In this tutorial, I show you how to properly manage columns with Adobe InDesign by editing the Text Frame Options.

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I am always reminding my students that type is the basic currency of design. Without proper command over your typography, your design suffers. Whether you're a neophyte or had your baptism by fire in the design world, here are four books you should own.

The Elements of Typographic Style
Robert Bringhurst

This is the typographer's bible. No other tome is more important. It is dense and richly fortified with indispensable lessons on how to properly craft type on a page. Modernism at its heart, this book still applies to David Carson disciples. Don't be intimidated by the academic quality of this book. You will be rewarded for plowing through it.

Thinking with Type
Ellen Lupton

Ellen Lupton is one of the most prolific writers on design theory and practice. She applies her ample skills to a type book directed toward students and young designers in Thinking with Type. This book is a primer and guide that you should keep handy if you're early in your career.

Fonts & Logos
Doyald Young

This book is difficult to find and expensive once you track it down. I got my copy from Hennessy & Ingalls bookstore in Los Angeles and it was well worth the hefty price tag. Doyald Young (that's not a typo) is legendary. I have yet to see a designer manipulate and understand type like this man. This book is a series of case studies for the famous custom lettering work he executed throughout his illustrious career. If you're a hardcore typophile, you will definitely cherish this book.

Designing Type
Karen Cheng

If you've ever wondered what goes into designing a typeface, this book is a must have. It is a technical but accessible guide that will lead you through all of the counter-intuitive considerations that go into designing both a serif and sans-serif font. No one should attempt to craft letters without reading this book first. Perhaps it should be called Designing Modernist Type but the lessons contained within will do you tremendous good.

There are, of course, countless other fantastic books out there that cover typography but these are some of my favorites, and ones that I consider most valuable throughout my continued development as a designer and conjurer of type. Be on the lookout for these books and be prepared to invest the money when you see them. The information and lessons contained within their pages will pay you back many times over.

Have some favorites of your own? Let me know about them in the comments. I'm always looking to add to my library.

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It is not easy being creative all of the time, however, we work in an industry where we can't afford not to be creative. Even if you are not in the design or marketing industry, problem solving is required for survival, and sometimes you need to be creative to get by. Here are a few helpful tips that we find keep our minds fresh and problem solving skills sharp.

Don't know where to start? Check out some best practices.

Start by researching what others are doing successfully and try to translate their application to your project. No, do not copy. Reinvent. It is quite helpful to see what others are doing to spark ideas, see what has not been done yet and determine what works and what doesn't.

Get out of your typical surroundings.

Routine is great, especially for creatives that need discipline and structure. However, if you are stuck in a rut, looking at the same thing in the same surroundings will likely not yield successful results. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. We know you are not insane, so get out a bit. You do not have to go far. Maybe move your computer by the window, or go work for a few hours at the local coffee shop, or even take a pad and pen to the park. Move around a bit, and see what shakes out.

Take a break.

A watched pot will not boil. The same expression applies here. If you continue to mull over something, and the solution still is not coming to you, stop. Go do something else. Take in some fresh air, go for a walk, or visit with a friend. When you relax your mind, you will be more inclined to think logically and develop creative solution.

Ask for another set of eyes.

You have heard it before, and I will say it again--two minds are better than one. Get in touch with someone you trust that will understand what you are trying to achieve and ask if they would not mind offering you some direction. Recommendations and feedback from an objective source helps put the situation into perspective and moves you farther along in the creative process.

These approaches to creativity are not magic bullets and will not guarantee award-winning results, but we find that they work nicely for us. What works for you?

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In this video, I show you how to properly setup your documents in InDesign so that you can effectively typeset your work. Learn some basic technique and a little about the technical side of InDesign.

Download the exercise files (1mb)

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When you visit a website, you want to be able to quickly and easily find the information that you came for. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen. All too frequently, users visit a website, click around, don't find what they need. So they leave frustrated. To avoid this frustration with your site, follow these four easy steps to organize your website and improve the user experience.

1. Stick to one main navigation.

More options is not always better. Actually, the more options you give a user initially, the more overwhelmed and confused they may feel. Unsure where to click, they will often just leave your site. Instead, put the user at ease and offer them a clear selection of information through one main navigation. By forcing users through the main navigation, you are basically taking their hand and leading them down the path of your choosing. The user finds what they need, and you have potentially picked up another satisfied customer.

