the computer has created a miasma of mediocrity in design. Fish Bohn responds with the notion that the newly leveled playing field has given rise to a new era of creativity and possibility. What do you think? … A winner will be chosen.”

Scott & Bohn are raising the question that’s certainly been in my mind as I’ve considered my teaching this past year: how do we train designers vs. computer technicians, and yet how do we ensure that students are versatile and facile with a wide range of tools to help them realize their ideas?

We’d love to hear back from those who are able to attend this (or even Doug Scott / Fish Bohn for that matter) to find out the verdict.

Thanks to Mitch Goldstein for passing this on to us in the first place.

Daniel Schutzsmith: Design Business

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 101 : SCHEDULING
At the beginning of any project, outline a proper milestone schedule that documents the presentation and delivery dates. To make it easier for you and your client to stick to these dates, implement a project management system that allows both parties to see the progress on the project.

There are numerous project management systems available, from paper and folder solutions to web enhanced time tracking applications, so find the one that fits you and your staff best. Here is a sampling of some of the best that I have fiddled with:
Basecamp - online project collaboration tool for use by multiple groups and users.
Side Job Track - track and manage project-related information for small, single person jobs online.
Studiometry - complete solution for companies to organize, plan, invoice, track and create with Client and Project data. Runs on Windows and Mac.
Kiwi Manager - an online suite of online applications designed specifically for creative professionals.

Bennett Holzworth: Letterpress

Consider this a late night rant, from a tired designer.

Why do I print letterpress? Is it to learn more typography? To get my hands dirty when I spend all day on a computer? Is it just the hip thing to do? Do I think I am going to win awards just because it has a slight deboss or that it is printed from damaged wood type? Maybe I just have a need to do something different? Is it worth collecting trays of type and thousand pound presses to be able to print a cool poster or business card here and there? It must be, because now I am on the hunt for the ever elusive Vandercook proofing press. Someone feed my addiction.