How can I use a different technique to place a photo into text in Adobe® InDesign®?
The primary design principle all graphic designers strive for is a strong visual-verbal fit. The words should fit with the visual approach and the visuals should reinforce the words. Sounds easy enough, but it takes work, skill and a little luck. A recent print ad promoting Martin Luther King Jr. Day perfectly married the visual and verbal by inserting a single image of Dr. King into the full text of his “I Have a Dream” speech. With InDesign, this technique is easy to achieve for a cover, title page, division spread or special coverage design.
Create Text Frame
- Click on the Type tool,
- Draw a text frame slightly smaller than the photo that will be used.
- To get exact dimensions
- Click on the Selection tool
- Click on the text frame
- Enter the Width and Height in the Control panel.
- Press Enter/Return after entering the dimensions.
- In this example, W is 43 and H is 55.
Add Text
- To type the text:
- Click inside the text frame with the Type tool.
- Type the text
- To import text into the text frame:
- Click in the text frame with the Type tool
- Go to File > Place
- Navigate to the text document
- Double-click on it
- The text will fill the frame
Format the text
- Format the text with the Control panel or the Character panel
- For best results, use all caps and a bold sans serif font
- Use at least 18 point type.
- Change the leading to the same size as the point size.
- The sample text is set to AHJ Function Bold, all caps, 18pt size and 18pt leading.
- Click in the text frame with the Type tool
- Go to Edit > Select All
Open the Paragraph panel
- Go to Type > Paragraph
- Click on Hyphenate (unless your text contains names)
- Click on the Justify All Lines icon
- If needed, change the text point size and leading to get the text to fit perfectly within the text frame.
- Use the Control panel or the Character panel/palette
- Delete any overset text which is indicated by a red plus symbol + in the lower right side of the text frame.
- To delete overset text:
- Highlight the text you can see with the Type tool
- Go to Edit > Copy
- Go to Edit > Select All
- Go to Edit > Paste
- Check the spelling:
- Go to Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling
- After this point the text cannot be edited
Create Outlines
- Select on the Direct Selection tool
- Click on the text frame.
- Keep the text frame selected for the next 4 steps
- Go to Type > Create Outlines.
- Go to Object > Ungroup.
- InDesign CS4 & CS3: Go to Object > Paths > Make Compound Path
- InDesign CS2 & CS: Go to Object > Compound Path > Make
Place the photo
Go to File > Place
- Navigate to the folder the image is in.
- Double-click on the image.
- It may take several minutes to import the photo.
- The image can also be placed using HJ Image In.
- Click in white space to deselect
Preview the photo in the text
- Click on the Preview button in the Tool palette to see the image/words
Create a background
- Click on the Rectangle tool
- Draw a rectangle the same size and shape as the image/words
- Click on the rectangle with the Selection tool
- Open the Swatches palette.
- Click on the Fill icon
- Click on the Black swatch
- Change the Tint to 80%.
- With the rectangle still selected, go to Object > Arrange > Send to Back
