With each update of the Creative Cloud programs, Adobe has made it easier and easier for those in the creative field to do their job. On the latest update to Adobe Illustrator, you can now copy, cut, and paste your artboards, allowing you to make multiple copies of them. There are so many new updates that I can’t even keep up with them! However, there is one feature that I believe is underused, that is paragraph formatting tools and styles. This feature can save designers a lot of time in the long run and has been around since the original Creative Suite program came out. 

Throughout my years working in the industry, I have found that many designers choose to neglect these tools and use tabs, spaces, and returns to format their documents instead. The paragraph formatting tool allows you to format your document beautifully without worrying about future added text messing up the formatting. You can add spaces between paragraphs, indent for numbering and bullets, and select the text alignment. Plus, you can save your formatting as a style for the future. You can reformat text with a click of a button and even change the formatting of all text designated as a particular saved style when you change the formatting of that style.  

Although it may take an extra step to create the formatting and the styling, it’s still the best way to work. When your client adds text to the middle of a paragraph, you do not need to worry if it goes to a new line because the formatting will automatically look correct. If your client wants you to change the size of the headers, you can change the style and all of the text that has that style applied to it will automatically change, eliminating the risk of you missing a header. According to the Graphic Design Institute, another major benefit to using styles is that you do not need to remember all the different types of formatting you apply to a type of text. Instead, a single click of a saved style will automatically change the size, color, leading, etc., to exactly what you wanted it to be. This is particularly useful in Illustrator because the eyedrop tool only lets you change one set of highlighted text at a time.  

It may seem like a simple tool, but using paragraph formatting is truly the best way to work. I always take the extra step to format all my designs using paragraph formatting and styles, whether I am working on a brochure or a 10-page document. It may take a little extra time in the beginning. However, it saves me even more time when it comes to revisions and even using the document I created as a template for future use. Using tabs and spaces to format your designs may be a shortcut, but it’ll cost you time in the long run. 

Sources:

https://www.graphic-design-institute.com/indesign/benefits-styles-and-how-apply-them-indesign/

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About the Author

Rachel Berninger

Rachel is one of our graphic designers. When she is not creating, she is outdoors, throwing a ball for her dog, or both.

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