Accessing alternative character sets

Alternates are accessible by turning on 'Stylistic Alternates' in a software with OpenType capabilities - such as Photoshop or Illustrator)

A process for logo design

1   Sketch some ideas by hand

It's faster, and makes you more creative.   Try all sorts of things, even mad idea that don't work..  Basically brainstorming.  You might come up with one really strong idea - or lots of weaker ones, which lead you to generate stronger ones.   At this stage, don't worry about how you will technically achieve the look - just play with ideas.

2   Choose a sketch to work with

Choose the one that you think will most likely meet your client's needs.
Keep the rest of the ideas around, in case the first choice doesn't work, but focus on one at a time.

(If the option you choose really isn't working at a later stage, return to this stage and start again.)

3   Create a working space for the square format logo

In a design tool, create a square shape - make it large enough to work on detail, but not full screen (eg 15 x 15 cm).

4  Lay the foundation

 Insert a basic shape (square, circle, triangle etc) to form the back of the logo - whatever is suggested by the sketch.
This might be reduced to white or transparent later, but it gives the artwork a starting point.

5   Build up the rest of the idea by adding / combining other shapes.  

At this stage, just use black and white - so you can focus on the underlying shapes without being distracted by colour issues. 

6   Make it into one shape

Once your artwork has the right combination of shapes to build the overall look, combine them (group, pathfinder, etc - it depends on teh tool). 

Also turn the black to 70% to give an idea of how it will look in a gentler format.

Note:   keep a copy of the file from just before you do this, in case you need to go back to it in step 9.

7   Add text

For some designs, text-items may have been part of the shape.   But for many they are added later, to turn your generic icon into a specific one.

8   Apply font(s) for the text

Usually you'd only use one font in a logo, unless there the sketch calls for two very different looks put together.

8   Final adjustments to the shape

Consider how the logo looks at a very large and very small size (zoom in and out, look at your screen from the other side of the room).
Print it out and consider the paper in different lights / distances..
Look at its weight and balance:   is it lop-sided, do some parts look unnecessarily bigger or smaller.
Is the font legible?    An artistic font that works for initials or a very short word won't work well for a longer one.

Make any final changes to the shapes and text, based on what you see.

9   Add colour

Choose the colour palate that is to be used for this project.  Apply colours and effects eg shadows, gradients, to elements in the logo.
Repeat the checks from step 8, this time focusing on the effect of the colour.   Tweak as necessary.

10   Final review

You may have done client reviews at various previous steps.   But it is most important to review it again, now that all the components are in place.  Review the design with the client or with trusted advisers if you're creating for yourself.

10    Create alternative sizes

For a logo, your or your client may need:

• A black and white only version
• A negative version
• A page-header formatted version   (this may have additional content - or just be a rectangle with the square icon design within it).    You may need several of these, one for letterhead (8 inches wide), one for Facebook, one for Twitter, etc.
• A favicon version    (This is the very small website-tab icon, 32x32 pixels.)    It may be a simplified version of your icon, if there's too much detail for it to draw well.

It's far easier to make all these now, while the design is fresh in your mind, than to have to go back and do it later when they're needed.

11  Create output files

For each alternative size, you probably need to create both:

• A vector format file (eg eps, pdf, svg)
• A graphic format file (eg png or jpg)

What are Layers

The standard explanation of layers in image-editing is “think of layers as like a pile of acetates” or “layers are like transparencies laid on top of each other”.

The problem with this description is that anyone under 30 (I guess) is unlikely to have encountered the type of overhead projector (OHP) which uses transparencies.  In fact, the last time someone asked me if I knew where to find an OHP for an elderly presenter whose material was all on transparencies, my honest answer was “Try the museum”.

Understanding the overhead-projectors / transparency / acetate answer

An overhead project was a light box with a lens mounted above it which rotated light from the light-box by 90 or so degrees (using mirrors), to allow it to be projected onto a wall or screen

A transparency was an A4-size sheet of rigid plastic, made out of a chemical called acetate, and able to cope with the high temperatures generated by the bulbs in early overhead projectors.
So it was possible to use the projector to show text or an image from a transparency onto a wall or screen. They were fantastic pieces of technology in their day: they freed teachers from writing the same stuff on blackboards over and over again, they gave business people and trainers far more options for explaining things to groups of people, and they freed church-goers from being stuck to the same old hymns from their hymn book. But they were expensive: acetate transparencies cost a lot, as did the special pens that were needed to write on them. Eventually there were transparencies which could be put through laser printers, but the printed text tended to chip off them over time. as laptops got cheaper and data-projectors became more widely available.

