Tutorial Details
- Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Estimated Completion Time: 2 hours
Download Source Files
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
Hi everyone, this time I’ve got for you a practical tutorial about creating a ready to print booklet menu for an imaginary coffee shop named "Violet Coffee." In this tutorial you’ll learn to mockup a ready to print background and a couple of additional objects, which will be imported later on in Adobe InDesign to finish the piece. Are you ready?
The workflow in this tutorial series is excellent preparation for creating this kind of work for clients. You can also consider putting your graphic talents to work by adding your own uniquely designed food menu template to GraphicRiver. It’s a popular and growing category to contribute to. And if you’re client project has a tight deadline or narrow budget, there are many food menu templates to choose from.
Before Getting Started
This tutorial aims to be a guide for those starting on print design, we will cover several important subjects, such as: document settings, dimensions, layout, bleed and margins, working with color, adding typography and even printing the piece.
I’ll divide it in two parts, this first one is about creating the background for the menu sheets and adding a couple of additional graphics using Adobe Photoshop, which will be imported later on into InDesign to finish the product. The second part is about adding the text elements in Adobe InDesign, mock-up a ready to print booklet style document and actually print it.
We will work within an imaginary scenario where a client "X" provide us a couple of pictures and a Word document with the coffee shop’s text and our job is to make it look nice for print.
Let’s get it started, the assets for this tutorial are:
Setting Up the Document
Remember, pen and paper first! Draft what you want to achieve and how you want to make it. Below there’s a quick draft that I did, which will be the starting point of the design. There will be two pages, front and back.
On the front page we will have the cover and back cover layout, and on the back page we will have the actual menu text. The design will be folded as a booklet. We will use violet and black colors for the background and mostly white text. The paper size may be variable, I’m thinking of a "double – letter" size, which means that each page will be an actual Letter size. It’s common to print the menus on big sizes, but depends on you. Once you have the idea of what you want to achieve, it’s time to move forward.
Step 1
We will create a single Photoshop document to mock up the backgrounds, create the image with the company name and add the cup of coffee.
Let’s start this adventure, open Photoshop and then go to File > New. First of all you need to decide which size of paper you want to use, this may vary depending on the client’s budget. This time we will start with a standard Letter Size of 8,5 x 11 inches. It’s very important to set up the resolution at this point, the minimal Print Resolution that works (in my experience) is 300 pixels/inch. And this time I’ll start working directly with CMYK Color Mode.
The cover and back cover of the booklet will be a unique piece of paper that will be folded after print. In order to make the background look nice and fluid (without undesired cutoffs), we will design it in a single document, which means duplicate the document width to convert it into a "Double Letter" piece of paper.
Duplicate the width size of the Letter paper to 17 inches (8,5 x 2). Once you double-check everything is correctly set up, hit OK.
Step 2
Now we’ve got the printable canvas, but we need to increase the design area a little bit with a security Bleed. Show the Ruler (Command + R) and add four Guides (click over the rule and drag) around the document borders, then go to Image > Canvas Size and increase the document size 1/8 inch at top, bottom, left and right. The quickest way of doing this is to add 1/4 inch (1/8 x 2) which means 0,25 inch to the canvas width and height as shown in the image below. Ensure the anchor point is located at the center and hit OK, you should have your canvas increased by 1/8 inch on all the borders.
Finally, add a Guide exactly to the horizontal center to divide the document into two columns. Use the rule to draw two more guides 1/8 inches to the left and right of the middle guide, to create something like a middle bleed area.
Designing the Background
Step 3
Let’s start with the actual graphic design. First of all we will create a Gradient Fill Layer, go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient and set the following values to the gradient colors: Violet (C:80, M:100, Y:30, and K:25), and Black (C:70, M:70, Y:70, and K:95) which is a common version of rich black and works really good. If you want to know more about using black in print design, take a look at this link: The Ultimate Guide to Designing with Black. Be sure to set the Angle to 90 degrees.
Step 4
Now add some effects to the to the background. Create a new layer above the gradient background, set the Front color to: C:80 M:70 Y:60 K:80 and the Background color as White. Now go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Change the cloud layer’s Blending Mode to Overlay.
