Ready for graduation.
Team Wertz
Giant tail feather flag at the office.
Chairs set up for Law School graduation.
Everyone wants more white space
This post was originally posted on May 7, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.
InDesign offers 14 different types of spaces. Just go to Type > Insert White Space… A very old post on Adobe’s site explains the differences. I don’t use them very often. For me, the Thin Space, Nonbreaking Space and the Figure Space can be quite helpful. It’s nice to know they are there.
Vintage bug up in smoke.
Draplin
Piano (with crown)
Piano
Quick coffee with my wife this morning.
Better spacing or fewer hyphens
This post was originally posted on April 29, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.
Hyphenation can be critical when you’re trying to justify text. Below is a passage with three hyphens:
Lots of people hate hyphens and might ask you to turn off hyphenation. That’s a bad idea because then it will look like this:
That’s some bad spacing. Thankfully, InDesign offers a better way to control hyphenation. Go to the flyout menu on the Paragraph palette and choose “Hyphenation…” A dialog box will pop up:
InDesign checks the entire paragraph and decides the best locations for hyphenation based on your settings. Look for the slider at the bottom of the box. On one side, you have “Better Spacing” and on the other “Fewer Hyphens.” Choosing the “Fewer Hyphens” side will only leave the hyphens that InDesign needs for proper spacing. Below is the same passage with “Fewer Hyphens” selected.
InDesign eliminated one hyphen and changed the hyphenation on “coordinate” to maintain good spacing. I usually adjust the settings with the “Preview” box checked so I can see the changes as I move the slider.
Just know that you have more hyphenation options than “on” and “off.”
Princess Ruby
Rose Garden
Caught in the middle
This post was originally posted on April 28, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Last week, Apple reported that they had sold more than a few truckloads of iPads. Of course, some Wall Street types weren’t impressed. Which led some tech writers to question the iPad’s future, Apple’s innovation, Tim Cook’s leadership style, Steve Jobs’ legacy and Jony Ive’s accent. (You can catch up here.)
Which got me thinking about my iPad and the fact that it’s the least critical computer I own.
I say this as someone who loves their iPad. I’ve got a first generation iPad mini. The non-retina one. I use it regularly. But it’s one of three machines that I own. I’ve got a MacBook Pro and an iPhone, too.
My MacBook had a hard drive failure recently. I repaired it within hours. If my iPhone was lost or stolen, I’d be at the Verizon store quickly. And if something happened to my iPad… well… I’d wait to replace it. I would miss it. I prefer the iPad for several daily tasks, but it doesn’t serve a critical function for me. I can live without it.
I don’t see this as a problem with the iPad, though. It’s a testament to how useful the iPhone and MacBook are. I need the MacBook for Creative Cloud and type design software. I need my iPhone for phone calls, messaging and taking pictures. And I use the iPhone as the network connection for my iPad and MacBook when I can’t get reliable wifi.
Not too long ago, I had a desktop and a laptop. Laptops were slow and underpowered. The screens were too small. You had a laptop for convenience, but you had a desktop to get things done. Over time, laptops improved. They got faster and had better screens. The prices came down. Battery life improved. I used the laptop more and more. And when it was time to replace my desktop, I didn’t. I bought a new laptop.
So all this chatter about whether the iPad has lost momentum? Give it time. These type of transitions take a long while.
I believe that the iPad can replace a laptop for many people. Personally, I have specific software that I want to use. It will be a long, long time before an iPad can run the design software that I need. But someday, I could see my kids with tablets as their primary computers instead of laptops.
I can confidently say that today, my iPad isn’t as critical to me as my iPhone and my MacBook. I’m not sure, however, that will be true in 5 to 10 years.
Air hockey table
A path to better pictures
This post was originally posted on April 26, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
John Nack (Google, formerly Adobe) linked to this great article by Stu Maschwitz, “How to Take Good Photos for Under $1,000.” My favorite line:
The oldest advice about photography is still the best. A “fast 50” is the cheapest, best lens. On your inexpensive DSLR, 50mm is a portrait lens, which means it’s good for taking pictures of people—which are the only pictures anyone cares about.
It’s a good collection of sensible advice and you should absolutely read it… especially if you are a designer that ends up having to take a lot of pictures.
A couple of comments:
- His recommendation to buy a fast 50mm lens is a great one. Yes, zooms are convenient, but shooting with a faster lens is wonderful, especially if you can use natural light and not use a flash. Plus, the 50mm lens is affordable.
- I wouldn’t throw away the kit zoom. But lens quality does matter.
- Yes, shooting in RAW is worth the extra file size. If you want great results, shoot in RAW.
- He mentions that Lightroom will cost you about $100. But if you have Creative Cloud, it’s one of the apps that Adobe included in the subscription.
When I first started shooting, a 50mm lens was always included when you bought a camera. Now, it’s all about zooms. I’m planning on upgrading my camera system soon and I’ll definitely take some of Stu’s advice.
Ryan not a big fan of the 80s on 8 this morning.
Photo shoot
Becoming a Cubs fan
This post was originally posted on April 24, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
In the early 1980’s, we lived in a slightly mountainous area of North Carolina. And our community had an early version of cable. The cable box on our TV has 13 push buttons, each representing a different channel.
Among those 13 channels were WOR (New York), TBS (Atlanta) and WGN (Chicago). In the early 80’s, all three channels had contracts to carry baseball games. WOR had the Mets, TBS showed the Braves and WGN aired the Cubs games. This is pre-ESPN, so your other option was to catch a random Game of the Week broadcast on one of the networks.
I loved baseball. I’d come home from school and turn on the TV and try to find a baseball game. And more often than not, there would be a Cubs game on. Why? Because Wrigley Field didn’t get lights until 1988. All home games were day games. The Braves and Mets played a bunch of night games so even though I saw some of their games, I didn’t develop the same connection that I did with the Cubs.
(Geographically, it would have made sense for me to be a Braves fan. We weren’t too far from Atlanta. But at the time, they were in the NL West division and played a bunch of night games on the West coast. So those games started after my bed time.)
I fell in love with Wrigley Field, Harry Carey, Ryne Sandberg and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh inning stretch. And then we moved to Chicago and my die-hard-Cubs-fan status was cemented.
Wrigley Field turns 100 this week. And even though Harry Carey is no longer with us, Ryne Sandberg is the manager of the Phillies and Wrigley has lights, I still love my Cubbies.
Align strokes
This post was originally posted on April 23, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.
In the middle of the Stroke palette are the Align Stroke options.
InDesign lets you determine where the stroke is located on a box or shape. In the middle of the stokes palette is the “Align Stroke” option. By default, the stroke is centered on the path. So a 2 point line with have 1 point outside the box and 1 point inside the box.
With thicker strokes, the placement of the stroke really matters. Below are three boxes that are drawn to be exactly the same size. The only difference is the alignment of the stroke.
These three boxes are the same size. Only the alignment of the stroke varies. From left to right: Inside, Centered, Outside.
It’s helpful to use these settings when you are trying to get precisely measured shapes. I use the inside alignment option all the time.