The Fundamentals of Creative Design

Introduction. Format: choosing a paper size; ISO and American paper sizes; standard web sizes; film and moving image; file formats; exercise: format/proportion. Layout and grids: why use a grid?; the perimeter; juxtaposition; pace and hierarchy; the Golden Section and Fibonacci numbers; baseline grid; exercise: active and passive/looking closer. Typography: type; anatomy of a typeface; describing type; classification systems; extended type families; typographic colour; type generation; vertical and horizontal spacing; type personality; special characters and ligatures; Frutiger's grid; type detailing; typographic themes; exercise: type classification/type in the environment. Image: image meaning; image types; altering images; type as image; layers; exercise: juxtaposition/symbols and icons. Colour: understanding colour; basic terminology; specials or spot colours; colour combinations; colouring images; colour as branding; exercise: emotional swings / colour combinations. Print finishing: paper types; paper engineering; lithography and CTP; four-colour tints; fore-edge printing; screen-printing; letterpress; hot metal type; varnishes; physical finishing; folding, throwouts and gatefolds; binding; exercise: printed ephemera / woodblock composition. Glossary. Index. Contacts and credits. Working with ethics.