Letterhead Project

Learn InDesign by designing stationery for your business

	Build Your Template
	Since you will be constructing several letterheads, the first thing to do is build your work area on a page. The work area is the space where your letterhead will appear. Then you will save the page to use each time you start a new letterhead. This file is called a template. To create your work area, you must first make the Transform palette visible. If it isn't there, press the F9 function key, or go to Window>Transform. Now, move your mouse to the top of the page where you see what resembles a ruler. Click inside it, drag the mouse down, and a blue line appears. Keep moving down while watching the Y axis field in the Transform palette. When it says 13p6, stop and let go of the mouse button.
	Create Your Text Block
	Next you will create your text block. It will contain all your letterhead. Click on the Text tool in the toolbox, then pull the I-beam over the top left corner of the page margin, click and drag to the corner where the right margin and the blue ruler line meet, and let go. If you look closely, you will see a blinking cursor where you began, ready to begin typing. Instead, click on the black arrow in the toolbox, and see the text block defined as you drew it. If needed, adjust the block by clicking on a side handle and make it fit the work area precisely.
	Save Your Template
	It's time now to save your template. Go to File>Save As or type Shift S and navigate to your folder. Choose InDesign Template from the format menu, name the file "LH template" and save. Close the file, go to your folder, reopen the file, noting that your file is an untitled new file. Note: The new computers run the latest version of the Mac operating system, and have a bug that won't allow InDesign version 2 to save templates. To work around it, save and close the file, navigate to your file, click it once and open its info window (File>Get Info or I), then click on the box labeled "Stationery Pad".
	Choose Your Font
	In a new untitled template page, click in your text block and start typing. Highlight the text with the mouse and activate the Character Palette if it is not already visible (T). Now you can change your type size, style and other properties. The most important property of your text for this exercise, though, is your font. The font you choose for your business name sends a message that should be memorable and appropriate for that kind of business.
A A A AAA	3 Categories of Fonts
	There are serif, sans serif and design fonts, which are sometimes called art fonts. Serif fonts are easier to read in long passages of small print on paper. They are distinguished by tiny points, or “wing tips,” called serifs, that decorate some letters, and thick and thin strokes. Sans serif fonts are without (sans) any serifs or points. They are block letters of consistent width, and are easy to see, and more readable in small print on computers. Design or art fonts can appear as handwriting, foreign alphabet, old-style, digital display, artistic, etc. They are used for certificates, invitations and large type that must grab attention. Avoid using these fonts for long passages or in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
	Size Fits the Message
	Under the font menu in the Character Palette is the size menu. Letter size is measured in points, which are 1/72 of an inch. Twelve point type is about the size you would see in a newspaper article. The size of your text depends entirely on its importance, so the name of your business should be the biggest item as well as the first thing people see. Underneath you will place contact information: street address, phone number, email and web site location. Remember that art fonts are hard to read as they get smaller, so change to a serif or sans serif font here.
	Align Dancing
	Your letterhead text will look best if all of it is centered between the margins. Most people shift lines of type around with the space or tab keys until it looks centered. You will use the computer's mathematical capability to find the geometric center of the page. Activate the Paragraph palette (click the Paragraph tab on the Character palette or type M) after highlighting all your text, and select the second alignment icon at the top. All your text throughout your block will now be centered. Never use the space or tab keys to center your text again!
	Have a Stroke
	Lines are an important design element. Draw lines with the Line Tool, which looks like a backslash (\) in the tool box. However, when it comes to adjusting lines, InDesign calls lines strokes and uses the Stroke Palette (F10) for this purpose. You can draw perfectly straight horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines by pressing the Shift key as you draw. Use lines to separate, decorate and emphasize items. You can also draw boxes with the rectangle tool, and multi-sided geometric figures with the polygon tool. Double-click on the tool to decide the number of sides for your polygon (try a pentagon with a 50% star inset!). You can also create a box around your text block by selecting it, then giving its border a visible line with the Weight menu in the Stroke Palette. Also experiment with the Type menu and rounding corners with Cap and Join settings.
	Making the Gradient
	Gradients are gradual changes in color across a page item. The gradient tool in the tool box and the Gradient Palette (F3) help you create them. Select some text or geometric item, and choose Linear or Radial from the Type menu in the Gradient Palette. You can adjust the spacing and angle of your gradient, too. To make your gradient appear across only part of an object, click the Gradient tool and draw across the space you want it to occupy.
	Heavy Rotation
	One of your letterheads will be a vertical design on the left hand side of the page. Create a letterhead as you normally would, then select the text block, go to the Transform Palette and click on the Angle menu on the bottom left, where you can choose from -180° to 180° in 30° steps. You want to turn your text at a right angle, so click on 90° (not negative 90!). Move the block into the upper left corner of the margin, then align the text to the right (against the top) in the Paragraph Palette.
	The Drop Shadow Knows
	To add some texture and style to your letterhead, try putting a drop shadow behind your letterhead. To accomplish this, select the text block with the black arrow tool, then go to the Object Menu and choose Drop Shadow. Check the Drop Shadow box in the upper left corner and click OK. Your letterhead will look like the example on the Letterhead Design Inc. handout.
	Are We There Vignette?
	The last feature you will add to your letterhead will be the vignette you created in Photoshop. Go to the File menu and choose Place, navigate to your folder and select the image file containing your vignette. At this point your mouse arrow turns into something that looks like a paintbrush. Click in the center of your page (not anywhere near your text block!) and your image will appear. It is too big to include in your letterhead's work space, so we will scale it down. Go to the Transform Palette (F9) and click on the left hand field that says 100% and change it to 25%. Do the same in the right hand field. At this point your vignette will seem to have disappeared, but we only need to fit the graphic to its new frame size. Go to the Object Menu and select Fitting>Fit Content to Frame. Your vignette is now the proper size. Move it into the upper left corner of your letterhead's margins. You will notice that the image covers part of your letterhead. This is because page items stack three-dimensionally and the image is in front of your text block. Go the the Object Menu and choose Arrange>Send to Back. If some of your letterhead overlaps your image, try moving the image slightly to the left with the arrow keys, and also aligning the top line of the letterhead to the right in the Paragraph Palette.

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