Desktop Publishing (DTP) - Essay Example

Desktop Publishing a Newsletter Desktop publishing or DTP, in the basic sense is simply sitting behind a desk with a computer on a desk top, equipped with DTP software, and using the computer to produce material, meaning electronic files, that may be printed either using the desktop computer and printer or using a commercial printer. With the advent of technology, DTP has become the process of choice for creating newsletters, brochures, books, and other publications, which were previously produced manually using a variety of tedious processes.

Technically speaking, “desktop publishing is the technical assembly of digital files in the proper format for printing. In practical use, much of the ‘graphic design’ process is also accomplished using desktop publishing and graphics software and is sometimes included in the definition of desktop publishing.” (Bear 2008) For the task of designing a newsletter to welcome students to the university, my foremost objective was to grab the attention of a new student who can be one of thousands on campus.

Firstly, I have chosen a nameplate which clearly identifies the university and lends credibility to the publication and appended to it the “Welcome New Students” banner which also clearly identifies the publication as meant for new students. Red is the colour of choice for this banner deliberately so that it stands out from the rest of the page which are of more muted colours. In designing the nameplate, the right title must be chosen with important words isolated, the right type font used and size and position are carefully selected.

(Gibbs 2002)The headline article affirms the new student’s decision of enrolling at the university and article content is the proud and warm welcome of the vice-chancellor. Although the article title is very noticeable, it is not expected that the reader will immediately proceed to read the lengthy article. Deliberately, a collage of interesting university photos have been used as visual for the article. Next, the resources at the university which should be quite important to new students is the next item in the eye path, so a stack of these facilities are immediately below the photos.

The right hand column ends with the contact box which is another piece of important information for new students. The Choices at NTU list is designed as teaser items with graphic icons that depict what the resource is all about. Aside from drawing attention to each item on the list, the icon along with the type font used creates a visual element. “Nothing turns off a reader more than long dull columns of gray type. Focus your readers attention with creative graphic elements — art, photos, boxes, screen tints.

” (Rubin 2006). Except for the article, all the other elements on the page can be quickly scanned and because information presented are in brief snippets, they can be more easily retained. When the reader is through with this quick scan, the article can be read at leisure. The body text of the article is written using a serif Times Roman font, which increases the ease of reading long batches of text. Survey “of readers found the overwhelming majority feeling that serif fonts in body type were more readable than sans serif.

Out of 224 respondents, 92 percent favored serif lower case and 86 percent preferred serif italic.” (Gale 2001) The next page of the newsletter is a continuation of the presentation of information deemed relevant and interesting to the new student, as well as aids in promoting the image of the institution. The layout scheme implemented is in-between formal and informal styles so as to encourage perusal by the reader. Photographs are included in selected articles to draw the eye. Article titles are executed in attractive typeface and color to create a visual element to break the monotony of text.

The photograph used for one article is set askew for emphasis and to draw attention to an important item. Bright colors have been used in the newsletter to create camaraderie with young readers. “Color gets attention. According to the Pantone Institute, consumers are up to 78 percent more likely to remember a message printed in color than one in black and white.” (HP 2008)Reference ListBear, J.H. 2008. What is desktop publishing? About.com. Viewed May 19, 2008. http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/beginners/f/what_dtp.

htmGale Group. 2001. Serif wins again. The newsletter on newsletters. LLC. Viewed May 19, 2008. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Serif+wins+again.-a078394069Gibbs, B. 2002. Creating school newsletters.Viewed May 19, 2008. http://www.online.tusc.k12.al.us/shortc/newsltrs/layouts.htmHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. 2008. Why color? Viewed May 19, 2008. http://www.hp.com/oeminkjet/about_TIJ/explore_color/whycolor.htmlRubin, J. 2006. The successful newsletter checklist. The newsletter guy. Viewed May 19, 2008.

http://www.thenewsletterguy.com/articles/Checklist.htmlReference List