Newspaper Ad

The purpose of this project is to increase revenue for Kasey's Kreamery  by placing a newspaper ad in the Pittsburg State University Collegio.  Because I am offering a 50% off coupon for the PSU students when they present this coupon and their student ID, my target audience is PSU college students.  My call to action is the idea that I want them to bring in the coupon to the address listed at the bottom of the ad to receive 50% off of their order.  The specifications of the project are a $97 budget limit which we were required to use to find an ad that would run in the Collegio.  The ad had to be completely black and white and needs to attract someone to your business. 

Master Image List Descriptions

Bitmaps are also known as line art images.  When you use a bitmap image, you are only using black and white pixels.  Bitmaps are scans but can still be found in high resolution files.  When you are working with vector art, you are using illustrator images that have been exported as EPS files.  Illustrator also offers Raster formats which include grayscale rasters.  Grayscale rasters are the easiest to work with because they only contain values of up to 255.  They can be saved as illustrator file or they can be manipulated in photoshop and then can be implemented into inDesign files.  Duotone rasters can be made in photoshop files.  They can be saved in multiple formats which makes opening the files in other programs easier.  The duotones can be made of two, three or four different colors but the two color duotone is the cheapest to print.  A silhouette raster should be used when a cheaper print is necessary because it is the outline or just the black and white silhouette of the object you want to appear in your design.  A full bleed raster means the images in the project should stretch the complete length of the available space.  The average bleed of a design should be 0.125 of an inch.  Four color rasters are CMYK images.  They are made up of cyan, magenta, yellow and key and each layer of the color is printed over the first so that the colors can add up to the desired look of an image.  Screen tint is used when shading and tinting are used in the process of line reproduction.  Generally speaking, the majority of theses files are printed in CMYK form because the printing process is much cheaper.  When the cost is a big influence on how the project is produced, CMYK is usually the color mode that is used.  A reverse file is used when the opposite colors are used in the production process.  The reversed image shows where opposite colors and usually makes the image more interesting.

Source: 
McCue, C.  Printing Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. 2009. Berkeley, Ca.

Chapter 11& 12

When you place and image in InD, you can choose and image by using command + d on the keyboard or selecting place from the options menu.  When you place an image, you are putting it in your InD file at its original size, but using the tools in InD, you can scale the image to the size that works in your design.  When you drag and drop an image or file into an InD, you can pull a file from the desktop, internet or even a USB or other outside device.  By dragging and dropping a file, it is placed directly into InD and is just a quicker way to place a file.  When there is a missing or modified link in a file, a picture, font or other some other part of the file is missing.  You can avoid this situation by packaging a file so that all the parts of the design are included.  When you transform an image in InD, you are scaling the size of an image.  This is not always a good thing because when you scale an image, you risk loosing or distorting pixels in the image.  When you use a drop shadow in a design, you are adding a shadow being an image, font or other part of your layout.  Drop shadows add emphasis on something in the design and help the viewers attention switch to whatever element has the drop shadow.  You should always produce your own swatches in your designs so that you know you are getting the exact color you want.  Swatches are in the directory panel of InD and a design can hold as many swatches as necessary for the design.  The main purpose of ink manager is to correct spot colors so that the desired color is reached.  When you get a PDF from a InD file, you export the file.  By exporting the file, you make it to where nothing in your design can be change and generally the PDF can be opened on all computers.  Any computer that holds a seat on Adobe software can open a PDF file.  When you choose the features of the settings you decide what kind of PDF file you are creating.  For example, you can develop a High Quality PDF or a Print Quality PDF depending on what you intend to do with the file.  A PDFX - 1a is the best file type if you are not completely sure of what you plan on doing with your file.  It is the easiest file to manipulate and can be opened by most computers.  When you use Acrobat Distiller you are generating a PostScript file to an PDF file.  You are required to use distiller on a file if you have a file that can  not be exported.  Once a PDF file is exported, you can not edit it.  You can place the PDF file in Illustrator and pull parts out of the file that can be incorporated into a new design, but, once a file is saved as a PDF, changes can not be made to that particular file.  The changes have to be made through the InD file.