A better explanation of layers

Yes, you can even get them in
pretty coloured edgings like this

Think of layers as similar to plastic page-protectors – the high-quality ones that you can see through properly, not the cheaper ones that look a little fuzzy.

And think of a file in your image-editing program as being like a ring-binder folder.

Now imagine putting a pile of page-protectors in a folder, putting some parts of an image into each of them

If you look into the pile from the above, then the picture that you see is the sum of all the picture-parts in the individual page-protectors:

• If there is a part of the page which isn’t covered up by the contents of any page-protector, then that part will look empty, AKA transparent.
• If one page protector has something which covers the whole page, then you won’t be able to see anything from page-protectors which are underneath that one. So most likely you want to put that “background” page-protector at the very bottom of the pile.

And that is how layers work in pretty much all image-editing programs (Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.net, etc)

Of course you can do more with layers in a computer programme than you can with page-protectors: you can be certain that items which you put into a layer will stay exactly where you put around and not wiggle out of place if someone moved the folder. But you can also you can make them semi-opaque, re-arrange the order of the layers using drag-and-drop, apply a colour filter to an entire layer, etc.

But the general idea is the same.


Next: Working with layers in Photoshop

Font choice guidelines, and my preferences

Sans-serif fonts are more readable on screen.
Serif fonts are more readable in print.

Some fonts, were designed to be used on-screen, eg Arial, Verdana, Georgia. They typefaces don't look so good in large sizes or in print because of their design. On the other hand, many classic fonts that were designed for print don't look good on-screen eg Times New Roman.

Some font characterisations:

Humanist fonts have subtle curves and look "friendly." The letter structure letters is are based on hand-drawn letterforms - eg if you draw an "O" with a pen, it isn't completely round. Good for healthcare, charities or cases when you want to look "human".

Some examples: Gill Sans, Palatino.


Geometric typefaces have letter structures based upon geometry. They may have a completely round "O," or strong contrasts of thick and thin. They end to being very modern and fashionable. They'd be good for content that is maths or engineering, or fashion related.

examples:
Bodoni - which was built by geometrically rationalizing serif letterforms
Futura and Rockwell, which are both geometric typefaces.


Realist typefaces are in the middle. They have more abrupt curves, and a sense of rationality and stability.

Examples:
Helvetica, which has a a sense of being visually inert – almost "invisible."
Arial (which is based upon Helvetica)
Georgia



A good way to identify fonts is to look at the lowercase "n":
Gill Sans (Humanist) has a gentle curve.
Futura (Geometric) has a nearly symmetrical curve, .
Helvetica (Realist) has a more abrupt curve. It's as if the shoulder is a piece of metal that has been bent to the designer's will.


Pairing fonts
Rule of thumb: Choose no more than two - one serif, and one sans-serif

Either either be very similar, or very different from one another.

What is digital imaging

Wikipedia says that

Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of photographic images, such as of a physical scene or of the interior structure of an object. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images.

The ECDL Foundation, who prescribe the European Computer Driving Licence curriculum, have used the phrase image-editing to mean working with images using image editing software (eg Photoshop).   Their curriculum (see my notes on it) doesn't include creating or capturing digital images, presumably because this is regarded as photography. 

Some local institutions which teach this image-editing curriculum use Digital Imaging as the title of their courses.

As the lines between computers and cameras has blurred (to the point where all cameras are now computers, and most computers and mobile phones include a camera), the distinction between image capture and image editing has become less useful.

The working definition in this blog is that Digital Imaging is working with digital images in any way:

• creating them, 
• editing or manipulating them, 
• outputting (on any medium - via a printer, plotter, screen)
• managing them  (storing, filing / cataloging, sharing, archiving, deleting).

ECDL syllabus and these notes WIP

Links between the ECDL Digital Imaging syllabus and my notes about each item on it when Photoshop is the application being used.

1 Imaging Concepts

1.1 Digital Images

1.1.1 Identify common uses of digital images
Web and print publishing, distribution by e-mail and mobile phone, home printing, digital photo frames.