2. List the pages on your site, then group them into logical categories.

Now that you have established that working within one basic navigation is the way to go, how in the world do you organize all of your content nicely within it? Let's take this step-by-step. First, list out all of the pages you would like to include within your site. Then, begin to group the pages logically. As an example, a user would probably expect to see a company's mission, history and executive bios grouped together. When categorizing your pages, also try to keep the number of groups to a minimum. If you have one navigation with 18 sections, it really doesn't help the user. Again, less is more. As a rule, we recommended limiting the amount of main navigation categories to about six or seven points at the very most.

3. Use simple, brief section headers for your main navigation points.

Now that you have grouped your content, it is time to label these categories. Keep it short and sweet when identifying sections of content. Ideally, you want users to be able to glance at your navigation and quickly discern what type of information they could find in each section. While words that fit this bill may not be full of personality, this is one case where more general terms really are best. Leave the personal touches to the copy on the page and use the navigation headers to get the user to the page. If you get too cutesy or develop very specific section headers, you run the risk of confusing users. They may not understanding what a category contains, or you have limited yourself to what type of information could be added to the section in the future. If you are too specific with your main navigation categories, future additions may not have a logical home on the site, leaving admins to just add another point to the main navigation. And, this is typically not in the user's best interest.

4. Work from left to right in terms of most important to least important.

Now you have categorized and named your sections of content, but in what order do you put them on the site? First, look to see if there is a logical progression of information that a user would consume, and then work from left to right. If there isn't a logical flow of information, try to place the most important section first and then work your way right, ending with contact information. Users are accustomed to seeing contact information on the right-side of the navigation. They tend to look there first, and then probably to the footer next to see how they can get in touch with you. Make it easy for them to contact you, and hopefully you will reap the rewards of a well-organized website.

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The Creative Outfit recently started working with Typekit, a font embedding web application that will allow us to use a variety of previously-non-web-safe typefaces on our clients' sites. As the design kingpin here at TCO, I am particularly excited about this implementation.

For the web neophytes out there, it goes like this: you see the same typefaces on every website because designers and developers must use a typeface that the web user has installed on their system. The website basically tells the user's computer to load the web content in Arial; so the user's computer calls on the Arial font file and properly renders the content. If the website calls for Garamond and the user's computer doesn't have the Garamond font file, the website won't render as the designer intended. Instead, it will render in a system default typeface.

Why does this matter? As designers, we like to think the decisions we make for rendering content have an impact on how you consume that content. If a typographer has done a good job you will have never known he was there.

Right, but why does this matter? Typekit exponentially grows our options as designers for displaying content on the web by embedding fonts into the website. Now instead of defaulting to Helvetica or Georgia for headlines, I can use one of hundreds of typefaces that might be much more appropriate for the character of the content, further immersing the user in the media they are consuming.

Ultimately, the user shouldn't know the difference on the conscious level or care about why we couldn't effectively do this before. Typekit simply better arms designers to work on the web and I for one am thrilled with my shiny new weaponry.

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Lindsay Costello Jewelry (www.lindsaycostello.com) went from unorganized and outdated to simply stunning on the web. The jewelry designer's previous web site was clunky and difficult to navigate. Now, Lindsay's web site accurately reflects her personality and products, presenting her designs in a clean, modern and stylish way.

Before a web site could be tackled, a brand needed to be established, so The Creative Outfit first developed a new identity for Lindsay. The client believes that jewelry should be fun, make you feel good and can enhance your style. Armed with her perspective and support, we created a versatile mark that is sophisticated while retaining touches glamor and fun.

Once the new look was established, we partnered with Lindsay to develop business cards, promotional materials for shows and a new web site. The client's web site is now the hub of her business. Customers can quickly peruse and purchase new designs, check out her upcoming show dates and locations, contact her for a custom piece and see what she is up to on her social media accounts. Also with a custom content management system, Lindsay is able to quickly and easily upload new products and remove purchased merchandise. Keeping her site up to date is a breeze.

Lindsay is classy and chic, and now she has the look, web site and materials to back up her amazing designs. Check out Lindsay's new look (www.lindsaycostello.com).

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Hi. We're The Creative Outfit, a graphic and web design firm hailing from St. Louis, with a presence in Chicago and La Crosse, Wisconsin. We specialize in web design, print design and design strategy. To us, design is more than just a job, it's an elegant process that encompasses all parts of the brain, in an effort to best position our clients to speak to their audience.

While well-designed brands do look nice, it is really how they make you feel, think and act that makes them successful. To us, design is not only a form of art, but also a vehicle used to tell your story. With a keen awareness of typography and attention to detail, our organized approach to design establishes a clear hierarchy and takes your audience down the path of your choosing.

We would love a chance to tell you how we work and what we can do for your business. If you would like a free consultation, drop us a line – info@thecreativeoutfit.com.

Thanks and we hope to hear from you soon!

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