Microsoft Tag

Microsoft tags can be compared very closely with QR codes.  The difference is that Microsoft tags use four colors in a 5 by 10 grid and the code works in monochrome.  Like QR codes, they have to be large enough in size for a phone to be able to read the code and distance varies depending on the type of ad that the tag is produced on.  Generating a Microsoft tag is simply because there are multiple web sites that can generate tags.  When you track a Microsoft tag, you follow the same basic process as that of a QR code.  You can use the generator to count how many people scan the tag and how many people actually proceed to click around the web site the tag takes them too. 

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Tag#Microsoft_Tag
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=755&tbm=isch&tbnid=pxYvEa7VF1MwgM:&imgrefurl=http://notixtech.com/blog/microsoft-tag-jagtag-and-qr-codes-compared&docid=LUEpzuSiXo-_oM&imgurl=http://notixtech.com/sites/default/files/microsoft-tag.jpg&w=400&h=396&ei=Mz88T-2kK9OItwfj8eDYCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=214&sig=114503846987772872142&page=1&tbnh=160&tbnw=162&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=102&ty=63

Direct Mail

Multiple ideas were generated as I drew out my thumbnails.  I wanted to stick to the PSU theme throughout the entire time.

As my final two roughs, I decided to go with the change in department theme.

The purpose of this project is to generate more consumers for my mom's horseback riding business.  Version one is to attract new or experienced riders interested in expanding their riding skills and version two should be used to attract owners who are seeking help to train their horse.  The project specifications for the file size are 5"x7", the bleed is 0.125", and the margins are 0.25".  The price to produce my project for one print is $0.2987 and to produce 100 prints of my project, it would cost $29.87.  There were only two links to my project, the MJ logo and the horse and rider image.  There is no copyright on the project because I produced all the images used in the project in illustrator. 

Chapter 8,9 & 10

The role of a CSR, or Customer Service Representative is to help you print your project.  When you go to a print shop or converse with any person about ordering prints from them, the CSR should be an experienced print professional who can give you some insight into your job's special needs.  When you talk with the printer, you should make sure all the specifics and special instructions the job may need are addressed so that there won't be any confusion once the printing begins.  Specific colors, paper types, size and many other things should be addressed when you talk with the printer.  When you plan for a print, you should make sure that anything that requires special attention or something that could possibly create problems during the print should be planned for.  Things such as unusual stock, special mixed inks, varnishes or other coatings, custom finishing, or unusual content should all be addressed so appropriate planning can be made.
When you check a raster or vector image for a print you should focus on resolution, color spacing, retouching, rotations and scaling and file names.    The correct color, images, fonts, text and bleeds should also be addressed so that nothing is missing or destroyed when the file reaches the printers.
When you send proofs to the printers, generally you will be asked to provide multi page documents in readers spreads which allows the printer to view the entire document.  A PDF file can also be provide for the printer to view the proof because PDF's can usually be opened on computers that house Adobe software.  Once your file is excepted, a proof will be sent to the consumer so that they can check the file one final time before the work is produced in bulk.
Scaling and rotating images in PS should be kept to a minimum.  If you scan in an image to work on in PS, you should take care to place the image correctly so that it won't be necessary to flip the image.  By flipping and rotating the image you are risking destroying the resolution and details of the image.  When considering image resolution, you always want to begin with as much information in the image as you can because you can always take information out.
When you change the color spacing in PS and AI, you should make sure it ends in RGB as you preform color correction, retouching and composting.  Because RGB has wider color gamut you have more to work with as you make corrections.  Once an image is converted into CMYK, some of the ability to make changes disappears.  Layers are very handy to work with when you are in any design program.  By using layers, you can lock certain things you want to keep in the same space, work on certain areas at different times and even make a background image so you can build something like it on the top layer.  When you change the transparency on an image, you are making it less noticeable. You make the layers lighter so that it can be placed in the background and other text or images can be placed on top of it.
When you create a path in the design world, you would be using Illustrator programs or Photoshop.  When you make a clipping path in Photoshop you are basically removing the main part of the photo, or the part you want to use in your design, and making the background or unwanted part of the photo disappear.  Duotones are a great design technique when you have a limited amount of color you can use in a design.  When you use a duotone, you are changing the colors of a photo to only two tones so that when the photo is printed in a design it only requires two different colors of ink.  AI Artboards are very covenant.  You can change an artboard to match the size of whatever area you need to cover so that when you transfer your design into inDesign it would be at a size of 100%.  Bleed settings in a document are established so that you have designs or colors that go to the edges of the page instead of just stopping with white lines in between them.  A bleed setting should generally be set to .25 inch so that it allows all the colors to travel  across the edge of the page.  When you use a clipping mask in AI, you are allowing the part of an image or photo you want to be in your design to show through while keeping the part you don't want to see invisible.  Transparency is a great tool to use in the design process.  By making an image less transparent, you can use the image in the background as a compliment to your design without making the layout to busy.  Linked and embedded images can be transferred into any design program.  They are linked into the file so that the folder can be opened on any computer and the images are still available even if they don't have the original on their computer.  When complex art is placed in any design it is important simplify it.  Complex art creates large file sizes and they are harder to manipulate in the programs.  Generally, if complex art is required in a design, it is initiated into the design last so the file is easier to handle throughout the design process.  Cleaning up a AI file means that you let the program tell you of any stray points in the design you may have meant to delete but forgot throughout the design process.  By cleaning up the file you ensure that no parts of the file that weren't intended show up when you print the file.   

