Peggy Tuttle – February 2020’s Featured Designer
We’re thrilled to introduce you to our first featured designer, Peggy Tuttle!
Creative director and designer Peggy Tuttle co-founded Tuttle Design Studios in 1992 (a graphic design firm specialising in business to business graphics support, offering services that include advertising, web design, print design and much more).
Tuttle Design Studios focuses on clean, innovative and results-driven marketing materials to support businesses whilst delivering the client’s message.
Peggy’s design piece is a hard copy book on maritime history, which includes 21 chapters, photos, illustrations, tables and more—all made using InDesign!
It must be said that this is one of the most comprehensive examples we’ve seen of using InDesign to create a book. Our congratulations go to Peggy, and of course a huge thank you for submitting your work!
If you would like to be our next featured designer, email us here.
Tell us a bit about yourself & your experience
I graduated with a degree in fine art but always have had an interest in commercial art and design. Consequently, in my current work, I try to bring an artistic aesthetic to each project. My husband and I run the business together—he on the business and client communication side, and I on the creative side.
Our first major client was the commercial real estate division of Duke Energy. We then worked with several different home builders and developers. Currently, we provide marketing support to the real estate sales industry and have recently added design of periodicals, as well as hardback and paperback books to our product mix.
How long have you been using InDesign?
When I started the business I was using Pagemaker, then moved to QuarkXPress. I was a fierce proponent of Quark until around 1999 when Scott Kelby and Jim Workman of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) convinced me to take the plunge and abandon it in favor of the new Adobe Suite. The package included Photoshop and Illustrator as well as their new page layout program called InDesign, which Adobe described as their “Quark Killer.” I was amazed at the seamless integration between the individual applications and, as Photoshop and Illustrator were both applications I used on a daily basis, I decided to make the switch. Of course, I’ve never looked back; there’s nothing better for professional page layout.
What have you created using InDesign?
Probably my most challenging InDesign project—and one of the ones of which I am most proud—is a 500-page hardback book on the maritime history of an old New England shipping family. To produce it, I used InDesign’s powerful Book feature, combining each of the volume’s 21 chapters into an InDesign Book, to help organize and synchronize it. In the book are photos, illustrations, tables, lineage charts, multiple indexes and appendixes, and of course a table of contents. It was a challenge to put together, but in doing it I learned so much about the program and gained a real appreciation of just how powerful it is.
What do you like most about using InDesign?
It would definitely be InDesign’s typographical superiority. It’s surprising how much of a difference good typography can make in the look and feel of text. There just isn’t any better application.
Is there anything you still struggle with in InDesign?
For some reason, the Table of Contents function is always confusing to me, and I have to go through a number of trials and errors before I get it right. But when I’ve got it done correctly, it’s a great feature.
This isn’t about InDesign, per se, but I do wish that all the commands and shortcuts throughout the Adobe Suite were identical. Keyboard shortcuts are the way to go to save time, but unfortunately, they are not the same in each program.
How long have you been visiting the InDesign Skills website?
I’ve only recently discovered the InDesign Skills website, but have found it to be an incredible resource for articles, tutorials, templates, and a wealth of interesting and useful information. It’s also very visually appealing and user-friendly. Quick Tips are fun to read when I haven’t got the time for a long article. I only wish I’d found it earlier. I now have it bookmarked and refer to it often.
What do you like most about InDesign Skills?
The Inspiration section is one of my favourites. Current Trends is another. Also anything about fonts.
Is there anything you would like to see on the IndesignSkills website?
More of the same!
Any tips for those starting out in InDesign?
Put in the time. Great guitarists say it takes 10,000 hours. Hopefully, it won’t be quite that time-intensive, but no matter how you look at it, you only get good by doing it. Also—don’t try to create in a vacuum. Go to a bookstore and spend a day looking at magazines, newspapers, books. Take note of what others are doing and make something better.
Cultivate a love for type. One of the most obvious signs of a newbie is their choice of the wrong font for the project.
Take tutorials—there are many good ones online, like the ones at the InDesignSkills website.
Lastly, while most questions can be readily answered by jumping on the internet, if you know someone who has been working in InDesign for a while, they can be a huge help in figuring out how to do something in the program. And most people who know InDesign love it and are only too happy to share their knowledge.