Collateral: Editing and Customizing FAQ
You've no doubt seen our really cool default Collateral pieces already, but you have questions. Of course, you can make modifications and even create your own new designs, and this guide will assist. Let's dive in!
First, the most frequent concepts when thinking about design.
Collateral Concepts
1. Basic Details - Name, Paper Size, Format. In our default collateral pieces you can see that generally we work with 8.5x11" paper, whether landscape or portrait. But if you have cardstock or Avery pre-cut pieces, you can also specify some of the most common of those by their Avery code. For example, #8387 is a template for 4 5.5"x4.25" postcards on one sheet.
2. Elements - the components that make up your collateral.
- Elements can be Text, Line, Rectangle, Logo, or Photo. Lines and rectangles are used to build embellishments or borders, often when you are not working with a background image. Logo will take your logo and float it on the design.
- Each element is layered on the page in the order listed, so if you have a background image it must be listed first to allow your other elements to "float" on top of it. See our default pieces for examples of this in action. For this reason, your Logo should conversely be one of the last things listed.
3. Dimensions and X,Y grid - We've designed the collateral to use inches rather than pixels for measurement.
The ZERO spot (0,0) is at the UPPER-LEFT corner of your collateral piece.
- The X dimension scoots your position over to the right.
- To position an element 1" from the edge, set the X position to 1.0
- To control the width of items, set the "width" to the RIGHT-most spot desired. For example, a text-box starting at position 1.0 that you'd like to go all the way to the edge in a 5.5" wide collateral, set the Width to 5.5 (instead of 4.5)
- The Y dimension scoots your position DOWN.
- Same tips as for the X dimension