SOFTWARE TRAINING for STUDENTS @ UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON
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DS120: In-Class Help Session

Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Layout Design for Posters

Every poster should consider following basic layout design principals to ensure a much more visually pleasing project. Review the resources below to help you best prepare for your DS120 Project 2 >> Part II (Sketching and Summary Board Development). These resources will be especially helpful for Step 4: Develop a Layout: Using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop continue to develop the board layout (11” x 17”)

Informational Videos:

Important: Even though the video above demonstrates the golden rules using Adobe Illustrator, the same layout principals apply in Photoshops

Tutorials (Using Photoshop):

Practice!

  1. Explore case studies and media samples on websites such as Pinterest , Behance, Dribbble , Designspiration, and Archive of Graphic Design Posters (AGI Open). Then, select the layout, color scheme, and font type you want to replicate. Be sure to prepare all images and text content in advance before starting your project.
  2. Use the rulers, Grid Lines, and Rectangle Tool to find the hypothetical grids of your work to order the information

Typography and Simple Text Effects

Want to know which fonts work best for different types of content? Curious about why typography matters in design? Check out the resources below to explore font choices, readability, and the role of typography in creating impactful visuals.

Informational Videos:

Font Resources

Choosing the right font can transform your design, whether it’s for titles, bold text, or clean body copy. Below you’ll find curated links to both free and commercial fonts, along with trusted websites to explore and download high-quality typefaces.

Free Front Websites

Free Fonts Suitable for Titles and Bold Text :

Paid Commercial Fonts

Simple Text Effect Tutorials

Poster Backgrounds

Backgrounds play a key role in setting the mood and visual style of your poster. A well-designed background can enhance readability, highlight important elements, and make your overall design more engaging.

Informational Videos

Tutorials (using Photoshop)

Generative AI for Text

There are two recommended ways to generate fonts for different purposes in your DS-120 projects using Adobe Creative Cloud:

  1. Adobe Express → Free AI Text Effect Generator
    If you want to quickly customize your font with texture overlays, Adobe Express allows you to easily swap the text to create new styles with textured effects.
  2. Adobe Firefly
    Want more complex or custom textured fonts?
    Use your own fonts or stylize existing ones with creative patterns and material layers.

Generative AI for Images

adobe firefly homepage

Image generation tools like Adobe Firefly open up endless creative possibilities for your projects. By combining clear, detailed prompts with the right settings, you can produce high-quality, tailored visuals that perfectly match your design goals.

Explore the guide below to learn how to craft effective prompts, adjust key settings, and use Generative Fill to refine your images. Follow the steps and examples to create unique, professional visuals for your own projects.

Prompts and General Settings

Two important components are the prompt and general settings.

Prompt: Write a clear and detailed description specifying the desired properties of the image. Consider including these elements in your prompt for optimal results:

  • Environment
  • Object Size
  • Position
  • Lighting
  • Color
  • Texture
  • Other distinguishing details

Tip: For best outcomes, describe your desired result in great detail. To fine-tune visual aesthetics, use the Visual Intensity slider.

adobe firefly interface

General Settings:

  • Model:
    • Firefly Image 4: Best for generating high-quality images.
    • Firefly Image 3: Ideal for creating creative fonts or text effects.
  • Content Type:
    • Photo: For more realistic results.
    • Art: For more animated or artistic style output.
  • Composition: Refers to the structure and the main character of the image.
    (In the example, the frog is the key subject of the composition.)
  • Style: Defines the visual effects and rendering style or mood of the image.
    (Using both composition and style references can significantly improve the specificity and quality of results.)

Generating the Images Tutorials

After considering the prompt and general settings above, you are ready to generate your image!

  1. Click on the Generate button
  2. If the generated image isn’t exactly what you want, you can:
    1. Generate similar images from four variations offered each time
    2. Select one of them
    3. Click on “Edit” menu from the top-left corner
    4. Select Generative Fill to modify the image further
ai generated image of a frog in a vibrant environment

Generative Fill tool allows you to:

  1. Insert new elements
  2. Remove existing elements
  3. Expand the canvas

In the tutorial example using a frog image in Adobe Firefly:

  1. Inserted: One green apple.
  2. Removed: Purple lighting behind the main subject.
  3. Expanded: The image canvas to better fit the layout or reveal more details.

