More Text Styling: Free InDesign Tutorial

Topics Covered in This InDesign Tutorial:

Master advanced typography fundamentals including Baseline Shift, Small Caps, the Line Tool, and sophisticated OpenType formatting techniques such as proper fraction styling.

Exercise Preview

Exercise Overview

This hands-on exercise will elevate your typography skills by teaching you professional text formatting techniques that separate amateur layouts from polished, publication-ready designs. You'll master essential typographic treatments including all caps and small caps formatting, advanced OpenType features for proper fraction display, and precision baseline adjustments that create visual hierarchy and professional polish.

1. From the InDesign Class folder, open the file uninspirational poster.indd.

   If you encounter a message about modified links, click Update Links. This common scenario occurs when exercise files are created on different systems. Since the linked images remain in the same relative folder structure, InDesign will automatically locate and relink them for you—a time-saving feature that maintains your workflow efficiency.

2. The foundational work is complete—we've input the text and applied basic styling including font family and size selections. Your task is to refine the layout using advanced typography techniques. Zoom in on the text area to work with precision and see the subtle adjustments clearly.

Styling the "Exploration" Title

Creating dynamic typography often involves breaking conventional rules. We'll transform this title using varied sizing and baseline positioning to create visual interest while maintaining readability.

1. Using the Type tool , select the word exploration.

2. In the Control panel, click the All Caps button to convert the text to uppercase.

   If this option isn't visible, switch to the Character formatting options using the button on the left side of the Control panel.

3. Now we'll create visual contrast within the title itself. Select the middle letters XPLORATIO, excluding the opening E and closing N.

4. Reduce the size of these middle letters to 70 pts, creating a size differential that will serve as the foundation for our layered design approach.

5. With the middle letters still selected, we'll use Baseline Shift to align them with the top of the larger letters. This technique is fundamental in creating custom lettering effects within standard typography. Use these keyboard shortcuts for precise control:

   Mac:	Option–Shift–Up or Down Arrow
   Windows:	ALT–Shift–Up or Down Arrow

   Apply the keyboard shortcut repeatedly until the tops of the smaller letters align perfectly with the tops of the E and N.

   NOTE: For precise numerical control or if you prefer manual input, locate the Baseline Shift field in the Control panel's Character options . This field displays your current baseline shift value and allows manual adjustment.

6. The baseline shift has created an interesting negative space that we'll fill with a graphic element. Select the Line tool from the Tools panel.

7. Hold Shift to constrain the line to perfectly horizontal, then draw a line that aligns with the baseline of the E and N, filling the space created by the smaller letters above.

   NOTE: The line should automatically adopt the orange color we've pre-selected. In your own projects, you would apply colors through the Swatches panel (Window > Color > Swatches), ensuring color consistency across your document.

8. With the line selected, adjust the stroke weight to 3 pt in the Control panel to give the line appropriate visual weight:

   

Styling the 2-Line Subtitle

Small caps represent one of typography's most elegant solutions for creating emphasis without the visual shouting of all capitals. This OpenType feature maintains readability while adding sophisticated character to body text.

1. Using the Type tool , select both lines of subtitle text positioned beneath the Exploration title.

2. In the Control panel, click the Small Caps button to apply this refined formatting.

   If this option isn't visible, ensure you're viewing the Character formatting options by clicking the appropriate button on the left side of the Control panel.

The Disclaimer

Professional footnote formatting requires attention to both superscript styling and consistent referencing. These details distinguish polished publications from amateur layouts.

1. Position your cursor at the end of the second subtitle line, immediately following "…Wrong Way" to insert our footnote reference.

2. Type the number 1 to create the footnote reference.

3. Select the number 1 and apply superscript formatting by clicking the Superscript button in the Control panel.

4. Navigate to the disclaimer text at the bottom of the page (beginning with "Not responsible…") and type another 1 at the start of this text block.

5. Select this second number 1 and apply Superscript formatting to match the reference number.

   NOTE: Alternative access to formatting options like All Caps and Superscript is available through the Character panel (Type > Character) via its panel menu . This menu also displays keyboard shortcuts for efficient workflow development.

Making Proper Fractions

OpenType fraction formatting represents a significant advancement in digital typography, automatically converting standard number combinations into professionally designed fraction characters. This feature eliminates the manual baseline adjustments and size modifications previously required for proper fraction display.

1. Locate and select the improperly formatted fraction 99/100 within the disclaimer text.

2. Access the Control panel menu on the far right and navigate to OpenType > Fractions to apply automatic fraction formatting.

   OpenType Fraction Benefits

   Professional Appearance

   OpenType fractions create properly proportioned numerators and denominators with appropriate sizing and positioning automatically.

   Instant Formatting

   Simply select your fraction text and choose OpenType > Fractions from the Control panel menu for immediate professional results.