Then, go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, set the Angle to 90 degrees and Distance to 999 px. Finally adjust the Levels (Command + L) as shown at the bottom of the image below to finish the effect.
Step 5
Using the Pen Tool, draw a shape similar to the one shown in the image below. Fill the path with this color: C:10, M:15, Y:0, and K:0. To keep the layers organized I’m using Layer Groups, first create a folder named "Curves Right" and put all the curves of the right side of the canvas there.
After drawing the curve, go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All and fill it with a Horizontal Gradient (White to Black) making visible just a part of the left side of the curve. Finally change the curve Layer Opacity to 25% and set its Blending Mode to Color Dodge.
Step 6
Duplicate the Curve as many times as you want (hold the Alt key and Drag) and use the Transformation Tools to distort each duplicated curve in order to get something like the image below. You can add as many curves as you want. Try changing the opacity value on each one to obtain a nice effect.
Then select the "Curves Right" group and drag it to the right side of the canvas. Then duplicate the entire group (you can hold the Alt key and drag) and go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal to reflect the curves, then select the new Group that you can name "Curves Left" and drag it to the left side of the canvas.
Step 7
Create a new layer above the "Curves." Use the Ellipse Tool (U) to draw a pink (C:5 M:55 Y:0 K:0) circle (hold the Shift key to make it perfect). Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur you’ll be asked to Rasterize the Shape, do it; set the Radius to 50px and hit OK. Next, change the circle’s Blending Mode too and the Opacity to 25%, then place it somewhere over any of the curves.
Duplicate this layer as many times as you want, changing the Opacity value and resizing each copy a little bit. Try to get something like the bottom of the image below. Once you’ve finished, put all the layers into a folder named something like "Light Spheres."
Step 8
For this step you’ll need to open the Stars Brushes set. In a new layer paint some White (C:0, M:0, Y:0, and K:0 ) stars in random places, then add an Outer Glow Layer Style using the Screen Blend Mode, with a Size of 70px and this color: C:15, M:55, Y:0, K:0. Finally set the "Stars" layer Opacity to 70%.
Adding the Name
Step 9
The following step is adding the logo, of course this cannot be named logo, since an actual logotype is a more complicated graphic design piece, so I’ll call it just "company name." Use some guides to divide the left portion of the document in two, both vertical and horizontal. Then use the Type Tool (T) to type the word "VIOLET" in all caps and in White. I’m using the commercial font Avant Garde, but feel free to use any substitute (Futura, Century Gothic, etc). Use the Character values shown below. Then select the letter "O" and change its color to: C:10, M:85, Y:0, and K:0.
Finally, as an additional effect, add to the Text Layer a Gradient Overlay Layer Style (Gray to White) and set the Blend Mode to Linear Burn, Opacity to 75%, and Angle to 90 degrees.
Step 10
Now we will add a reflect effect to the text layer, for this duplicate the text layer, rasterize it (a quick way of doing it is creating a blank layer below it, then select both the copied layer and the blank layer and press Command + E to merge them) and then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical. Place the copy just below the text. Finally, add a Layer Mask > Hide all to the copy and fill it with the Gradient Tool (Black to White).
Step 11
As a final touch, create a new Layer above the "Violet" text layer and use the Stars Brush set to paint some white stars on it. Change the Layer’s Opacity to 85%.
Step 12
Let’s type the word "coffee" in the lower right corner of the word "Violet." For this word you can use any script typeface (I’m using Edwardian Script). Now add a Gradient Overlay Layer Style using these colors: C:10, M:85, Y:0, K:0 and C:15, M:55, Y:5, K:0. Finally, put all the layers related to the company name in a Layers Group named "Logo."
Layer Comps
Step 13
Now we’ll set two Layer Comps in order to save two different versions of the design in two separate files using an Automated Script.
First show the Layer Comps panel, go to Windows > Layer Comps. Ensure the "Logo" folder is visible and on the Layer Comps panel click on the tiny New icon at the bottom, rename the new layer comp to "Cover." Then hide the "Logo" folder, and create a new Layer Comp naming it "Inner" this time. You can toggle the visibility of the layer comps to double-check everything is OK.
