FAQ
————————————————————————————————————————————————
+What makes this different than other album design options?
+Do I have InDesign?
+What’s included with the H2O CREATIVE SETS?
+Why 65 designs?
+What’s included with the Designer sets?
+Do the Designer Sets come with instructional videos?
+Why should I buy this instead of a training video that would teach me to design the templates?
+When I purchase the templates when can I start using them?
+Do I need to know InDesign to be able to use the templates?
+Are the videos a snore fest like most videos relating to adobe software?
+What album sizes are the templates made for?
+What if my common album size isn’t included?
+Do the templates only apply to certain album companies and or labs?
+What size do I need to make my images?
+I am picky about image resizing, what sort of algorithms does InDesign use?
+I’ve seen the samples page … how do I know what other kinds of templates are included?
+What version of Indesign are these made for?
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What makes this different than other album design options?
These InDesign templates and instructional videos are either an “end all” solution or an incredible time-saving springboard. With the incredible flexibility and ability to customize, these templates can literally be the last thing you ever buy for album design … believe us, once you start using InDesign you will never go back!
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Do I have InDesign?
If you have the Design Standard, Design Premium or Master Collection versions of the Adobe Creative Suite you have InDesign … these templates do not work with Photoshop alone.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Why InDesign?
InDesign has become the industry standard for anything involving page layout and graphic design. Its ability to handle large files without “bogging down” your computer, drag & drop simplicity, export speed, ease of laying out pages, and crazy flexibility has made it THE software of choice for design professionals. Because of this, we believe that InDesign is truly the future of album design … and the sooner we learn it (as photographers … because the design world is already using it) the better off we will all be.
Benefits of utilizing a program that is THE industry standard:
1. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have gone into its development
2. Its not going anywhere anytime soon … which means you are not purchasing an obsolete product
3. You can rely on it working properly and having updates actually work (you know you are not messing around with low budget, archaic software options)
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What’s included with the H2O CREATIVE SETS?
With the H2O CREATIVE sets you will receive 65 of the best album spread designs in a template format that is ready for images to be dropped into. No resizing, no adjustments, just drag & drop your images and export to JPEG!
The templates come in the most common album sizes (see the sample designs for more info) … and include three different style versions for each album size (so you are essentially getting 780 designs) … one with a black background and white frame strokes, another with a white background and black frame strokes, and a final version with white pages and no strokes. You will also receive instructional videos that not only show you how to best utilize the templates, but will also get you fluent enough with InDesign to customize the templates to fit your personal style. The beauty of InDesign templates is that the possibilities are endless … you can insert custom text, custom shapes, custom graphic art, swirls, textures, etc … the list goes on!
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Why 65 designs?
We decided to focus on quality not quantity … we got tired of spending time wading through hundreds of bad designs to find the good ones. Now we can spend that wasted time focusing on the album design! Keep in mind also that this is 65 spread designs (or 130 individual page designs) … and when you really think about it, do you really use more that 40 or so spread designs on the majority of your albums?
One more thing to keep in mind is that these designs are FULLY customizable … you can modify them completely (you can change the backgrounds, add frames, add shapes, etc) or even create your own. In the videos we will show you how to create your own templates as well as make the current templates your own!
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What’s included with the Designer sets?
Pure Awesomeness 
… as well as 50 of the designer’s favorite album designs they have created in several different sizes (see each designers page for what sizes are included).
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Do the Designer Sets come with instructional videos?
The designer sets do not come with the instructional videos … only the H2O Creative Sets come with instructional videos. If you are new to InDesign or are just starting to utilize InDesign for your albums, we would recommend purchasing the H2O Creative sets first to learn the templates workflow and gain proficiency with InDesign.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Why should I buy this instead of a training video that would teach me to design the templates?
At some point we all, as photographers, have to decide whether we want to be photographers or designers! We wanted to make this available to everyone so that you can start spending more time doing what you love and less time on the tedious design stuff. We made it easy enough your grandma could do it … just in case you would like to start outsourcing work to the family. (wink)
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
When I purchase the templates when can I start using them?
Immediately … when you purchase the templates you will receive a download link to the templates as well as a link to all the training videos.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Do I need to know InDesign to be able to use the templates?
No … when you purchase the templates you will also receive instructional videos giving you all the necessary info to simplify the album design process. Being that InDesign is part of the Creative Suite you will find that it is very easy to pick up because it utilizes a lot of the same tools as Photoshop. You will be amazed at how simple it is to use and how easy/quick it makes the album design process.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Are the videos a snore fest like most videos relating to adobe software?
A BIG NO … being a graphic designer (in my previous life ) I have slept through those videos … so I made quick, to the point videos that avoid all the “fluff” and get right to the few tools that you need. I have even created a video especially for the A.D.D. people like me who already have some experience with InDesign … a complete training video to get you up and running in less than ten minutes.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What album sizes are the templates made for?
As of this point in time … the templates are designed for three different formats and include 4 different sizes for each format …
Square Format – 8×8, 10×10, 12×12, and 14×14
Vertical Format – 8×10, 9×12, 10×15, and 11×14
Horizontal Format – 10×8, 12×9, 15×10, and 14×11
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What if my common album size isn’t included?
If your common album size isn’t included … don’t sweat it … all you have to do is open a template that is the same proportion (ex. 8×10 and 11×14) and use the scale tool to make it fit … it literally takes seconds to change it … and then you can save your own set of custom templates for future use.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Do the templates only apply to certain album companies and or labs?
No … InDesign is meant to be completely universal, therefore, it outputs PDF or JPEG format … so as long as your lab prints JPEGs you should be fine.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What size do I need to make my images?
Herein lies the beauty of InDesign … edit your images to the dimensions coming out of the camera @ 300 dpi and just drop it in! InDesign does the proportional resizing for you.
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
I am picky about image resizing, what sort of algorithms does InDesign use?
This is where you have to just have faith in Adobe … let me just put it this way … if you like what Photoshop does … you will like InDesign!
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
I’ve seen the samples page … how do I know what other kinds of templates are included?
We have created 65 designs that have a variety of image sizes and combinations of horizontal, vertical, and square images. The number of images per spread ranges from 1 image/spread to 13 images/spread with most spreads containing multiple designs for each number of images. (example: if you want to put 2 vertical images and 2 horizontal images on one spread, there will be several different templates that include that combination of images)
back to top
————————————————————————————————————————————————
What version of Indesign are these made for?
They are designed for CS3 and CS4 but we have versions that are also compatible in CS2 & CS … just email us your version of Indesign when you purchase the templates & we will send you the download … simple as that!
for any other questions please feel free to contact us at info@h2o-creative.net
————————————————————————————————————————————————