1.1.2 Understand the terms pixel, resolution and identify the key features of a digital image: composed of discrete pixels, represented digitally in binary code.
My notes:  Basic imaging concepts

1.1.3 Understand the terms lossy, lossless image file compression.
My notes:   some common imaging formats

1.1.4 Understand the term copyright and the implications for image use. Understand the terms royalty-free images and rights-managed images.
My notes:   copyright, digital images and rights management

1.2 Graphic Formats

1.2.1 Understand the terms raster and vector graphics and distinguish between them. Identify common raster (jpeg, gif) and vector (svg, eps) formats.
My notes:   Types of graphics - raster vs vector

1.2.2 Recognize proprietary digital image editing application formats: psd, psp, xcf, cpt.
My notes:   some common imaging formats

1.3 Colour concepts

1.3.1 Understand the term colour model and recognize common colour models: RGB, HSB, CMYK, grayscale.
My notes:  colour concepts

1.3.2 Understand the terms colour palette, colour depth.
My notes:  colour concepts

1.3.3 Understand the terms hue, saturation, colour balance.
My notes:  colour concepts

1.3.4 Understand the terms contrast, brightness, gamma.
My notes:  colour concepts

1.3.5 Understand the term transparency.
My notes:  colour concepts

2 Image Capture

2.1 Capturing Images

2.1.1 Save an image from a digital camera to a location on a drive.
My notes:  saving an image from a digital camera to your computer

2.1.2 Use the print screen facility to capture a full screen, active window.
My notes:  using the PrintScreen function in Windows

2.1.3 Save an image from an image library, web page to a location on a drive.
My notes:  Image capture - saving a web-page to your computer

2.1.4 Open a scanning application and scan an image: preview, set scanning parameters, scan, save.
My notes:  Image capture - scanning a document

3 Using the Application

3.1 Image Creation

3.1.1 Open, close an image editing application. Open, close image files.
3.1.2 Create a new image file and set options: colour model, size, resolution, background colour.
3.1.3 Create a new image file from clipboard.
3.1.4 Switch between open image files.
3.1.5 Save an image to a location on a drive. Save an image under another name to a location on a drive.
3.1.6 Save, export an image as another file type like: jpeg, gif, tiff, png.

3.2 Settings 

3.2.1 Set background colour, foreground colour.
3.2.2 Set grid properties: units, horizontal spacing, vertical spacing, colour.

3.3 Enhancing Productivity

3.3.1 Set basic options/ preferences in the application like: transparency, grid settings, measurement units.

3.3.2 Use available Help functions.

3.3.3 Use magnification/zoom tools.

3.3.4 Use the undo, redo command. Use the undo history.

3.3.5 Display, hide built-in toolbars, palettes, windows.

4 Working with Images

4.1 Selection

4.1.1 Select an entire image, layer(s).
4.1.2 Set selection tool properties: relationship between multiple selections, feathering, antialiasing, width, height.
4.1.3 Select part of an image using selection tools: rectangular, elliptic, magic wand, magnetic lasso, freehand image.
4.1.4 Inverse a selection.
4.1.5 Save a selection, load a saved selection.
My notes:   Basic image actions

4.2 Image Manipulations

4.2.1 Change the canvas size of an image.

4.2.2 Resize an image in pixels, measurement units.

4.2.3 Crop an image.

4.2.4 Copy, move image(s), selection within an image.

4.2.5 Rotate, mirror an image, selection within an image.

4.3 Layers 

4.3.1 Define and understand the term layer.
4.3.2 Create, copy, delete a layer.
4.3.3 Set layer properties: name, hide, show, lock, opacity, blending mode.
4.3.4 Arrange, merge, link, flatten layers.
4.3.5 Transform layer(s): scale, rotate, flip, move, trim.
4.3.6 Convert a drawn object to a raster layer.
My notes:   Working with layers in Photoshop

4.3.7 Create an animated gif from layers.
My notes: 

• How to create an animated GIF using Photoshop
• How to make animated GIF using GIMP  (link to external article)

4.4 Text

4.4.1 Add, edit, delete text.
4.4.2 Copy, move text.
4.4.3 Align text: left, centre, right, justified.
4.4.4 Apply text formatting: font sizes, font types, font colour.
4.4.5 Apply a text warp.
My notes:   Working with text in Photoshop

4.5 Effects and Filters 

4.5.1 Apply artistic, distortion effects: pixelate, emboss, wind, ripple, twirl, desaturate.
4.5.2 Apply blur effects: gaussian, motion.
4.5.3 Apply lighting effects: lighting, flare.
4.5.4 Apply adjustments: brightness, contrast, hue-saturation, colour balance.
4.5.5 Apply sharpen, unsharpen mask.
4.5.6 Apply red eye reduction. 

