[scribus] Scribus and DTP classes

[jwminer at accessvt.com]

With regard to online DTP instruction, I'm surprised that noone has
said it has already been done! For example, go to
 http://desktoppub.about.com/od/desktoppublishing/u/Basics_and_Beyond.htm
and then check out the rest of the site. There are extensive
tutorials. See
 http://desktoppub.about.com/od/desktoppublishing/u/Tasks_and_Techniques.htm

If you read the abundant material on the site (including a detailed
section on newsletters) and then follow links you'll find there, I
can't imagine that there would be a lot more to cover in a basic
course.

There are books aplenty about design, typography, and graphic
design. I haven't kept up with what's become available in the last
couple of years, but the books by Robin Williams have been around
for years and are understandable by beginners. In fact, they're
specifically geared to "nondesigners." Robin is a "she" and not the
actor/comedian.

What you don't get from these general online courses is a tie-in
between the principles you are learning and Scribus. The principles
have to come first. I always cringe when someone without the first
idea of how to handle design and type assumes you can just pick up
Scribus or some other DTP app and once you learn the basics of using
the software, you can then inflict your horrid typography and
ghastly design on the world.<g> When I was forced by my position as
head of a small nonprofit organization to put out newsletters,
booklets, pamphlets, flyers, posters, and press announcements, I
realized almost immediately that I didn't know enough to do a decent
job. So I signed up for a non-credit graphic design certificate
program at a local community college. Though the program was quite
basic, I knew a whole lot more when I finished than when I started.
Not that one's education ends there. You can spend your whole life
on this and still have more to learn.

None of the courses in the graphic design program were
program-specific. When you know the principles, you can apply them
no matter what software you are using.

I think an online course that assumed I knew design basics and
concentrated on how to apply them using Scribus is a good idea. I
probably wouldn't take it, though, because I'd rather just read
online help and/or a book. It's always good to be able to ask
questions and get feedback from instructors and fellow participants,
but we do have this forum, so it seems like a bit of duplication.
--Judy M.
   USA

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