Logo Design Studio Pro Guide – Part 2

Using the Interface The Logo Design Studio Pro interface was designed to help you create a logo in as few steps as possible. Logo Design Studio Interface

Right-clicking the logo canvas will automatically display menu options that let you rearrange layers on the canvas, zoom in our out, and cut and paste logo elements. Adding additional canvases lets you work on different variations of a single logo project file. You can switch your canvas view between canvases by clicking the Canvas tabs to the upper left of the logo canvas currently on display.

Toolbar Controls

The controls at the top of your Logo Design Studio Pro main window include a

File menu (the round logo button at the top of the Logo Design Studio Pro main window) consisting of a New, Save, Export, Print, and Help button. In addition to these options, many other options are organized inside the

Menubar . Click on any menu name (or icon) to display a list of functions and tools.

Menubar

The menubar on the Logo Design Studio Pro interface is located just below the

main toolbar . The

Home ,

Insert ,

Color ,

Effects ,

Canvas , and

View menus organize and list the most useful functions. In addition to these visible menus, many options and features are also conveniently available inside the

slide-out panes , according to which object or item has been selected inside the canvas.

Home Menu

The Home menu includes the controls that let you begin a new logo project, manipulate its layers, and control the display of the elements (objects, text, shapes) on the canvas. Logo Design Studio Pro Home

The menu ribbon is divided into seven sections:

Logo ,

Clipboard ,

Layers ,

Zoom ,

Arrange ,

Editing , and

Selection .

Logo Click the New button to begin a new logo project. The Logo Design Studio Pro welcome window will open and provide you with options to create a logo from a

blank canvas or

template , or open one of your

existing projects . If you already have a logo project open, you will be asked if you wish to save any changes made to it before the new project is opened. Clipboard You can use the Copy, Cut, Paste, Undo, Redo, and Delete buttons in the Clipboard section with any selected object.

Copy will create an exact copy of the selected object that you can then Paste in another location on the logo canvas.
Cut removes the selected object from the canvas, but you can then paste it in another location or on another canvas altogether.
If you are unhappy with a change you have made, you can Undo it at any time.
Likewise, if you have undone a change, you can then Redo the change to restore your modifications.
The Delete button permanently removes your selection from the logo canvas.

Layers The options in this section let you

control the behavior of a selected layer or all layers at once. Use the options under the Lock dropdown button to allow or prevent changes to one or more layers and those under the Hide dropdown button to hide or display (unhide) one or more layers. Zoom Use the options in this section to zoom in or zoom out on your logo canvas as necessary. The option buttons at the bottom of the section let you view the entire canvas at once, zoom in, zoom out, or view the full width of the canvas. You can also select one of the percentage values from the Zoom dropdown list to see the canvas at that size. Note: The Zoom options are also found on the View

menu . Arrange Use the options in this section to

arrange the position of layers with respect to each other. You can place layers in front of or behind other layers, group and ungroup them, or align them with respect to one another. Editing Use the options in this section to manipulate the elements (objects, text, shapes) of your logo. Click the Clone button to make a copy of the selected object. The copy will appear in a new layer on top that of the original object and be displayed slightly lower and to the right of the original. Click Convert to Bezier to convert selected text to a Bezier shape. Use the options under the Boolean dropdown button to create a new shape combined from two selected shapes. Selection Use the options in this section to select one, several, none, or all the elements of your logo. Use the options under the Select All dropdown button to either Select All elements on the canvas or Select None of them. Use the Object Selection and Direct Selection buttons when working with the drawing tools and with text converted to a Bezier shape. (These buttons work the same as the Object and Direct buttons in the Shapes section of the Insert menu.)

Insert Menu

The Insert menu contains important functions to insert shapes, graphics, freehand lines, text, and symbols onto the canvas. Logo Design Studio Pro Insert

