Stretch tasks R094 TA3: Creating the Visual Identity and Digital Graphics

Round 1: Quiz Blitz

1. Union Union merges the shapes.
2. intersection Exclusion keeps everything except the overlap.
3. Hides part of a layer without deleting it Masks hide rather than delete.
4. False They sit on their own layer and can be altered or removed later.
5. So the file no longer depends on the font being installed A printer without your font would otherwise substitute one.
6. An editable version with live text Paths can no longer be edited as text.
7. node editing Bezier handles then control each curve.
8. 16 pixels, and in one colour If it fails small, it is not finished.
9. Adjustment layers; Layer masks The original pixels are never overwritten.
10. PDF, CMYK, 300 dpi, bleed, fonts embedded Export settings come from the destination.
11. Screenshots with the tool, the settings and the reason Evidence the process, not just the result.
12. To find missing font problems Your own machine has every font installed.

Round 2: Quick Fire

1. • Original pixels are never overwritten, using adjustment layers and masks
   • So changes can be revised or removed later
   Model answer

   Non-destructive editing means the original pixels are never overwritten: changes live on adjustment layers, and masks hide rather than delete. The file can then be revised later, or a change removed, instead of the work having to be redone.

2. • An SVG is a vector master that scales to any size
   • A PNG keeps transparency, which a JPG lacks
   Model answer

   An SVG is a vector master, so the logo scales to any size with no loss. A PNG keeps a transparent background for places that cannot use SVG, whereas a JPG has no transparency and adds lossy artefacts.

3. • Small text or detail may not be legible at the real size
   • Problems such as contrast or hierarchy only show at true size
   Model answer

   Zoomed in, every element looks big and sharp, which hides how it really reads. At its final size, small text may be illegible, detail may disappear and the hierarchy or contrast may not work, so problems are only found there.

4. • Unexplained changes look like the plan was ignored
   • A reason shows the design is being judged and improved
   Model answer

   A change with no explanation looks as though the plan was ignored. A change with a reason, such as moving the address because it competed with the logo, shows the design is being judged and improved.

Round 3: Big Think

1. • The logo built from shapes and paths in vector software
   • Boolean operations such as union and difference
   • Node editing and Bezier curves
   • Align and distribute, and text converted to paths
   • Adjustment layers, such as levels and curves, for the photo
   • Layer masks and selections
   • Retouching, cropping and resizing
   • Screenshots of each tool, its settings and the reason
   Model answer

   I would build the logo in vector software such as Inkscape, starting from shapes and paths, combining them with Boolean operations such as union and difference, and refining curves with node editing and Bezier handles. Align and distribute would make the spacing exact, and the text would be converted to paths for delivery, keeping an editable copy. For the poster's photograph, I would work in raster software using adjustment layers for levels and curves, layer masks and refined selections to cut out the subject, and the healing tool sparingly, cropping and resizing knowingly. I would take screenshots showing each tool, its settings and the reason I used it.

2. • Keep the layered working file
   • Numbered versions, a naming convention, and no file called final
   • Print: a PDF in CMYK at 300 dpi with bleed and fonts embedded
   • Web: an RGB JPG or PNG at exact pixel dimensions, compressed
   • View at 100% and at the final size
   • Print a proof
   • Compare with the visualisation diagram and the brief
   • Open the exports on another machine to catch font problems
   Model answer

   The designer should keep the layered working file, such as the PSD, and every numbered version, using a naming convention like festival-poster-v04 and never calling a file final. The print export should be a PDF in CMYK at 300 dpi with bleed and fonts embedded, and the web export an RGB JPG or PNG at the exact pixel dimensions, compressed so it loads quickly. Before handing over, they should view each at 100% and at its final physical size, print a proof to check the colour, compare the work with the visualisation diagram and the brief, and open the exports on a different machine to catch missing fonts.

This or That

1. Difference Union joins shapes. Difference cuts one out of another.
2. An adjustment layer An adjustment layer can be altered or removed later.
3. A layer mask A mask hides pixels. The eraser deletes them.
4. No: keep the master The master is the only version that can be meaningfully changed.
5. Before delivery Paths cannot be edited as text, so convert only for delivery.
6. No: show the process Evidence needs the tool, the settings and the reason.
7. RGB Anything shown on a screen uses RGB.
8. On their own layer On their own layer, at a judged opacity, they stay adjustable.

Memory Match

• A 3 Boolean operation: Combining shapes by union or difference
• B 5 Node editing: Moving points to shape a curve
• C 6 Layer mask: Hides part of a layer without deleting
• D 1 Adjustment layer: An editable colour or tone change
• E 4 Working file: The layered master behind every export
• F 2 Proof: A test print checked before the run

Sort It

1. Raster software Cropping a photograph Photographs are raster images.
2. Vector software Converting text to paths Paths are vector outlines.
3. Vector software Building a logo that scales Logos are built as vectors.
4. Raster software Clone and healing tools Retouching photographs is raster work.
5. Vector software Boolean union and difference Boolean operations combine vector shapes.
6. Raster software Adjustment layers on a photograph Non-destructive raster editing.
7. Vector software Node editing Nodes are the points on a vector path.
8. Vector software Aligning and distributing shapes Exact spacing of shapes is vector work.
9. Raster software Levels and curves Tone correction for photographs.
10. Raster software Layer masks Masks hide parts of a raster layer.
11. Vector software Bezier curves Bezier handles control vector curves.
12. Raster software Refining a selection edge Cutting out a subject from a photo.