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KISS(Keep it simple stupid)

Rule 2

Take advice, you never know too much that you can’t take the advice of others, look at other magazines, newsletters etc, and especially, the rest of this list…

Rule 3

Determine what kind of document you’re producing. If we can break it down into two kinds:

… you have to read me, so it really doesn’t matter how I make it look, and I don’t give a damn anyway…

… please read me, I have something to offer and I hope you’ll take the time to read on…

for those with the first kind of document, just stop reading now, for others…

Rule 4

Is it a formal or informal document?

Formal documents need to be well structured, look as if they mean what they say, keep them consistant in terms of fonts and layout… be businesslike

Informal documents can be looser, make them inviting, choose an informal (optima etc) font, lots of white space. Make the reader want to read on.

Rule 5

There are a number of socially correct mechanisms to make sure that whatever type of document you are producing looks good …

One font for body text and one for headline text …

Never put more that one space between words, especially after punctuation. …

Respect other languages, use the correct accents when appropriate …

use the correct quotation marks (not feet and inches symbols) …

be consistant with paragraph spacing (first line indent, inter paragraph gap) …

not too much hyphenation (if any) …

beware of widows and orphans…

respect your reader

Rule 6

Select an appropriate format for the type of document you are producing. A5 booklet, A4 report, A3 broadsheet etc.

Rule 7

Consider the reproduction mechanism. …

If you are photocopying the end document, beware of the limitation of tints on any specific photocopier (hint: fine tints smudge on some copiers) …

Professional printing of the final document: choose your paper with care, ask the advice of your local printer (print office) before getting too deep in the production process. If they have preferences regarding the tools they use for preparation of documents, consider them (ie Pagemaker etc).

Rule 8

Keep backups (copies) of items as you go along, make sure that you have copies of all documents (pictures, logos, main document etc) well secure. Sodd’s law will ensure that something untoward happens in the last hour of your deadline.

Rule 9

Having selected a publication format, edit to that format, not the other way around. Do not try and make the format fit the pieces…

Rule 10

Remember Rule 1

InCopy CS3 and InDesign CS3 parallel workflow (simple overview)

The designer places the InDesign layout on a central file server. Text and image frames in the layout are assigned for review and editing to a contributing member of the editorial workflow. Multiple InCopy users can open spreads and edit content from the same layout file concurrently while it’s on the server, even if the designer has it open in InDesign.

However, to protect the integrity of the design, InCopy only allows editors to edit the contents of text and image frames which the designers have designated as editable in the layout. Editors cannot change page geometry (move or resize frames, add or delete frames or pages, apply text wrap, etc.). While they can apply local text formatting and any text styles the designers created and saved with the layout to their stories, editors cannot add, delete, or modify any of the styles. If the designer is working on the same layout concurrently
and saves changes to it in InDesign, any editor who has it open in InCopy is notified that the design is out of date. Choosing File > Update Design in InCopy immediately refreshes the layout to reflect the latest state of the publication, without losing any of the InCopy user’s edits.

When the editors have completed the final touches to their stories, and the designer has updated all the InCopy content in the layout, the file is ready for preflighting and handoff to a commercial printer.