Research and Instruction Technologist
Office: Clapp Library Room 219B
You can decide which tool you would like to use to create your advert. When choosing, consider what you would like your finished product to look like and how comfortable you are using a tool. If you have questions, you can always ask. You can also mix and match tools to create individual elements.
Photoshop - Photoshop is image editing software. You may purchase it to install on your computer, or you can use it on any campus Mac or Windows computer. *
Powerpoint - Creating an advertisement using PowerPoint essentially consists of making one page-sized slide.
Gimp - Gimp is open source image editing software. It is free; you can install it on your laptop to use on or off campus. Gimp has some trouble working with larger files. It will work best on a more powerful computer.
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*If you have problems with Adobe license errors on campus computers, please report them to the student consultant or to the Help Desk (helpdesk@wellesley.edu or x7777) and change computers.
On the web
When searching for images online for your poster, the biggest technical consideration is if the image is print-worthy quality. How can you tell?
Why are these important? Most images on the web have a resolution of only 72 pixels per inch (ppi). 72 ppi looks fine on screen, but when printed, it looks pixilated. We want the image to be as big as possible, so we can shrink it and raise the resolution to 150 ppi.
Use advanced search options when possible to limit search to large images and creative commons content.
Grab citations when you grab images. You may find it difficult to find the image again later. Zotero can be a big help.
You can find more resources under the Find News & Images tab.
If you have trouble downloading images, you can take a screen shot in a pinch
Scanning
You can find scanners in the Knapp Center and the small Social Sciences Lab in Pendleton. If you’ve never scanned before, you can ask for help at the Knapp or Clapp desks. Scan at a resolution of 150 pixels per inch (ppi)
Your Own Photos
Backing up is important. Photoshop files can get quite large when you preserve all the layers.
In her 1994 book, The Non-Designer's Design Book Robin Williams introduced the basic design principles of CRAP:
| Color/Contrast | Alignment |
| Repetition | Proximity |
Learning about CRAP - In Class Presentation; Poster Examples
While Robin Williams was speaking directly about web design, these basic principals apply to many different types of media, from presentations to posters to film and more.