My notes:

• Effects vs Filters in Photoshop
• Adjusting images in Photoshop (filters etc)
• Red eye recuction in Photoshop

5 Drawing and Painting

5.1 Drawing Tools 

5.1.1 Add a line to an image: straight line, free drawn line, curves. Set, modify line weight, style and colour.

5.1.2 Add a shape to an image: rectangle, ellipse, n-shaped polygon. Set, modify line, fill style and colour.

5.2 Painting Tools

5.2.1 Pick up a colour value with the dropper.

5.2.2 Fill a portion of an image with the gradient tool, selecting opacity/transparency, radial, linear, position, rotation.

5.2.3 Colour a portion of an image with the paintbrush tool, selecting colour, shape, size.

5.2.4 Erase a portion of an image with the eraser tool, selecting its shape and size.

5.2.5 Fill a portion of an image with colour using the paint bucket tool.

5.2.6 Clone a portion of an image using a clone tool, selecting size, opacity.

6 Prepare Outputs

6.1 Setup

6.1.1 Preview an image.
6.1.2 Select appropriate colour depth, resolution, image size, graphic format for web, screen, print use.

6.2 Print 

6.2.1 Change print output orientation: portrait, landscape. Change paper size.
6.2.2 Print an image to an installed printer using defined options, default settings.

My notes for this whole section:   Preparing image output from Photoshop

Photoshop - basic image actions

Before doing any action in Phtotshop, you need to select the correct layer to work on.

How to select a layer

1. Use the Select drop down menu and choose all layer OR

2. Click on them in the layers tab.



Once you have selected a layer, you need to choose which part of the image on that layer to work on

How to select a whole image

• Use a selection tool: Click once to select; click again to deselect  OR
• Use a keyboard shortcut: the fastest whole-image selection, is Ctrl+A (Windows) or command+A (Mac).  OR
•  Use menu command: Selection > Select All (or similar - may chancge between versions)

Note: other useful items on the Selection menu: Select None or Deselect (Ctrl/d) that turns off an existing selection.

Use one of these tools to select part of an image:

• Lasso
• Polygonal Lasso
• Magnetic Lasso
• Elliptical Marquee
• Magic Wand
• (and more?)

Note that once you have selected the tool, you can see its options bar - tools have different options.

Properties of the Selection tools 

The Lasso, Polygonal Lasso, Magnetic Lasso tools are hidden in the Toolbox under one and the same icon. The icon on the Toolbox displays the last selected tool. Use the floating menu to choose one of these others. To access it, right-click on the arrow in the lower right corner of the displayed icon.

The Lasso tool 

This is useful for drawing freeform segments of a selection Select the Lasso tool, and set feathering and anti-aliasing in the options bar. (See Soften the edges of selections.), and then use the mouse to draw the border of the area.

The options bar has selectors for a new selection, or

• add to,
• subtract from,
• intersect with

the existing selection.


With the Lasso tool, you can:

• Drag to draw a freehand selection border.
• Switch between freehand and straight-edged selection by pressing Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac).
• Click where segments should begin and end.
• Erase recently-drawn straight segments by pressing the Delete key.
• Close the selection border by releasing the mouse without holding down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac).
• Optional - Click Refine Edge to adjust the selection boundary.

To use the Lasso tool

• Select the tool
• Click at the first point of the area to be selected using the left button
• Left-click at points around the area, to outline it.

The Rectangular marquee tool

This is used to select rectangular and square areas.

• Activate it by clicking on the icon or select it from the floating window.
• Put the mouse cursor where the corner of an imaginary rectangular should be, and press the left button.
• Keeping the left button pressed, move the cursor to the diagonally-opposite corner
• Release the button.

To select a square area keep the SHIFT key pressed while selecting. But remember that this will also add the new selection to any existing selection.

The Elliptical marquee tool 

This is used to select ellipses and circles.

