Design Basics

A word of caution. Such are the range of choices available with QuarkXpress, that newcomers to the program are inclined to go completely bananas with their first attempts. Just because you have 300 Fonts available, it doesn't mean that you are obliged to use them. 'The Right tool for the Right Job' - 'Less is More'. These cliches could have been invented for Design in general and Desktop Publishing in particular.

The Right Approach

Think about what you want to see on the page. What is the purpose of the Poster/ Leaflet/ Book? Once you have a clear idea, sketch it out roughly, plan the different elements of the page with regard to spacing, legibility and overall impact. Great Design is not always simple, but if you start off simply, you have a far better chance of achieving what you want. QuarkXpress has a number of powerful features to help you plan the foundations of your document - Guides, Style Sheets and Master Pages. We will take a look at them in turn...