Stage 3: Professional Output in InDesign

Student assignments and projects culminate into a Final Lookbook & Linesheet. In industry, it’s a wholesale business-to-business catalog addressed to potential product vendors. Students learn to identify their target market in order to provide an appealing product line and price points.

Access the PDFs of the samples above here:

Geometric Minimalism

La Ganraa

Luxuria

Nativo

The Workflow

The culmination of the Final Project integrates Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. InDesign is ultimate destination for digital assets in forming a compelling brand narrative in multi-page layouts.

DIGITAL TECHNIQUE: Project

1. INTERPRETING ILLUSTRATOR MOOD BOARD IN INDESIGN: Concept Board – Combining branding vector assets with optimized, silhouetted figures, mood board images from Photoshop

• Translating a cohesive layout in InDesign
  • Brand logo
  • Inspirational imagery from mood board (photos)
  • Titles: Fashion line name & season/year
  • Color story and indication of materials (4-6 color swatches)
  • Key looks and silhouettes (cut outs) that will be included in the line(pulled from the runway, street, or cutout garments)
  • A head to toe look as vector flats: colorized, edited, and custom print or fabric filled
• Employing the concept board as a stylistic starting point toward a cohesive brand narrative
  • Using the head to toe look to generate merchandising categories
  • Narrative page flow: from hero cover to lookbook and linesheet layouts, maintaining branding cohesion while maintaining visual interest
• DIGITAL TECHNIQUES:
  • Importing brand color swatches in ASE file to InDesign and editing to limit color palette
  • Becoming familiar with object content vs. frame, type tools, linking, and external file management
  • Managing layers and navigating document file
• Graphic Design:
  • Establish that the looks and logo are the primary focus of the concept board
  • Employ adequate white space to highlight focal points
  • Screen back mood board related assets (ambiance vs content)

2. MANAGING MULTIPLE VECTOR ASSETS: Linesheet Pages & Spreads 

• Merchandise categories: Product offerings
  • Determining price point according to target customer
  • Consistent merchandise assortment with customer lifestyle within categories
  • Present colorways for each product through colors labeled to match theme
• DIGITAL TECHNIQUES:
  • Managing vector or silhouetted assets
  • Managing branding palette and translating color story into colorways
  • Determining paragraph and text styles for headings, body text, and captions
• Graphic Design:
  • Creating a good layout, working with a grid for consistent organization but adding visual interest
  • Establishing visual hierarchy, following rules of type for visual cohesion and interest
  • Creating a consistent, fluid visual branding system: color palette, typeface, consistent placement with variation to build interest

3. BUILDING A COMPELLING NARRATIVE COVER TO COVER: Introduction & Lookbook Spreads

• Tell the vendor about your brand in 1-2 paragraphs introducing your brand and new line
  • Identify your brand and describe it using brand DNA keywords.
  • Describe the new seasonal line.
  • Describe your target customer and their lifestyle.
  • End with a message explaining why your brand’s new line is unique.
  • Make sure body text is readable.
• Image choices and pace: Consider how other media create a story. (Ex: Film builds in a combination of close ups, establishing shots, and main character shots and point of view shots)
• How would you “storyboard” your brand? Who is your hero? What might be the aspirations of your target customer (target customer profile is another good example)
• Creating a compelling start-to-finish narrative through thumbnails prior to getting on computer.
• Present in front of peers with a clear beginning, middle, and end
• DIGITAL TECHNIQUES:
  • Using layers to organize assets
  • Placing all assets within InDesign to make all elements editable objects within application
  • Employing text and paragraph styles to maintain consistency throughout project
  • Pre-flighting and collecting for output for press or to move from one computer to another
  • Output as book and presentation
• Graphic Design:
  • Observing sample and peer works-in-progress: What is working what’s not working?
  • Establishing visual hierarchy, following rules of type for visual cohesion and interest
  • Creating a consistent, fluid visual branding system: color palette, typeface, consistent placement with variation to build interest