Step 14
Go to File > Scripts > Layer Comps to files. In the dialog, set the File Type as PSD, browse where you want to store the new files, name the resultant files with some descriptive prefix like "Violet," and leave all the other settings by default. When you hit on Run, Photoshop will automatically create a new file for each Layer Comp. The name of the new document will include the name of the Layer Comp.
Additional Graphic, a Cup of Coffee
Step 15
Open the cup of coffee image in Photoshop, double-click on the "Background" Layer to make it editable. Then use the Pen Tool in Paths mode, draw around the cup’s silhouette, once you’re finished with the path drawing, click on Exclude Overlapping Path Areas in the Options bar and draw a path inside the cup’s handler. Once you’ve got the paths drawn, go to Layer > Vector Mask > Current Path to convert the path to a vector layer mask extracting the cup from its background.
Step 16
You can drag and drop the coffee cup from its original document to our working document. Once you place it on the design, rasterize the layer if you want too, Option (Right) click on the Layer and select Rasterize Layer; name the resultant layer "coffee cup."
Then, using the same technique as in Step 10, add a reflection to the cup, but this time using a big, soft, black Brush (B) paint a little bit over the layer mask to soften the angular shades, as shown.
Step 17
As a little additional detail we will add a shadow to the cup. Use the Ellipse Tool to draw a rich black ellipse between the "coffee cup" and "coffee cup copy" layers. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to 35 and hit OK.
Step 18
To keep the violet ambient add a Photo Filter Adjustment Layer above the cup, ensure the Clipping Mask option on the Adjustments Panel is selected and set this color to C:40, M:80, Y:0, K:0 and Density to 25%. Now put all the coffee cup related Layers into a Layer Group named "Coffee cup."
Step 19
Now we will add a little bit of Smoke to the coffee cup. Open the Smoke image from the assets and double-click on the "Background" Layer to make it editable. Hit Command + I to invert the colors of the image. On the Hue / Saturation adjustment window (Command + U) set the Hue value to -92 to make the smoke more violet.
Let’s extract the smoke from its background. In the Channels Panel (Window > Channels) duplicate the Red channel, hit Command + A and Command + C to save the copy to the clipboard, then delete the duplicated channel, click on the RGB channel again to leave the image with its default colors.
In the Layers Panel select the smoke layer and go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All, on the Layer Mask miniature, always on Layers Panel, Alt-click on the mask to show it, then Paste the clipboard on the visible Layer Mask. Then click on the actual layer miniature to see how it looks.
Step 20
Drag the smoke layer to our main document. Then rasterize it and name it "Smoke." Place it just above the cup of coffee. Add a Layer Mask to this layer and fill it with a White to Black gradient to hide the bottom of the smoke column. Use a soft black brush to paint over the layer mask to hide the top of the smoke column.
Finally, duplicate the "Smoke" layer, place the copy above the original layer and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, then set the radius to 35%. This will add a nice glow to the smoke layer.
Step 21
Now, in order to increase the visual impact of the coffee cup, add some lights and stars, just like we did on the background at the steps 7 and 8. Finally, put all the layers related to the coffee cup, including the smoke, the lights and stars, into a new Layer Group named "Coffee."
Exporting the Additional Graphics
Step 22
Revising, we have two important layer groups for this step: "Coffee" and "Logo." Both will be additional graphics that we will import later on into the InDesign document, so we need to export each one as a different file. Let’s start with the "Logo" group, duplicate it (drag the group over to the New button at the bottom of the Layers Panel), select the "Logo copy" group and press Command + E to rasterize it. Do exactly the same with the "Coffee" Group.
Step 23
Select the "Logo copy" layer, then Option (Right) – Click on it and select Duplicate Layer, on the popup dialog, write a name for it and select Destination of New. This will create a copy of the logo layer in a document with the same width and height as the original. Use the Crop Tool to cut all the blank space on the copy, then save the document with some descriptive name like: "Logo.psd." Repeat the process with the "Coffee copy" layer.