Photoshop: Full Basic Tutorial (30 min)

Photoshop Basic Tutorial

Make sure to set up your Photoshop project according to your project guidelines! Below is a short overview of the essential steps for creating and saving your project in Photoshop.

Creating a New Photoshop File

  1. Open Photoshop
  2. Click on the blue New file button from the homescreen or go to File > New… (Cmd/Ctrl+N)
  1. Update the Preset Details according to the best settings specified below:
  • Name (top of the New Document window): e.g., 2025-08-25_poster_v01.psd
  • Width & Height
    • For Digital: Select pixels (e.g., 1080 × 1350).
    • For Print: Select Inches or Millimeters (e.g., 8.5″ × 11″ or 210 × 297 mm).
  • Orientation: Portrait or Landscape.
  • Resolution (PPI or Pixels Per Inch)
    • For Digital: 72–96 ppi (value doesn’t change on-screen size; pixels do).
    • For Print: 300 ppi (large posters viewed from far can be 150 ppi).
  • Color Mode & Profile
    • For Digital: RGB Color
      For Print: CMYK Color
  • Background: White (or Transparent if you need transparency).
  • Artboards (Optional): Check if you want multiple pages/sizes in one file
  1. Click the blue Create button

Saving a Photoshop File

File Formats

Knowing the limitations and applications of each file format (e.g., PSD vs. JPEG/PNG) can help you choose the right settings from the beginning and ensures the best quality for your design.

  • PSD: Keeps layers, masks, effects → best for editing later.
  • Other formats (PNG, JPEG, PDF): Flatten/export → best for sharing, print, or web.

Saving Process

  • File > Save As… → PSD
    • You can choose to Save to Your Computer, Adobe Creative Cloud, or both
    • Make sure you save in a folder location you can find later
    • Helpful Tip: Turn on Autosave:
      • Open Photoshop > Preferences > File Handling > Save Recovery every 5 min.
    • If Autosave is turned off, go to File > Save (Ctrl+S/Cmd+S) to save your project as you are working.
  • File > Save a Copy → PNG, JPEG, PDF

Margins and Guides : Technical instructions in Photoshop  

Setting up margins and guides in Photoshop is essential for keeping designs clean, balanced, and print-ready. Margins ensure important text and visuals don’t get cut off, while borders can frame content and guide the viewer’s eye. Learning these steps helps students build professional layouts that look polished both digitally and in print.

Using Rulers

  • Turn on Rulers: Go to the top menu: View > Rulers (or press Ctrl+R / Cmd+R). You’ll now see rulers on the top and left edges of your canvas.
  • Set Your Units: Right-click on the ruler → choose Pixels (for digital) or Inches / Millimeters (for print). This way, your guides will be aligned with the units you set in your document.
  • Drag Out Guides:
    • Click on the vertical ruler (left side) and drag a guide onto the canvas → creates a vertical guide.
    • Click on the horizontal ruler (top) and drag down a guide → creates a horizontal guide.
    • Place them at the distances where you want your margins.

Using the New Guide Layout (Faster Method)

Instead of dragging manually, this is the quickest way to create evenly spaced margins and guides:

  • Create a New Guide Layout
    • Go to View > Guides > New Guide Layout…
    • In the popup, set Margins (e.g., 0.25″ on each side).
    • Click OK → Photoshop will automatically place guides.
  • Lock/Show/Hide Guides and Rulers
    • To Lock Guides, go to View > Lock Guides. Now you won’t accidentally drag them while designing.
    • Toggle guides on/off with Ctrl+; / Cmd+;
    • Toggle rulers on/off with Ctrl+R / Cmd+R.
  • Create Visual Borders (Optional Visual Edge)
    • Make a new layer (Shift+Ctrl+N / Shift+Cmd+N).
    • Select Rectangle Tool (U) → set to Path or Shape.
    • Draw a rectangle exactly inside your margin guides.
    • In the Properties panel:
      • Set Fill to None.
      • Set Stroke to black (or any color you like) and choose stroke weight (e.g., 2–4 pt).
      • This gives you a visible border inside your safe margins.

Photoshop Book Cover Mock-Up Tutorial

Illustrator: Full Basic Tutorial (28 min)