Learn how to create a second page for digital displays, by adding images, and utilizing tools to format text and layout. Gain valuable insight on how to use features within your workspace to achieve a professional design.
Key Insights
- The article provides a step-by-step guide on creating a second page for a digital display, including adding an image from a CC library and filling a frame proportionally.
- It discusses how to add and format text using the type tool, including how to adjust the inset spacing for consistent distance on all sides and how to change font size and style.
- The piece also explains how to use the workspace for VDCI to change the properties of the text frame and to align content within the frame, thereby ensuring an aesthetically pleasing design.
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In this video, we'll be creating the second page for our digital display. So let's scroll down to Page 2, and with this page shown, we can see that in the sample we have an image on the left two sections and some text on the right-hand side.
So let's first utilize a frame for our image, and we'll cover the left two sections. Next, let's create our rectangle by utilizing the Rectangle Tool, and we're going to cover this right-hand side here, as we have a black background here. Finally, we'll swap the stroke and fill by clicking Swap Fill and Stroke, and we now have the background. And here we are for our image.
Next, let's import our image. To do this, we'll go into our CC Library, and we'll click on the right-hand side. If you don't see CC Libraries, simply go to Window and make sure that it's checked. Within our libraries here, we can choose whatever image you would prefer. In this case, I'm going to utilize this photo right here.
So I'll simply click and drag it over and click in the frame. I'll then right-click, go to Fitting, and we'll go to Fill Frame Proportionally. As we look at this, I actually like the way this looks right now, so I'm not going to adjust it at all. However, feel free to adjust your image as you prefer.
Next, we want to work on adding some text to this right-hand side. To do this, we'll utilize our Type Tool—shortcut T on the keyboard—and we want this Type Tool to fill this area on our right-hand side. So let's create a text frame by dragging over this entire section here, and here we have our text frame.
Next, since we don't want it to come all the way to the left, top, right, and bottom, we want a little bit of space. In the past, we've utilized our Selection Tool and resized it by dragging from any of the corners. I'll hit CTRL + Z, or we'll drag in from one corner and hold CTRL + Shift + ALT so it resizes equally from the center.
However, if we do this here, we'll see that the space between the top and the text frame is much larger than the space between the right-hand side and the text frame. This is because we're changing the size proportionally, so it maintains the same shape. If we want the same amount of distance on each side, we can do this by maintaining the same text frame but changing our inset spacing.
To sample this, let's first start by right-clicking and filling in some text. Currently, we can't see it because the text is black. So let's go over and select our formatting for text, and we'll simply change it from black to Paper. Now we can see the text. Let's double-click and hit CTRL + A, and from here, let's increase the size up to 16 and change it to Chivo.
We'll select Chivo Lite, and here we can see the text. Now, if we want to bring this text in like we discussed, we can do so by utilizing our Selection Tool and making sure that we have the text frame selected. From here, essentially what we want to do is push all of the text in toward the middle equally from each side.
We could do this similar to how we've done it in the past by going into our workspace for VDCI. Within our Properties panel, we can go down to the bottom, and if we double-click our text and hit CTRL + A, we can push it to the right or left to create
Space on each side. However, let's hit zero pixels. Instead, we want to evenly move from each side.
We're going to utilize our Selection Tool, right-click, and go to Text Frame Options. Within Text Frame Options, we have the opportunity to change the inset for the font. Right here, we can select Inset Spacing, and as we click up, we'll see spacing that separates it from each side evenly since all settings are the same.
Let's go all the way to 20 pixels and click OK. Here, we can see that even though our text frame is now the same size as the background, we have this inset spacing keeping all of our font balanced. So next, let's edit our text.
First, we're going to hit CTRL + A to select all of the text, and let's hit the Delete key since we want to remove the previous text. Next, let's give it a title. In my case, I'll type "Space for Living, " or feel free to write whatever title you'd prefer.
From here, we're then going to fill it with placeholder text. We'll right-click and select Fill with Placeholder Text. Finally, let's delete about half of this, as we don't want too much text for our display. And here we have our title and our text. Next, let's modify our title.
We'll highlight it, and I want it to be a bit more bold, so I'll go to Bold, and let's drop "for Living" to the bottom here by hitting ENTER. Finally, let's make "SPACE" all caps. I'll select All Caps for "SPACE, " and I really want this to be accented, so I'm going to go from Bold to Black. Additionally, I'll select all of this text and increase the size. Feel free to edit your heading however you'd prefer, but make a couple of changes and challenge yourself. I'll then select "SPACE, " and let's increase the size a bit. In this case, I'm going to actually come over to the right-hand side and increase the tracking.
Since the word is "SPACE, " I want to show a little more space right below this. And for "Living, " I want to contrast it from the word above. So rather than having it Bold, let's change it to Regular. I'll then increase the size of the font so that it roughly matches the title above. I don't like the look of this.
Finally, I'm going to add a little bit of space above this paragraph here, so I'll go down to the paragraph settings, and right here under Space Before, I'll add a bit of space. I think this looks good. I'll then select this text frame, and let's center all of this text within the section.
We can do this above in our control bar. I'll select Align Center, and if we hit W, we can see what this looks like. I have a couple of changes I want to make. The first change is I want to select all of it by hitting CTRL + A on the keyboard, and I want to get rid of Hyphenate. This way, all the words are together.
Additionally, I also want to decrease the space between "SPACE" and "for Living." To do this, I'm going to change the distance between the two lines. Simply decrease this here, and I like the look of this. As one final change, I'm going to add a little more space between the paragraphs and also break these paragraphs up.
While we don't always have the opportunity to design with lorem ipsum or placeholder text, we do in this case, and I'll take full advantage of that. We'll then zoom out by hitting CTRL + Minus (-)
On the keyboard, and this looks pretty good. Let's now save our work by hitting CTRL + S on the keyboard to save. In the next video, we're going to begin animating this page.
See you there.