All posts by mistermarmolejo

Computer Graphic Design

Redesigning an Advertisement Project – Fall 2025

Objective:

I can demonstrate my understanding of the principles of design and typography by re-designing an ugly or boring real-world flyer advertisement so I can help make the campus a more beautiful and interesting place to read important messages.

Links:

  • None – See previous Assignment posts for review.

Topics Discussed:

  • InDesign Page Layout
  • Horizontal Width
  • Vertical Width
  • Document Grid
  • Snap to Grid
  • Margins and Columns
  • Principles of Design (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity)

Assignment:

Let’s face it. There’s a lot of ugly flyers on the walls of this campus.

If they’re not ugly, they’re just plain and boring. Regardless, nobody pays attention to them and that completely defeats the purpose of a flyer. With all that you’ve learned about design, there’s no reason why you couldn’t improve on the ugly, boring, attention-starved flyers littering the walls of this school and help make the campus a more beautiful place to live and read.

Instructions:

  • Open a new InDesign document. Use the standard default Letter paper size and .25″ margin settings.
  • Create a new folder with your name on it and save all files and images in the same folder as the InDesign document.
  • Select a flyer from the front table, and use everything that you’ve learned about typography, page layout and the Principles of Design to improve on its design. Make it better than it was before!
  • You must use all the text on the page and re-type it exactly as it appears on the page. You may not use any of the typefaces or images on the original page.
  • You may download fonts from the web, as long as they are free for personal use.
  • Go out on the Internet and find one or more pictures that you can use to recreate the ad. Make sure they are of appropriate size and quality, and are not watermarked or otherwise labeled.
  • These will be printed on a black and white printer (Printing lots of color copies is expensive!), so you may only use black, white and shades of gray in your design.
  • You must save the images you find in the assignment folder, and place them in InDesign. DO NOT copy and paste them or drag them directly from the web browser into InDesign.
  • Use search engines like Google Image Search to look for images. Your pictures don’t have to be an exact match for the ad, but you’ll want to find something relevant to the flyer’s message.
  • Turn on your grids and use the Snap to Grid setting to align your images and text. Leave at least one square of space between all images and text.
  • Have your completed ad checked by Mr. Marmolejo, export the ad as a High Quality PDF file, and upload it to the Google Classroom assignment post entitled “Redesigning an Advertisement Project Fall 2025” by end of class on Thursday, October 2nd.
  • Remember that Friday is the end of the term, so all past due assignments will be due on Thursday, October 2nd as well. Late work will not be accepted on Friday, October 3rd, so plan accordingly!

Assigned: September 29th, 2025
Teacher Pacing Due Date: October 2nd, 2025

Computer Graphic Design

Intro to Typography: Making Your Own Typeface With Calligraphr

Objective:

I can use online tools and my understanding of typographic principles to produce my own typeface.

Web Links:
Calligraphr.com

Topics Discussed:

  • Typography
  • Font

Assignment:

Today we are going to wrap up our exploration of Typography through its ultimate expression: Making our own Typeface!

Type can be created through many methods, including carving individual letters out of steel blocks, printing letters on clear plastic strips to stick down on pages, or our preferred method: through digital design, using applications specifically built for this purpose. Today, we are going to explore one of those applications, one that is purpose-built to make creating typefaces easy enough that anyone can do it!

To begin, visit the Calligraphr.com website. You will need to create your own login to proceed – It is recommended that use your haydenmagnet.org email address.

  1. Create a template and print it out. (A pre-built template will be provided in class, but you are welcome to build your own custom templates!)
  2. Fill out the template. You can do this in many different ways:
    • You can simply write the appropriate letter in the box with your favorite pencil, pen or marker
    • You can draw the letters on a seperate piece of paper, then cut them out and paste them in the provided spaces.
    • You can cut out letters from other documents and paste them on the template in the provided spaces to create an eclectic “ransom note” style font!
  3. When you have all the spaces filled, use a scanner, digital camera or a smartphone to take a screen capture of your filled-out template.
  4. On the fonts page, choose the Upload Template option and upload your image file.
  5. Click on Build Font and watch the magic happen!
  6. You now have a custom font that you can install and use for any of your design projects!
  7. To complete this assignment, hand in the completed .TTF file to today’s assignment post in the Google Classroom!

Assigned: September 25th, 2025
Teacher Pacing Due Date: September 25th, 2025