Adobe Tutorial

This tutorial taught me how to use a layer mask to create a in Photoshop.

First you create a new document to the size you want your photo to be. Then select all of the photo and copy and paste it into your new document. To resize the photo you can hold the shift key and drag the corners to make the photo the correct size. They you select the layer mask button, which is on the bottom of your layers panel that looks like a rectangle with a circle in the middle. Then with the layer mask selected next to the photo. Then make sure the foreground color is black and the background is white or transparent. Then select the gradient tool and choose the black to white/transparent gradient. Then drag the "plus" sign of the gradient tool up to where you want the gradient to end on your photo and there you have your fade. I added the text to show that I could use this tool for things such as a magazine cover or brochure. Finally save your document to complete it.



Source:

http://www.adobetutorialz.com/articles/642/1/Fade-Images-in-Photoshop-Using-Layer-Masks

Master Image List Description

Along with the descriptions of the master images, there is an example image of what they are next to it. 

                                                      

Bitmap 

A bitmap image can only be black and white with no shades of gray. A signature scanned in can be a sharp, high resolution bitmap image. Most of the time bitmap images are drawings or things that are scanned in black and white. The file is labeled .bmp for bitmap.

Reverse 

A reverse is anything in print that allows the paper to show through. For example a black background with white “ink”, the “ink” is actually the paper showing through. It can be text, part of an image, illustration, or anything that allows the background to show through as the “white” area.

Vector Art

Vector art does not contain pixels so it can be scaled to basically any size and the image still be crisp. Vector art is created in Adobe Illustrator, and can be any color you want. Although it is created in Illustrator it can be exported as different file formats such as a PDF. Traxson's Rescue logo is also an example of vector artwork. 

Grayscale Raster

A grayscale raster is an image saved in grayscale color mode, which is black and white. Rasters can be saved in different formats such as .gif, .jpg, .tiff, and bmp. The image represents the information which is translated into pixels on the computer. A raster is a basic photograph, and one in grayscale is with the color removed from it.

Duotone Raster

A duotone raster is an image using only two colors, usually black and a spot color. To make a duotone you have your raster image and simply change the mode to grayscale, and then duotone. This format file will be an EPS file.

Silhouette Raster

A silhouette raster is taking an image in Photoshop and outlining it making a silhouette out of it. After having the image outlined that you want to be taken away from the photo and viewed without the background, you will save it as an eps as the last part of creating a silhouette raster. It can be in any color mode.

  

Full Bleed Raster 

A full bleed raster is any image, saved in tiff, jpg, bmp, that bleeds of a page on all edges. It is a large image that takes up a page and goes to the bleed marks to be trimmed.

Four Color Raster

Is any CMYK raster image. It is called four color because it uses the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink to create the image. Can be saved in any of those raster file formats.

Screen Tint

A screen tint pattern has dots that are all the same size and create an even tone. It is a “dulled” color of a spot color, meaning it uses the same color but may not have the same heavy overlay. It could be the color at 50% almost like an opacity.

Sources 

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-raster-image.htm

http://meagocomics.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/scanned-bitmap.png

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=example+of+duotone&um=1&hl=en&biw=1246&bih=668&tbm=isch&tbnid=Z9G4A6AdUrcseM:&imgrefurl=http://www.momshots.com/tip-of-the-week/tip-of-the-week-d-is-for-duotone/&docid=HJVZDPNaCHK_sM&itg=1&imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2926282568_dd311f8c9d.jpg&w=500&h=332&ei=nNBOT9zRH4eWtwfXqsSkCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=478&sig=105723124279347151164&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=205&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=107&ty=98

McCue, Claudia. Print Production with Adobe Create Suite Applications. 2009. Chapters 11 & 12, ebook version

http://blueisthenewgreen.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/oncorhynchus_keta-11.jpeg

www.printingtips.com/email-term/t--2080/screen-tint.asp

Newspaper Ad

The purpose of this assignment is creating an ad for a newspaper. My target audience is someone looking to adopt/own a pet, and find one that can become their friend and love. The ad will give people the information to find out more about adopting a pet and looking in to seeing what animals are available. The budget for this project is $97, so to figure how big of ad you are able to get you will need to know the column width then times the height and price per inch would be $4. So the formula is column inches x height x $4 to figure budget, and the Indesign file would be the actual inches x actual height inches. After figuring up the costs I can either do a 3 column x 8" ad or a 4 column x 6" ad, which would both cost $96 to run in the newspaper. It must be black and white only, and use a bitmap image. My bitmap images, which are on my master image list, is my cat and puppy that where hand drawn by me and scanned in to become a bitmap. The logo is also a vector image, the QR code is a photoshop raster image, and the icons are also a raster image.  

