The four basic principles of design

What is Tweeting?

What Twitter Does
Whether it’s breaking news, a local traffic jam, a deal at your favorite shop or a funny pick-me-up from a friend, Twitter keeps you informed with what matters most to you today and helps you discover what might matter to you most tomorrow.
The timely bits of information that spread through Twitter can help you make better choices and decisions and, should you so desire, creates a platform for you to influence what’s being talked about around the world. Search results spread across Twitter and in other ways across the Web so you can discover what’s happening on and off of Twitter.com, wherever you prefer.

Twitter can give a voice to even the weakest signals because of its simplicity. Users can access Twitter on powerful broadband connections via a video game console or through faint connections in rural areas via SMS on a simple mobile phone. You can also access Twitter through more than 50,000 third-party Internet and mobile applications.

Just remember, how you use Twitter is completely up to you. Follow hundreds of people. Follow a dozen. Post every hour. Post never. Search for your favorite topics and create lists. Or not. You are in control on Twitter

Twitter for Beginners Series

What does a Wiki do?

What is a  Wiki?
Wiki websites are designed to enable users to make additions or edit any page of the site. They often have a common vocabulary and consider themselves a "Wiki" community.

What is blogging?

One of the easiest ways to do e-publishing is to create a Blog. The term blog is a play on the words Web and Log = Blog. In this segment of the course, we are going to explore the ins-and-outs of blogging, how it can be applied and the tremendous potential it holds. Blogging refers to a website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings.

I used Blogger.com https://www.blogger.com/start to create this blog. There a many other free blogging providers but for this course I will only work with the Blogger website.

Click on the link below and watch the short video which gives you an idea what blogs are all about.




Here is another short video which describes how you can register for your very own blog. It's free and you can delete your blog anytime you wish.

What is e-publishing / desktop Publishing ?

Electronic Publishing (e-publishing) is a type of desktop publishing, where documents are produced in a similar manner but are meant to be viewed on-screen rather than to be printed. These documents are typically highly specialized, featuring sound or music, animations or video clips, and hypertext links. These are generally distributed through computer networks such as the World Wide Web or on CD-ROMs.

ePublishing or electronic publishing is the distribution of information, art or software, delivered electronically via internet, CD-Rom, or other electronic devices. This material could be in the form of books, music, information sites, reports etc.

Electronic publishing uses new technology that allows publishers to deliver content to readers quickly and efficiently. It has changed the way we read books, receive news, work, and listen to music. It allows us almost immediate access to information whenever and wherever we are - and we have only begun to see the effects of electronic publishing.

ePublishing encompasses a variety of delivery methods, including eBooks, email newsletters, print-on-demand (POD), web publishing, CD-Rom, wireless publishing, and most recently electronic ink. New hardware and software offerings are being developed continually, providing even more and diverse ways to deliver and receive content.

Desktop Publishing (DTP) refers to the use of special programs running on personal computers to design and print professional-quality documents. These programs assist the user with layout design; the insertion of photographs, sketches, or graphics; many various typefaces; and the use of multiple input files so that any individual with a personal computer can produce customized documents to suit specific advertising or marketing needs.

10 Myth's about DTP

1. When designing a publication, there is only one way to set up the document.

False! There are many different ways to set up a document. Here are a few:

• One complete page

• Use a table with different combinations of lines and rows

• Divide the document into two sections, top and bottom, or left and right

• Divide the document into four sections, once by length and once by width

• Use two or three columns

• Or any combinations from above


2. You must have artistic talent.

False! Artistic talent is not mandatory but it helps. Anyone can use pre-designed templates to get started. Then add your own graphics and information.

3. You cannot combine different picture elements and create a new picture.

False! Pictures and sections of photos can easily be combined to create something new. A photo's color, shading, size and highlights can be altered. This is why a photo cannot be used as evidence in a court trial.

4. You can use any picture.

False! Depending on the purpose and use of the publication you are creating, determines the photo's you will be able to use. If the publication is for in-house only, then you can use almost any graphic. If the publication will be used for any purpose outside of the company, then you are much more restricted. Advertising, informational purposes, and sales for example, all graphics must be licensed to your company. Do not search the web for pictures and use them unless you have written permission from the artist and the person who owns the graphic.

5. You must know about colors.

False! The beginning designer should be sure the colors do not clash or are too bright and hurt the reader's eyes. An advanced designer may use a color chart to select colors. Good combinations are muted colors, all in the same color family or opposites.

6. You must know how to write.

False! Knowing how to write is helpful but not mandatory, especially if someone else is writing the articles. What you do need to know is how to adjust the text to make the article fit the space set up for it. This means that some text may be re-worded to enlarge or shrink the article for a better fit. Other times, all that may be necessary to do is to enlarge or shrink the text by one point size (from 10 to 11).

