This summer semester students in the layout & design course were assigned a tri-fold brochure project that they were to design in either QuarkXpress or InDesign. Many students like Roberto Bertoni decided to use this project as their opportunity to start learning InDesign.
One thing that students might overlook when using InDesign for the first time is the document size that by default it displays in pica increments. This is one thing Roberto missed when setting up his brochure project for the shoe company Kangaroo. Roberto’s 9″ x 12″ tri-fold brochure was unknowingly sized at 9 picas by 12 picas – which lead to a final brochure which was just 1 1/2″ by 2″ in size. Roberto spent several hours working on this project, and despite noticing during the design process that he had to use a font that was just 2pts, he did not come to the realization that the size was incorrect until it was time to print his project.
Though many students might find this experience to be embarrassing, Roberto thought very optimistically of this experience. Roberto informed us, “even though it seemed like a mistake, it was a rather positive experience because it led me to think in new ways.” Roberto explained to the class during critique that this mistake enabled him to start thinking about new ways of branding the product, such as hang tags and brochures that could be inserted into the shoes.
So what can you do to prevent this from making this same mistake? First you’ll notice that by default InDesign sets the size in picas with the width and height being in a different measurement that will appear similar to “51p0″.
To change the settings to inches you can go to the InDesign menu>Preferences>Units & Increments where you’ll have the ability to change to another measurement such as inches.
To change the measurements you are using once you are in your document you can ctrl + click or right click on the ruler to change from picas to inches. To change the actual document size after you have created your document you can choose File > Document setup.
Thanks again to Roberto – for allowing us to share his experience with everyone. Hopefully sharing this experience will help prevent similiar mistakes.
awwwww… it’s so cute!
on a side note: brochures become hang tags at a smaller size just like posters become fliers at a smaller size.
By: kristy pennino on July 13, 2006
at 9:08 am
[...] Mistaking Picas for Inches in InDesign. “Roberto’s 9′ x 12′ tri-fold brochure was unknowingly sized at 9 picas by 12 picas – which lead to a final brochure which was just 1 1/2′ by 2′ in size.” (Via Authentic Boredom ~ Premium Linkage.) [...]
By: Mistaking Picas for Inches in InDesign at Creative Toolbox on July 18, 2006
at 3:13 pm
But you can’t mail hang tags!
Only one project in school forced me to use picas: the annual report.
By: Narisa on July 19, 2006
at 11:58 am
Roberto, I love that brochure. I am thinking about doing all of my projects that size. I thinkin Krist’y class next semester i will create miniatures and mount them for critique or in web class i will create mini websites
By: Jason Ellison on July 20, 2006
at 12:37 pm
I think he should of seriously kept it that way. It looked cooler smaller.
By: Efrain on July 21, 2006
at 7:02 am
Way to go Roberto! Did you ever make a full size mockup? It’s great that your design works well in different sizes. Flexibility is always an important concept when designing something. I’m sure it happened accidentally, but no one would have guessed.
By: Miguel Pagan on July 22, 2006
at 1:12 pm
I enjoyed this project very much. I think what made it successful was that it sparked ideas, conversation and laughter. Sometimes mistakes can be perceived as a bad thing, but in this case I feel it worked out very positively because the experience led me to reconsider the relationship between the product and the brochure. This relationship that the product and brochure share did not become apparent to me until the afterthought. Therefore, given the opportunity to redo this project I would have tried to deepen the meaning of the relationship between the two. In other words, I would have kept the brochure small enough to fit inside of the shoe. In the future I am definitely going to consider creating miniaturized everything, from business cards to websites and I invite everyone to join the movement.
By: Roberto on July 24, 2006
at 2:23 pm
haha, way to go Roberto, I still say yours was the best man.
By: Tysonr on July 24, 2006
at 5:38 pm
Roberto, I sympathize. In a way its good to see problems that occure like yours but between you and me, I hope if I have a problem that gets put up here it doesnt go into the record books for classic screw ups. Seriously, I liked your layout.
By: Jason Howard on July 24, 2006
at 5:42 pm