The menu ribbon is divided into five sections: Shapes, Graphics, Drawing, Text, and Symbol. Shapes Use the options in the Shapes section to insert a geometric shape onto the canvas. The available shapes are among those you would most commonly use as part of your logo. This section also includes the Object and Direct buttons; use these buttons when working with the drawing tools and with text converted to a Bezier shape. (The Object and Direct buttons work the same as the Object Selection and Direct Selection buttons in the Selection section of the Home menu.) Graphics Use the options in the Graphics section to place pictures onto your logo canvas or select portions of them to display on the canvas. Note: The options in this section are for placing a picture on the canvas without its serving as the canvas background or filling the interior of a shape or object. To use a picture as the canvas background, use the controls in the Background Image section of the Canvas menu. To fill the interior of a shape with a picture, use the controls in the Fill With Picture section of the Color menu. Drawing Use the options in the Drawing section to draw freehand straight or curved lines on the canvas. Text Use the options in the Text section to add the words you enter in the field at the top of the section to your logo project as solid text, stroke text, or text on path. Symbol Click the Symbol button to display the character map, which lets you add special characters to the text in your logo project. Once you have inserted your element on the canvas, you can use the options listed under the Home, Color, and Effects menus to manipulate and modify it as you see fit. You can manipulate the element further by using the available options in the Advanced Tools menu found on the right slide-out pane.

Color Menu

The Color menu includes all the necessary options that let you change the color characteristics of your graphic element (object, shape, or text). Logo Design Studio Pro Color

The menu ribbon is divided into five sections: Stroke/Fill options, Solid Color, Gradient Color, Fill With Picture, and Clear Stroke/Fill. Stroke/Fill Options The first section has two option buttons: Fill and Stroke. Click Fill to fill the interior of a selected shape or object with a color; click Stroke to change the color of the border of a selected shape or object. (Whichever option button you click will be highlighted, and that option will remain valid until you click the other.) Solid Color The Solid Color section lets you select a color and control its hue, saturation, and lightness with a set of three sliders. Choose a color from one of the available options under the Color dropdown, which will appear in the color block below the Color dropdown. If the Fill option was chosen, the shape will be filled with this color; if the Stroke option was chosen, its border will turn this color. Slide the Opacity slider left or right to make the display more transparent or opaque. Once you have colorized a shape or object, you can vary its color with the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness sliders. Slide the H slider to change the color of the selected object. (Colors are arranged as a color wheel starting from red, and going up the spectrum through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet before turning magenta and becoming red again.) Slide the S slider to change the color saturation, to the left to make the color more “washed out,” to the right to make the color more vibrant. Slide the L slider to change the lightness or darkness of the color, left to make the color appear darker, right to make the color appear lighter. Gradient Color The Gradient Color section lets you apply a gradient, or progressive change of color to a shape or object. This section features the same Color dropdown and Opacity slider as the Solid Color section. Use the Color Index dropdown in the upper left to indicate how many gradient stops the coloring should progress through. (You must set this to at least “2” to have a gradient coloring; “1” indicates a solid coloring. Setting the index higher than “2” will repeat the light-to-dark gradient process over the width of the shape or object.) The gradient progression pattern will appear at the bottom of the section. You can reduce the number of gradient stops by clicking the Remove Gradient Stop button (the red “X” to the right of the Color Index dropdown). Use one of the two gradient-colored option buttons to determine the kind of gradient.

Click the Radial Gradient option button (shows a lighter center and darker edges) to vary the color from the edges in
Or click the Linear Gradient button (shows a progressive darkening from one edge to the other) to vary the color from side to side. If you choose a linear gradient, you can control which way the colors change with the Direction dropdown.
Choose one of the Diagonal LR options to darken the gradient from the upper left to the lower right
The Diagonal RL option will darken the gradient from the lower left to the upper right
One of the Horizontal options will darken the gradient from left to right
While the Vertical options to darken from top to bottom.

You can further control the gradient with the options in the Options dropdown box, which are organized into groups that determine how the gradient fills the shape or object (Pad, Reflect, Repeat) and whether it fills it in (Absolute, BoundingBox).

Choose Pad to use the values at the ends of the gradient pattern to fill the space between the gradient pattern at the end.
Choose Reflect to reverse the gradient to fill in the space between the edge of the pattern and the edge of the shape or object being filled.
Choose Repeat to repeat the gradient pattern in its original direction to fill the intervening space.
Choose Absolute to fill the object with a single color averaged between the gradient extremes.
Choose Bounding Box to fill the object with the gradient.

Use the Offset slider to determine where the gradient cycle begins and ends within the element’s space. Sliding the slider right pushes the start point further right (down if you selected Vertical from the Direction dropdown), while sliding it left pushes the start point further left (up if you selected Vertical from the Direction dropdown). Fill With Picture The Fill With Picture section lets you fill a selected element with a picture or texture image. To do this, enter the path to the graphic’s location in the field in the upper left corner of the section. If you don’t know the pathname, click the Browse Image button to add an image or Add Texture to add a texture. Use the Open dialog to navigate to the desired file and click Open to add the image or texture to the canvas. Slide the Opacity slider to the left to make the image more transparent, or to the right to make it more opaque. To tile the image or texture, check the Tile checkbox. You can control how the tiled images are oriented with the Tile Mode dropdown options:

Choose Tile to keep all tiled images oriented normally
Flip X will flip each column left to right
Flip Y will flip each row top to bottom
Flip XY will flip the images both ways.