Final Newspaper Ad
Copyright: My bitmap images were hand drawn by me. The logo was created in Illustrator and the vector icons where free from Elements to Use from my instructor.

Variable Data Direct Mail Project

The purpose of this assignment was to send out a direct mail piece that had changing variables for two target audiences. The two target audiences are people whole love cats or dogs. I did it for a animal rescue shelter, that I created for this project. The mail piece was meant to want people to adopt the cat or dog by telling a little about the animal on the front cover, and then providing more information on the back to direct them to our business through scanning a QR code, showing our address, and displaying that we are on Facebook, blogger, google, and twitter.

The trim size is 5x7 with a .125 bleed and .25 margin. The finish will be coated on the front and uncoated on the back, like a postcard would be. There are 9 colors in this document.

The types of files included in this project that are on the mast image list is 6 different duotones, a Four Color raster photoshop image, a raster full bleed image, a reverse with text on the back of the mail piece, and a reverse with the logo.

The variables that would change on the front is the name and the text, and on the back the three pictures.

Copyright for Protected Images: All images were taken by me or downloaded from copyright free image website, Dreamstime.

Microsoft Tag

A Microsoft tag is more colorful than a QR code. You can also create custom tags that can put a brand in the tag. Tags can be scanned from a phone, and are actually made to be read better than a QR code and do not have to be as big or have as clear of picture to be readable. In this way Microsoft tags are able to do more things than QR codes. Benefits of using Microsoft tags are that the information and content can be updated without creating a new one. They are also easy to generate and are customizable making them more visually appealing with color and custom designs. To generate a code you can search how to generate a Microsoft tag, and it will bring you to a website that will allow you to generate a standard one. If you want to create a customized tag it would be submitted to designers of the site who could place the colors and designs that you would want. It is similar to a QR code where you could enter the website you want it to be linked to and after it is scanned it would direct you to it. Along with linking it to a URL there are three other types of tags: free text, vcard, and dialer. Free text types will only display text on the phone. Vcard types puts contact information on your phone so that you can add it to your address book. Dialer type sends a specific phone number like sales information or a hotline. So, to track the scans on the Microsoft tags it sends the data to Microsoft servers and keeps track of how many scans there are. You can log on to an account you create when the Microsoft tag is generated and that is how you can keep track of it.

  This is an example of a customized Microsoft Tag. 

Sources:

http://www.webivitydesigns.com/tools/microsoft-tag-generator.aspx

http://www.smartergeek.info/2010/02/want-to-need-know-about-the-microsoft-tag-the-hyperlink-for-the-real-world/

Image Source:

http://www.pamelahazelton.com/ecommerce/microsoft-tag-mobile-marketing/

Direct Mail: Thumbs and Rough

 Below are the thumbnail sketches for my direct mail piece. The direct mail piece is 5 x 7, front and back, with a space for mailing.I decided to do a travel agency for the country Greece. The mail piece will be directed towards two different target audiences, the young adults and the elderly adults. I will emphasize on the activities, sports, and events that the more active younger group would enjoy and the relaxed, historic values of Greece for the elderly adults.

This is the rough for the direct mail piece that I have selected. The changing variables in these will be pictures and text. 

Copyright for Designers

Copyright protects the work of a person so that someone can not mimic it and call it their own. Copyright protects literacy, dramatic works, artistic, musical, and other creations. Some things that copyright cannot take over is public domain, like names, slogans, or words. Images that are copyrighted are mostly anything that you personally have not taken. So, when you hire a photographer to take your picture, their pictures are copyrighted and if you printed them off without their permission that is breaking a copyright law. Same as if you were to search an image on the web and use it on a billboard poster. Someone would see that picture and claim it as theirs and you were taking credit for their work that breaks the copyright law. Some images are copyright free on certain websites, and that is where the person or website has given permission for you to use the images. Content for it not to be copyrighted needs to be sourced. This means that it needs to have information that can direct a viewer to see where the information was gathered. It also can refer to a copyright a company might have on the content of something, like a commercial. For instance Geico could have a copyright on using an accent speaking gecko to promote their product. Fonts could be one of the most overlooked forms of copyright. For instance, Coca Cola could have a copyright on their font that would prevent any other company from using that for their product. Fonts can make people think of a product just by seeing it and if another company would use their font it would infringe on their rights. Intellectual property rights, which is creations of the mind, are also a part of copyright. This can be an invention, image, symbol, and many other things that is used in business. This means that it protects the creativity of an artist, where people can not mimic the style of a work and call it their own.

Sources:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/

http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/909/wipo_pub_909.html

http://laipai.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/ , copyright image