Resultant Files
Step 24
That’s it with Photoshop, at this point you should have the following important elements to use them on the next part of this tutorial: two PSD files with the backgrounds, one for the cover and another for the internal pages. A PSD file including the Logo with a transparent background, and another document including the coffee cup with transparent background as well.
Now we are ready to create a printable document in InDesign and add the information provided by the client.
Conclusion
At this point we have a good looking background for our menu. Now jump to Part 2 of this tutorial over on Vectortuts+ where we’ll learn more about print design.
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By Alvaro Guzman
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Gr8 tutorial,,,… eager to see the part 2 :)
Check it here http://bit.ly/cMz3Kk
Hey Alvaro, thanks for the tutorial. I feel like an idiot for asking however I am a bit stuck on Part 5 of the tutorial. I am using PS CS 5 however when trying to make the gradient within the shape it doesn’t want to create it. I can only make the shape and then the color. After that I cannot link anything to create the gradient look. Any suggestions? I have tried everything, however i just cannot make that link to create the gradient.
Oh and Rafi, really what are you like 12. No one asked you for your mundane comments on this board. This is a site for people who would like to learn the ins and outs of the program. Sorry…. maybe you might want to take your ego out of your ass. Egocentric graphic designers is really 2000. you lose.
Sorry dude, but this project is awful. Don’t teach ppl how to make such a bad layout.
Sorry dude, but your coment is awful, Don’t try to tell “ppl” that this project is bad.
You didn’t even told us why you don’t like it.
By the way …
I think this tutorial is good. Alvaro Guzman did a really nice job and I’ve seen some interesting techniques.
I was expecting something else when I saw the article’s title but I think it’s bad taste to criticize the work of others with such words. You don’t have to be unpleasant just because you don’t like something in particular.
Agreed! This tutorial says it’s for intermediate users… it does not claim to be advanced. There are interns at our office who were really happy with this tutorial and that is exactly who it’s targeted toward, not photoshop veterans.
If you’re going to criticize at least be constructive, being rude does not accomplish a thing.
Awful? why do you guys never show no respect for other people? It’s a bit rude how u responded to this, you don’t have to like it but show respect for ppl that have taken time out to teach ppl something, and better yet, put up something that we can learn from.
Unlike MXL; I care not about respecting others but I still think your comment was ignorant. Art is a subjective thing and one’s opinions should never be taken seriously. As an artist should Cheshire 100% of his compliments and take his citizens with grains of sand.
Cherish*
Nice and easy :)
Don’t mind anybody telling you this tut is bad. This tutorial is really cool and the result looks awesome.
Just because some people like plain menus doesn’t mean you have to listen to them. There are so many people who envy this kind of work and the work is great, well fit for a professional portfolio.
Great tutorial !
Great Work! =)
So many unnecessary steps in Photoshop, more then half of the steps in Photoshop could, and should be made in InDesign and you would have the same end result but with better printing abillities.
Have to agree with Billy Holm. I would also add that the colour scheme isn’t great. Taht is, you’re probably going to print text in white. The melange of inks could exacerbate regisration error. I like the aesthetic, but would rething my colours. Maybe duotone black and something with the something used only for highlights.
Very, very stylish! Great design, understated and elegant! I’ll definitely keep this one. Thank you.
Whats wrong with some people! You should be grateful that people want´s to tell how to do things in these programs. Don´t be so nasty. I think this is a very good tutorial but perhaps you don´t have to do all of these steps in PS. However, a great combination of working with PS and ID.
I really dont think this is suited to a coffee shop at all. It seems like a night club advertisement, or a wine list menu. The effects are pretty neat, but I dont think this is a very good example of good work in the sense that you dont seem to be taking the user in mind. Just wanting to show off about cool techniques with photoshop.
Good tut for the techniques though.
So none of this was really made in InDesign? Seems like you could’ve saved a lot of time by utilizing such a diverse program, but we all have our own ways of doing things..
However, I would agree on the marketing sense for this tutorial. Coffee Shops are really sunny, hip, and kind of swanky, so a really rich dark purple just doesn’t equate the same feeling. If anything, use the purple in moderation for the overall color scheme which would reflect the company’s general marketing approach even for just a menu..