• Select the Elliptical marquee tool from the Toolbox by clicking on the icon or select it from the floating window.
• Put the cursor at the point where the corner of an imaginary rectangular with an inscribed ellipse should be
• Press the left button.
• Keeping the left button pressed, move the cursor to the diagonally-opposite corner
• Release the button.

Select a circular area by keeping the SHIFT key pressed. But remember that this will also add the new selection to any existing selection.

Alternative: hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) key while when selecting an elliptical or a rectangular area, and the selection is made from the center to borders, instead of corner to corner.

The Polygonal Lasso 

This is also used to make freehand selections, but the contour of the selections is made up of straight segments. To use it:

• Select the Polygonal Lasso tool
• Put the cursor on any point that is to be part of the outline,
• Click the left mouse button, to mark the first point of the contour.
• Move the cursor an adjoining point of the contour and left-click it: a straight-line selection will be made between the two points.
• Repeat the previous step until the 2nd-to-last point is made.
• Click on the first point (which is also the last point) again to close the contour.

The Magnetic Lasso 
This is also used to make a freehand selection, but you don't have to follow the contour of the object precisely: any object that stands out against the background of the selected area is traced automatically when you move the cursor along the object. To use it:

• Select the Magnetic Lasso tool
• Put the cursor on any point on the edge of the object to be selected
• Hold down the left button and start dragging the cursor along the object. Fastening points will appear as you outline the object and when you make a click. If a one is irrelevant, remove it by pressing the DELETE key and return to the previous fastening point to continue outlining the object.
• Close the contour by joining the first fastening point to the last one by bringing the cursor to the first point or by making a double-click.

The Magic Wand tool 

This elects a consistently coloured area.  The options bar has a place to set the Tolerance - for this, the higher the tolerance, the more colours will be selected with a single click. Valid values are 0 to 255:  0 means only one colour is selected, 2255 means all colours in the image will be selected.

To use it:
1. Select the magic wand tool.
2. Move the cursor to a pixel which must be in the selection and left-click. 
When you do this, an outline ("marching ants") appears around the pixel, and all other pixels in image with a similar colour, within the specified Tolerance value.

These selection tools are efficient due to the flexibility of their usage: you can add to, subtract from or intersect a selection.

• Add by holding the SHIFT key.
• subtract by holding the Alt (Option in Macintosh) key 
• Intersect by holding the SHIFT and Alt (Shift and Option in Macintosh) keys 

 while selecting more pixels with the "same" colour.

Invert a selection

Inverting a selection swaps the currenly selected and unselected areas  (so currently unselected becomes selected)

Use it from the menus, by choosing Select > Inverse.

Hint:  this is the easiest way to select an object which is set against a solid-colored area:  just select the solid colour with the Magic Wand tool, and the use Select > Inverse.

Softening the edges of a selection

There are two techniques for this.

Anti-aliasing smooths the jagged edges of a selection by softening the colour transition between edge pixels and background pixels. Only the edge pixels change, so no detail is lost. This technique is useful when cutting, copying, and pasting selections to create composite images.

Anti-aliasing is available for these tools:
Lasso
Polygonal Lasso
Magnetic Lasso
Elliptical Marquee
Magic Wand


You need to specify anti-aliasing before using the selection tool -  you cannot add it after selection.   Therefore to use it:

1. Select the tool.
2. Select Anti-aliased in the options bar.
3. Select the area to be anti-aliased.

Feathering blurs edges by building a transition boundary between the selection and the surrounding pixels. This may cause some loss of detail at the edge of the selection. 

Feathering is available for these tools:

• Marquee
• Lasso
• Polygonal Lasso
• Magnetic Lasso tool

Feathering effects only show after you move, cut, copy, or fill a selection.   So to use feathering

1. Select a tool.
2. Enter a Feather value in the options bar. (from 0 to 250 pixels)
3. Select the area to be feathered
4. CHECK - IS THIS WHERE YOU NEED TO CUT/COPY AND THEN PASTE?

To define a feathered edge for an existing selection
1. Choose Select > Modify > Feather.
2. Enter a value for the Feather Radius, and click OK.

Issues with feathering:
A small selection made with a large feather radius may be so faint that its edges are invisible and therefore not selectable. If you see the message “No pixels are more than 50% selected,” either decrease the feather radius or increase the size of the selection. Or click OK to accept the mask at its current setting and create a selection in which you cannot see the edges.