You can adjust the size of each tiled image with the Width and Height sliders and the position of each image within the element with the Move X and Move Y sliders. Note: Be sure to click the Fill option button, if it is not already highlighted, so that you will see the image. Otherwise, the image will replace the border (Stroke option), and you will see a multicolored border around your element. Note: These instructions are for using a picture as your background image. If you only wish to add a picture to your logo project, you do that with the button controls in the Graphics section of the Insert menu. Clear Stroke/Fill The Clear Stroke/Fill section lets you remove the color from any selected element. Simply select the element you wish to remove the color from and click the Clear Stroke/Fill button. If the Fill option is highlighted, the fill color is removed, leaving a transparent fill; if the Stroke option is highlighted, the border color is erased, leaving a transparent border. Note: You can use this feature to create borderless shapes. Simply create the shape you want from the Shapes section of the Insert menu and select Fill on the Color menu to fill it in with color. Select Stroke and then select None to erase the shape’s stroke (border) color.

Effects Menu

The options in the Effects menu lets you enhance the appearance of your graphic element (object, shape, or text) with special effects. Logo Design Studio Pro Effects

The menu ribbon is divided into five sections: Outer Glow, Drop Shadow, Bevel, Blur, and Emboss. The options in each section are enabled by checking the Enable box in the upper left corner of that section. Outer Glow The Outer Glow section lets you surround the element with a halo of color that is darkest near the element and lighter the further away from the element it is. Choose the glow color from the Color dropdown. Adjust the opacity of the glow with the Opacity slider. Slide the slider left to make the glow more transparent, right to make it more opaque. Adjust the size of the glow with the Glow Size slider. Slide the slider right to expand the glow, left to contract it. Adjust the spacing between the points within the glow with the Noise slider. Slide the slider right to increase the spacing, making the glow more granular, or to the left to reduce the spacing, making the glow smoother. Drop Shadow The Drop Shadow section lets you place a shadow behind your selected object. Choose the shadow color from the Color dropdown. Adjust the opacity of the drop shadow with the Opacity slider. Slide the slider left to make the glow more transparent, right to make it more opaque. A more transparent drop shadow allows any elements behind the shadowed element to appear more readily. Use the Direction slider to control the drop shadow position relative to the element. Slide the slider left to move the shadow clockwise, to the right to move the shadow counterclockwise. Note: The slider references the shadow’s position in degrees, with 0 and 360 degrees representing a shadow positioned due right (east) of the shadowed element. Thus, a shadow above (north of) the element is at 90 degrees, a shadow due left (west) is at 180 degrees, and a shadow below (south of) the element is at 270 degrees. Use the Depth slider to adjust the shadow’s distance from the element. Slide the slider left to bring the shadow closer to the element, right to move it further away. At the slider’s furthest left position, the shadow is completely behind the element; at its furthest right, the shadow is entirely separate from the element. Adjust the spacing between the points within the shadow with the Noise slider. Slide the slider right to increase the spacing, making the shadow more granular, or to the left to reduce the spacing, making the shadow smoother. Adjust the softness of the shadow with the Softness slider. Slide the slider left to make the points within the shadow more defined (sharper), right to make the points more blurred (softer). Note: If you are using the Drop Shadow effect on a shape, you will have to change either the shape border (stroke) color or the drop shadow color in order to see the drop shadow, as both are black by default. Bevel The Bevel section controls let you put an angled edge on an element, similar to the way some jewels are cut. You can control the nature of the beveling by selecting one of the options in the Edge Profile dropdown box, located to the right of the section checkbox. Choose Linear to produce a straight-line angled edge (like that in a faceted jewel cut), Curved Out to produce a rounded edge that curves outward, Curved In to produce a rounded edge that curves inward, or Bulged Up to produce a raised edge around the element. Use the Smoothness slider to control how distinct the beveling appears. Slide the slider left to make the beveling sharper and more distinct, right to make the beveling softer and blurrier. Use the Relief slider to control how raised the edge appears. Slide the slider to the right to make the beveled edge appear more raised, to the left to make the beveling list distinct. Note: Sliding the Relief slider all the way to the left (0) will make the beveling disappear entirely. Use the Bevel Width slider to control the percentage of the element’s filled-in area that is beveled. Slide the slider left to reduce the thickness of the beveled area, right to increase it. Note: Sliding the Bevel Width slider all the way to the left (0) will make the beveling disappear entirely, while sliding it to the right (100) will bevel the entire filled-in area. Use the Light Angle slider to control how light appears to fall on the beveling. Slide the slider left to move the light source clockwise, to the right to move the light source counterclockwise. Note: The slider references the light source’s position in degrees, with 0 and 360 degrees representing a light source positioned due right (east) of the shadowed element. Thus, a light source above (north of) the element is at 90 degrees, a light source due left (west) is at 180 degrees, and a light source below (south of) the element is at 270 degrees. Blur The Blur section controls let you soften the appearance of your selected element with an overall blur effect. You can choose one of two kinds of blur effects, Gaussian or Box, from the Kernel Type dropdown list. (A Gaussian blur uses more sophisticated mathematics to produce its blurring effect than does a box blur.) Use the Radius slider to control how blurred the element appears. Move the slider left to make the element appear more distinct and right to make it blurrier. Note: Moving the Radius slider all the way to the left (0) removes the blurring entirely. Emboss The Emboss section controls let you add a raised effect to your selected element. Use the Light Angle slider to control how light appears to fall on the embossing. Slide the slider left to move the light source clockwise, to the right to move the light source counterclockwise. Note: The slider references the light source’s position in degrees, with 0 and 360 degrees representing a light source positioned due right (east) of the shadowed element. Thus, a light source above (north of) the element is at 90 degrees, a light source due left (west) is at 180 degrees, and a light source below (south of) the element is at 270 degrees. Use the Relief slider to control the embossing effect. Slide the slider right to increase it, left to decrease it.

