Hot Stuff
Weekly Contest - Expression Studio
1 Winner Selected
The Big Picture Magazine - FREE
Real-world solutions to design challenges
Get Creative Videocast
New every week. Watch what's important to you.
Subscribe to Author CreativePro Author > John McWade
John McWade
Designer, teacher, and author John McWade has been at the forefront of the graphic design and desktop publishing worlds for several decades. The very first beta user of the desktop publishing program Aldus PageMaker, he went on to found the first desktop publishing company, PageLab, to take advantage of the new tools. With his partner Gaye McWade, he founded the acclaimed Before and After magazine.
Design How-To: Tell Your Readers Where to Go
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on December 6, 2006
We're trained to read left to right. Take advantage of this and turn your page sideways, then add a horizontal line of photos that accelerates the movement to the right and leads readers directly to your main message.
Design How-To: Use Lego-Like Modules
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on November 8, 2006
Want a simple format that's useful when designing everything from postcards to Web pages? Use snap-together modules that provide endless variety.
Five Great Design Ideas to Use Now
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on September 22, 2006
So you're just sitting there, staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen, as if the Idea Fairy will come along and bop you on the head. Consider this article the magic wand you've been waiting for.
Design How-To: Unleash the Action!
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on August 30, 2006
A still photo is real life on pause. Here's how to get things moving again -- and get plenty of attention for your designs.
Design How-To: Help Photos Tell a Story
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on July 21, 2006
As a designer, you can't always control the quality and type of photos you must work with. But you can easily improve almost every photo with creative cropping.
Design How-To: Stick It!
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on June 5, 2006
Many businesses hand out magnets with useful information (measurement charts, calendars, etc.) and their name and phone number. Here's how to make this gimmick a visually appealing tool customers will want to keep.
Design How-To: Turn One Photo Into a Thousand Images
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on May 1, 2006
Well, maybe not a thousand. But you can often carve up a large photo into several smaller images. You'll stretch your photo dollar, and your images are almost guaranteed to be unified in color and texture.
Design How-To: Impossible Deadline and Budget? Time to Go Back to the Basics.
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on April 7, 2006
See how one expert successfully meets the challenge. Along the way, you'll pick up tips on ideal images; page layouts and color palettes that simplify the job; and making the most of one type family.
Design How-To: Get a Great Cover with a Label-Style Title
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on March 10, 2006
Whether you need to add punch to a cover and don't have an image, or text is a supporting actor to a star photo, a title that looks like it's a label is an excellent alternative.
Design How-To: Create a Flier that Comes Back
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on February 3, 2006
On a budget? Need a response? Design a flier that's its own envelope!
Design How-To: Turn Letters Into Logos
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on November 7, 2005
John McWade of "Before & After" magazine helps you change common letters into a logo any company would be proud to call its own.
Design How-To: Make Eye-catching Small Calendars
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on October 3, 2005
Electronic organizers are a great way to manage your calendars when what interests you is data. But to tell a story, present a product or stir a memory, you'll want a good, old-fashioned paper calendar. Here's how to design a small calendar.
Design How-To: Take a Layout from Dull to Dazzling
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on August 24, 2005
A design can be well crafted yet miss the mark entirely. By following the transformation of Web banners for a bluegrass concert series, you'll learn how to inject energy and authentic visual cues into any type of layout for any event.
Design How-To: Choose the Right Typeface Every Time
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on July 18, 2005
Flashy typefaces are fun, but when you design something with large blocks of text, you need a font that doesn't tire your readers. We share our favorites and reveal easy tricks for identifying other suitable choices.
Design How-to: Brochures that Get Noticed
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on June 7, 2005
You don't need metallic inks or tricky die-cuts to create a brochure everyone wants to pick up. Just offset the folds and work a little design magic. It's easy -- we even give you templates!
Design How-To: Make Type and Photos Play Nice
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on May 10, 2005
When text and images are battling for the same space, you don't have to give up one or the other. Here are practical techniques for bringing the two together.
Design How-To: Solve Color Dilemmas
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on March 25, 2005
No matter what you're creating -- a print piece, a Web site, an illustration -- the element with the greatest effect on your audience is color. How do you choose the right one, or even more daunting, the best mix?
Design How-to: A Better Newsletter
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on March 22, 2005
Before & After magazine is renowned for its practical yet beautiful advice on laying out pages. This excerpt from the book "Before & After Page Design" is no exception. Here's all you need to know -- from the basics to the refined detail -- to design successful newsletters.
Design How-to: Endless Pattern Possibilities
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on March 4, 2005
Just one simple step-and-repeat technique is all you need to create striking background patterns perfect for the covers of books, annual reports, brochures -- you name it.
Design How-To: Working with Photos
How-Tos: Written by John McWade on October 29, 2004
So your staff meeting is coming up and your boss tells the administrative assistant to take some photos for the corporate newsletter. When he returns, he hands you generic snapshots taken from across the room. Here's how to salvage the job with cropping and layout.