Definitely NOT for advanced photoshop users, but I think there are some great basic techniques used here that are perfect for those just starting out, well done!
It’s definitely more nightclub-ish as someone said, but hey people can always switch out the main image :)
thanks so much!
I totally agree with Jillian all the way. I AM just starting out so this makes me happy and I WILL be switching out the graphics to use this as the opening image for a slideshow that I hafta put together this weekend. I can’t wait to utilize the reflection technique. That’s what I was looking for a tut for anyway. I think this tut doesn’t suck!
amazing and easy to follow .. well done !! :D:) ;)
Very Great Explanation of Steps. Very Good Use of Photoshop and Filters.
Thanks
From the title and thumbnail I thought you would show how to make the coffee mug, but unfortunately it was just a stock.
I am appreciating the you create the back ground and layers,also the Cup.shades.they so much made me to feel thad i know nothing,Let me study hard
Firstly, thanks Alvaro for a great tutorial which clearly took a great deal of time and thought to put together.
It’s great to see how to achieve various results in different software applications and is equally helpful to see how you can move between programs.
I’ll certainly be having a go at this one!
Secondly, you would think that everyone who could apparently write a better tutorial would put their time to better use and actually write a good tutorial instead of failing miserably at an attempt to make themselves look professional by criticizing others.
If you can already do it, and do it better why are you reading an intermediate-level tutorial?
I personally like the color scheme you’ve used here and who knows what a client will want – Blue, Purple, Yellow…
The point is, I think, how to ‘create’ a brochure more than which colors mother nature dictated we should use to represent a coffee shop.
Really, there sure are a lot of ungrateful, rigid people in the wonderfully open and creative world of design!
Thanks again Alvaro!
Nice tut man! It’s not about the design for the coffe, but for the workflow PS->IN, I use a very similar workflow, but also with illustrator PS+AI->ID
Photoshop for photo editing, sketchnig and previews
Illustrator for logos and some vector art, details..
Indesign to mount all artwork and text togheter
with this workflow I’ ve reached awaseome design and quality for print designs.
The big issue at the beggining were the blank background in inDesign..
Amazing tutorial thanks for this!
I opened this up expecting to be appalled because it was a menu in Photoshop. All though inDesign could have been helpful in this project, I was pleased that he wasn’t suggesting that people set type in Photoshop…. lol
Its looks like the poster
Really, the choice of colors and styles is truly dependent upon the client’s tastes.
I also agree that at first glance, this looks more like a night club or Jazz bar scene than a coffee shop, but who can say someone wouldn’t run into the odd-ball client that has such a setup for a coffee shop.
Think outside the box. Not all coffee shops need to be Starbucks impersonators. If it’s marketed right, a glitzy coffee shop could do quite well, and this menu would fit perfectly.
The steps taken are not unlike some of the steps I take when creating layouts. Get some of the main art pieces thrown together in Photoshop where I have a lot more control over styles, transparencies, etc. Then chop up the pieces as needed and prep the art so it can be moved around as needed in InDesign. Although InDesign does support activating and deactivating layers in Photoshop images used in a layout.
Can’t wait to see more, and I will also chime in that I’m GRATEFUL to see you’re not doing the full menu (type and all) in Photoshop!
Thanks for the tut.
As for the Comment Critics I am eager to see your wondrous masterpieces. Please provide links……
CS5 Hobbyist,
Meaning I don’t do design for a living and appreciate these tuts no matter if you like them or not. Like a previous person stated why are you spending your time and energy reading this if you think it sucks so badly.
I know, Tacky to respond to my own comment.
Hey did anyone else catch that the name of the coffee company is VIOLET?????
Shouldn’t the design match the company?
So the company is named Violet, is it necessary to saturate the entire menu in it? The proper contrast of text is hugely known in menu design with black on white always being the preference.
What people don’t understand is the necessity to properly merge design with marketing. This is not just a photomanipulation for pure vanity’s sake, it’s a design that would become part of a company’s marketing materials.