Canvas Menu

The options in the Canvas menu let you modify the logo canvas. Logo Design Studio Pro Canvas

The menu ribbon is divided into three sections: Canvas, Background, and Width and Height. Canvas The Canvas section lets you add or remove additional canvases to your logo project. Click the Add button to add a new canvas to your project, or click the Remove button to remove the currently displayed canvas. (You will first be asked to confirm the deletion.) You can switch between canvases by clicking the numbered tabs above the canvas. Background The Background section options let you change the appearance of the canvas background. Select the Color tab to control the background color or the Image tab to fill the canvas with an image or texture as the background. The Color Tab Check the Transparent checkbox to have a transparent background. Use this option if you plan to use the logo in applications where you don’t want a visible background, such as on a website or in a PowerPoint presentation. Leave the box unchecked to have an opaque background, which is recommended if you plan to use the logo on printed documents, such as stationery or letterhead. Choose an opaque background color in one of two ways:

Select the color from the Color dropdown box.
Use the Color Picker to make the background the same color as that in any element (shape, object, or text) on the canvas. Click the Color Picker (eyedropper) button, then move your cursor over the selected element. The color under the cursor will appear in the color box inside the Color dropdown as you move the cursor. When you see the color you want, click your mouse and the background will become that color.

The Image Tab Enter the path to the location of the graphic you wish to use as a background in the field at the top of the page. If you don’t know the pathname, click the Browse Image button to add an image or Add Texture to add a texture. Use the Open dialog to navigate to the desired file and click Open to add the image or texture to the canvas. Slide the Opacity slider to the left to make the image more transparent, or to the right to make it more opaque. Note: Sliding the Opacity slider all the way to the left will make the image or texture disappear altogether, leaving a gray background. Width and Height The Width and Height section options let you determine the size and orientation of your logo canvas. Select the desired canvas size from the options in the Preset Sizes dropdown list:

A3, A4, A5, Letter (8.5″ x 11″)
Tabloid (11″ x 17″)
Legal (8.5″ x 14″)
Executive, and Custom

If you choose the Custom option, you can specify the dimensions in pixels, inches, centimeter or millimeter by entering those dimensions in the Width and Height fields, and setting the appropriate measurement in the dropdown box beside either field. The canvas is set to a portrait orientation, where the width is less than the height. To change the layout to a landscape orientation, where the width is greater than the height, check the Landscape checkbox. The figures in the Width and Height fields will be exchanged. Check OK to implement your selections.

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Part 3: Logo Slide-Out Panel > >

Using the Logo Design Studio Pro Interface