Designing Better Information Graphics

By Steve Bain 

Before desktop publishing became just another job responsibility, producing graphically appealing information was a creative endeavor involving a number of creative and academic skills. In this tutorial, we’ll explore some of the basics involved in representing data in creative ways to add interest and engage the viewer. Although the techniques can be used with virtually any graphic application, the examples I’ll use to illustrate my points were created using CorelDRAW.

Cool Tricks with Paragraph Text in CorelDRAW

By Steve Bain

These days, there’s no excuse for churning out plain-looking text layouts. Using recent versions of CorelDRAW, there are so many ways you can make text more interesting to read, it’s a shame not to take advantage of them. In this tutorial, we’ll explore a few tricks that you can use with paragraph text to produce more visually appealing and professional-looking text layouts. Although this tutorial depicts a previous CorelDRAW release version, these tips are valid throughout virtually all recent versions of the program.

Create Your Own Font Designs Using CorelDRAW (Part II)

By Steve Bain

CorelDRAW provides powerful resources for creating custom logotype, symbol, or character designs. Discover how easily you can turn your design into a digital font you can use in any text-capable application in this continuation of my 2-part tutorial on creating custom fonts.

Get the Most from CorelDRAW’s Enhanced Display

By Steve Bain

If you’ve used CorelDRAW in the past to create documents destined for a printing press, you likely already know how to apply overprint properties to objects. Overprinting is often used to reduce the likelihood of gaps between misaligned ink colors when printing with mutiple inks and occurs whenever two or more inks are printed onto the same surface area. Overprinting ink colors can create unintended colors depending on the opacity of the ink. In this tutorial, I’ll explain more on overprinting and explore a relatively new enhanced view mode that will help you see your overprinting results before the ink hits the paper.

Cut Down Your Color Printing Cost without Sacrificing Your Color Options

By Steve Bain

Budget-challenged print designers and small business owners who create their own printed color brochures and marketing material are always looking for creative and resourceful ways to stay within budget without comprising their design or the reproduction quality. Fortunately, your CorelDRAW Graphics Suite includes resources that will help you do just that. In this tutorial, we’ll explore a few color techniques you can use to maximize your color options without maxing out your costs.

Getting a Handle on Design Workflow

By Steve Bain

When approaching virtually any Web, graphic, or layout design project, there’s a common workflow you can use that will progressively and successfully steer you from the idea or concept stage through to delivering the final product.

Create Cool 3D Chiseled Graphics (part 1)

By Steve Bain

In this visit to the CorelDRAW toolbox, you’ll discover a technique you can use to create perfectly chiseled shapes. It’s an effect that will enable you to create the 3D illusion of shapes which appear either recessed into – or raised above - a flat surface. Your success will depend on your object’s shape, your skill at node editing and path commands, and of course how closely you follow these tutorial steps.

How to Design Better Newsletter Layouts in CorelDRAW

By Steve Bain

Not only is CorelDRAW one of the most robust illustration tools around, but unlike other graphics programs, it can also be used to create multipage layouts. This nifty feature makes it the perfect choice for designing projects like booklets, brochures, and newsletters. While expecting to create a 2,000-page catalog with CorelDRAW isn’t realistic, handling a few dozen pages with CorelDRAW is a breeze.

Create Transparent Stylized Buttons using CorelDRAW

By Steve Bain

If you’ve found yourself wishing that you knew how to create those cool, glass-like transparent buttons popular in certain interface designs, your wish is granted. I’m talking about those pill-shaped buttons that appear to be made from colored glass or see-though plastic. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to use CorelDRAW to create glass objects like these:

Click to enlarge

Adopt Better Layout Strategies with CorelDRAW

By Steve Bain

There are good and bad ways to build a layout, and simply making a project look pretty doesn’t guarantee it will be successful at getting a message across. In this tutorial, you’ll learn about layout and design habits that you should definitely avoid, and I’ll demonstrate a few best practices to adopt. These techniques apply regardless of which recent version of CorelDRAW you are using, and the core concepts generally apply to any software you happen to be using. So, there’s a little something for everyone in this installment.