Copyrights

Copyrights are extremely important for Graphic Designers.  By establishing a copyright mark for a project you have worked on, you can ensure that your work is protected and other parties aren't able to copy your work and claim it for their own.  To establish a copyright law, a designer must contact the government and pay for a circle r or a trade mark.  If an image, logo, picture, etc. is found online, it isn't up for grabs.  To use anything that is copyrighted that you find on line, the owner must be contacted and you would have to receive permission to use the copyrighted image. 

Source:
McCue, C. Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. 2009, Peachpit
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=755&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=trademark+symbol&btnG=Search

Chapter 6&7

PostScript means that the component on onscreen display and a printer component look the same.  By using PostScript, a designer can ensure that what they see on the screen, as far as writing is concerned, will look exactly the same as it does when they have a hard copy.
TrueType fonts were designed as a collaboration between Apple Computer and Microsoft and consists of a single file whicch means that no separate screen and printer font components is not necessary.
Like TrueType fonts, OpenType fonts consist of a single file as well.  The difference between True and Ope Type fonts is is that OpenType fonts are cross platform which means that the same font file can be used on a Mac or on a PC with no special handling.
Font families consists of groups of fonts that are the same style and they consist of the same characters.  In font families the letters and characters are the same but they can consists of bold, italic, condensed, etc. types of strokes.
Glyphs consists of any distinct letterform that isn't normal.  For example, numbers, lowercase p, or an ampersand are glyphs.
Multiple Master fonts generally begin with a PostScrpt font and then give the designer multiple choices including weights, angles and widths of the same font.
When licensing fonts, each style and character come with specific instructions about how they are supposed to appear.  Because so much work goes into each and every font typeface by the creator, the licensing rules protect the fonts from being copied or stolen.  Font licensing is a lot like copy right laws.
File naming should be simple and should make a file easier to find in a cluttered hard drive.  Some computer types allow 225 characters in a name but generally under 30 is desired.  The longer the name of a file is the more information your computer system has to attach to the file.
File extensions go in hand with file naming.  When a designer uses a file extension, they make it much easier for humans to recognize the individual files and are crucial for cross-platform compatibility.  When using a Mac and PC computer you can hide the extensions but they are still there.
Multiple types of formats can cross platforms if the technology on both devices is updated.  EPS, BMP, PCT, GIF, JPG, TIF, PNG, and PDF can all cross platforms.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Font_style#Font_style 
McCue, C. Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications.2009, Peachpit