7. You need expensive programs to create documents.

False! Absolutely not, many effects can be accomplished with a word processor. Shadows, lines, graphics, columns, text boxes and more are items that can be done with a basic word processor.

8. DTP documents can only be printed on white paper.

False! Any color paper can be printed on, just be careful of the text colors. The reader should be able to read the text easily. Beginning designers sometimes make the colors of the text and background too close together, making the text hard to read.

9. Administrative assistants and secretaries do not need to know how to do DTP.

False! Everyone should know the basics about desktop publishing because being able to create publications in-house, saves the company money. Every business needs to make a profit, and saving money by employees creating most of the publications will add up quickly with the current cost of purchasing professionally designed materials.

10. In-House desktop publishing does not look professional.

False! Any publishing project can and should look professional. With the use of all of the above, the correct weight of paper, color, size and placement of graphics and overall balance of white space, any and all publishing will look professional.

Desktop publishing is fun and easy.

Assemble the items to be included, then work with the placement of these items. Re-arrange items until you have the desired look.

Typesetting and page layout done at a desktop computer is called desktop publishing. It can be used to design graphic material from brochures and flyers to whole books.

Desktop publishing (or DTP, its often-used acronym) is the “production of printed matter by means of a desktop computer having a layout program that integrates text and graphics.” That definition sums it up quite nicely; one could add that DTP is a process that can be used for producing online material as well.

A Brief History of Desktop Publishing

In 1984, MacPublisher was introduced as the first desktop publishing program for Macintosh computers. Apple then brought the LaserWriter printer onto the market in 1985 and Aldus later that year the PageMaker software (now Adobe PageMaker) and voilà, the desktop publishing boom was born.

Aldus founder Paul Brainerd is attributed with coining the term desktop publishing, focusing on user-friendliness and affordability of the process. The new technology revolutionized both the typesetting and the PC industries. The former, because many manual processes could be automated, making the typesetting and therefore printing process easier and faster; the latter, because anyone now had the option to become a desktop publisher.

What is WYSIWYG?

WYSIWYG (pronounced vizyvig) is simply an acronym for what-you-see-is-what-you-get, describing the principle behind desktop publishing: The page layout on screen gives a good indication of what the printed result will look like.

The term got picked up from the ‘70s Flip Wilson Show’s unpredictable character Geraldine who used it to explain her erratic behavior. Used in the context of desktop publishing, it stands for the exact opposite – no layout surprises – as it points to the straightforwardness of the process.

Desktop Publishing Software

DTP software is used by graphic designers and non-designers alike. Different software programs cater to different skill levels and uses in home offices, small offices and professional enterprises. Top high-end DTP programs include:

• QuarkXPress
• Adobe InDesign
The best known among the many consumer-level programs are:

• Microsoft Publisher

Desktop Publishing Designs

Choosing the right DTP software certainly depends on what purpose it needs to serve. DTP technology allows for various designs and the production of printing and publishing projects at different levels.

Simple project options:

• letterhead
• business cards
• labels
• flyers
• envelopes
Moderately complex projects:

• newsletters
• brochures
• catalogues

Complex projects:
• posters
• large-scale banners
• books

Word Processing Versus Desktop Publishing

In the ‘80s, when desktop publishing had just made an entrance, DTP programs were not very user-friendly and required prior experience in the field. Similarly, the first word processing programs were exactly that – programs for dealing with text and text only. At that time, desktop publishing and word processing were two different procedures.

Today, consumer desktop publishing programs are so user-friendly that they can be used almost without prior training. This is helped by the fact that many of the word processing features have been incorporated into them. Word processing programs have also evolved greatly and can now handle non-text elements like images, illustrations and tables. Unlike the beginning more than 20 years ago, today, the line between word processing and desktop publishing has become blurry.

Desktop Publishing for Books
DTP technology has improved in such a way that even whole books can be produced using this technique. But are all types of book geared for desktop publishing? An atlas or medical textbook, for example, that consists of many charts, images and illustrations and requires special paper would not make a good DTP project. A novel, for instance, with mostly text and few photographs and illustrations would be a better suited project.

“As powerful as PCs are in making you look good in print, they can be equally powerful in making you look bad.” So, keep that in mind before loading that DTP software and getting started with publishing books.

Below is a short video describing some of the components of DTP.




Go to the Wiki by clicking the link and answer the questions. Before you can enter text you need to click on the Edit tab at the top right side.   http://dtp-fanshawe.wikispaces.com/