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Creating Advertisements with Quark Xpress
~~Charlene Russ, Chromacrys Media

Designers are quite frequently called upon to create advertisements for newspapers and magazines using Quark Xpress. Advertising layouts are often more creative, fun and less cumbersome than other types of design layouts. To create quality usable ads, it is important that the designer understand layout principles, and bleeding edges.

When working with many types of layouts such as book or catalog design, white space is conserved. Yet since advertising often involves more creative layouts, white space is sometimes used more liberally to draw attention to a creative concept. Typography often undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes a new art form. Advertising layouts have a way of transcending themselves as basic elements become high art elements. Distorted images, unique photos and renderings are given free reign in the advertising arena, which involves the fine art of creative communication and the emergence of memorable ideas.

The Ad Designer must know how to create gripping design combinations that attract and even shock the viewer. The designer must also have an intimate understanding of basic layout skills and use of page bleeds, which is covered in my Quark Basics online class. To create a layout that works, the designer must know what the message is and consider how the assembled design elements will best communicate this message.

Tips:

• Don’t limit yourself

• Think outside the box

• Use all tools at your disposal

For creative advertising, it’s important to gather all relevant resources and pool them into appropriate categories. To think outside the box is to consider many different ideas, even those thought to be impractical or inane. Don’t be afraid of using other resources or even incorporating quality clip art into your designs.

Charlene Russ is an online instructor with Eclectic Academy and she is also an adjunct instructor with a Florida community college in the Digital Arts dept.  Charlene's personal site is Chromacrys Media: Graphic Design, which features a wide gamut of useful design related information.