What makes me wonder as a marketing enthusiast is whether or not tutorial writers are doing proper design research about projects like these before submitting them.
And if it’s so unique then why have a regular white cup of coffee?
I’ve never gone as far as some others on here to be blatantly disrespectful, as one commenter noted, art/design is subjective…People will always have criticism, but if it’s too much, then perhaps it’s not the industry for you..
I’d be afraid of getting gonorrhea by drinking out of that cup! Just kidding, but it is a new look to get used to for a coffee house… instead, when I see those colors and sparkles etc, I expect to see a sexy silhouette of a woman vs. a cup of joe
You should try starting in RGB because any professional printer can take you RGB files and convert it to the proper CMYK or CMYK+other inks gamut that they created for their specific press equipment.
Don’t worry because they will send you a proof of what your final color will look and this gives your design a much larger gamut of color to work with and repurpose for additive light devices such as your monitor.
If your printing a RGB file to your desktop printer or even Kinkos, the devices automatically translate your RGB to that devices CMYK to match that hardware.
It’s a new change with desktop publishing but it’s so you do not limit your true color, the moment you create a new document!
A very nice tutorial Alvaro, learnt some new basic techniques.
Alvaro, if you are about to copy any layer or object and edit it, convert them into “Smart Object”. Converting a layer into smart object allows you to alter, transform, and warp your image, without ruining the original quality. But, when you are increasing the size of the object, it will lose its quality.
Waiting for Part 2. :)
Really nice tut – very well explained and good techniques and tips.
The one thing I don’t like much is the smoke (though the technique for that is great, and would be excellent for a different design – excellent extraction!) – reason being that coffee smoke/steam doesn’t behave like that – only cigarette smoke really does that, not steam. I think if I were doing something like this, I’d be more likely to stylize the smoke/steam, with wispy pen-tooled curls, instead of cigarette smoke.
Thanks for the great tut! :)
this project is great, i like it, thx dude, this help me so much.
but i still confused with the smoke, can you tell me how to remove the black part without blending mode more specificly?
because that looks almost perfect and i like the way you edit that
i wish i can post a tutorial here too, but i don’t know how
Look at the Step 19, it’s simple, just duplicate a channel and use it as a Layer Mask.
looking forward to see your first tutorial over here, just contact the editor and submit your idea. Good luck!
ummm. what is command button?? ctrl???
Great : ) Violet is Beauty.
Hey guys!
I’m very happy to read so constructive comments, print design tutorials have always good quality feedback.
This tutorial is the first part of a whole, as somebody said, this describes a workflow more than a technique.
Part 2 shows how to add these elements into another document keeping the layers editable, maybe have different versions… you don’t like violet? use another background instead! and switch it at one click on InDesign! It’s so simple that you’ll love it.
Check out the Part 2 http://bit.ly/cMz3Kk, and leave a comment :)
Thanks,
Nice one. Easy and simple.
When we can have its next part? :)
This is a really good tut! i like the final product a lot!
Amazing tutorial
thanks a lot
Amazing finish and easy to follow
Nice use of purple as the background too
J
waa!tutorials,all in one~i like it!
creative job you did.
Really grate job guys. It looks grate. Thanks for sharing such a grate tutorial.
very complex
cool techniques and workflow! i definitely learned something here.
thank you.
amazing tutorial!! am gonna try it definitly! I can’t wait to do it.. thanx
Excellent post i will try this or i will use this concept in my site design….
WOW .. this tutorial is so nice !
i like the design and everything .. so elegant
although i don’t have a cafe’ or something
i enjoyed the tutorial and learned some nice things ..
i like your taste .. thanks
Great Tut, just wish I could see the pics. Am I the only one unable to see them?
Nice Tutorial…………………………
thank you so much for this tutorial.. really great.. ^_^
I spent a semester learning InDesign and Photoshop last year at college and never my professor did something expectacular such as this
great design for a coffee shop menu
I have complete my Photoshop last year at My Institute and never my professor did something expectacular such as this
great design for a coffee shop menu…
So.. thank you “psdtutsplus.com”
Easy to follow with an amazing finish
Excellent techniques, Thank you for sharing this tutorial! LT