25.8.09

Things that work my nerves

I enjoy my job. I mean, it is what it is. But one of my favorite components is layout. Unfortunately, there are people paid better than me who don't seem to grasp even the basics of layout. Maybe I'm OCD, but really, I just can't stand clutter and redundancy and all of the above create them both. I also hate extra work. It should only take about 30 minutes to lay out an 8-page publication.

Fixing these amateur errors sucks up time I could spend elsewhere (like farming on Facebook :P):

1. Snap-to guides. Do people really use these? So annoying!

2. Text boxes set to 100% white. Set the boxes to no fill. Seriously. There's no reason for 100% white in any text box unless you're printing on black. And that 1% isn't worth a default setting.

3. Lack of style sheets. If you're working with a multi-page document that demands consistency, you should use style sheets. End of discussion.

4. Ignoring master pages. Just like with style sheets, the point is to make things easier. Ever try to automate a table of contents without style sheets or master pages? It's a waste of time.

5. Using spaces instead of tabs and using tabs instead of graph formats. If you want a table or a checklist? Use tabs. You want idented paragraphs? Use formats. The only time to use the space bar is for separating words. Trust me. I'm right.

I'm just sayin.

1 comments:

  • gwenschott

    I love you. Really. I do. Someone who feels my pain.

    Unfortunately we do all our work in Word. What aggravates me the most are people who say "trust me, I know how to use Word." No you don't. Believe me, you don't. And you're doing to screw my document up beyond recognition, and I'll have to spend my afternoon cleaning up your mess.

    GAH!!!

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear what you have to say! (If you want an emailed response, be sure to enable email in your Blogger settings -- see a tutorial here.)

Now. Spill it!