September 9, 2017 Backdrops, Products

Design a Step and Repeat with Illustrator

How to design a Step and Repeat Logo Wall

with Adobe Illustrator

Step and Repeat with Curved Frame

A Step and Repeat Logo Wall is a pattern of logos, images, and also of texts that are used for red carpet events, press releases and so on. Below we will explain the ease of creating on your one with AI. There are many styles as well as patterns to choose from and as once you understand the basics below you will have the ability to alter it to your own style.

This is an so easy way to design a logo wall without too many complications.

Plan Your Final Backdrop Size

Planning your final size in advance is so important because if you create a step and repeat for example 6 feet wide, but later on decide to print it on 5 feet, you may have to redo the entire process again so as to fit the number of graphics in the required area.

For now, let’s say we want to create a step and repeat which is 6 feet wide and 5 feet high,

  • Go to FILE>>NEW

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 1 -a

  • Select the settings as shown in the following image to set up a step and repeat for print which is 6 feet Wide and 5 feet high.
  • However, for best results ensure the color mode is so as to set to CMYK

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 1-b

Upload your Graphics

  • Upload graphics into the Canvas.
  • Don’t worry about the spacing between them or also about the alignment yet.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 2

  • Create as many copies of the graphics which you think would fit into the first row of the Canvas.
  • For copying, select the Graphics and hit “CTRL + C”, while to paste the Graphics hit “CTRL + V”.
    or “Command +C” and “Command +V” on a mac.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 3

Align the Graphics

  • Position the far left and far right graphic at the desired starting and ending point.
  • It doesn’t have to be aligned properly at this point.
  • In the example below, you can see the logos are not properly aligned. For example, the far left logo is higher than the far right logo. As well, the spacing is not equal. At this point, this is no problem.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 1-a

  • Select all the graphics
  • Click on “Horizontal Distribute Center”. This will distribute equal space between each of the logo.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 4-b

  • While the Graphics are still selected, click on “Vertical Align Top”. This will automatically align the top edge of the graphics.

Note: You might need to click on different buttons in the Align panel to align them properly since the graphics you have on the Canvas may be positioned differently than what we have here. So feel free to play with the align panel to get the desired results.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 4-c

  • Select all the graphics and hit “CTRL + C” to copy.
  • Then Hit “CTRL + V” to paste the graphics.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 5-a

  • Now select the pasted graphics and position it in a way that the 2nd graphic of the 2nd row is right below the first graphic of the first row.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 5-b

  • Select the far left graphic and hit “DELETE”.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 5-c

  • Copy the first graphic of the 2nd row and hit “CTRL + C” to copy it. and hit “CTRL + V” to paste it.
  • Position this graphic at the far right of this row.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 5-d

  • While the 2nd row is selected, repeat the “Horizontal Distribute Center”, that you did earlier, to align the graphics in this row.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 5-e

Group the Graphics

  • Select the first row and click on OBJECT>>GROUP, or hit “CTRL + G” to group the first row.
  • After that select the 2nd row and do the same to group it too.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 6

Populating the Canvas

  • Select both the rows (1st and 2nd) and Hit “CTRL + C” to copy, and then “CTRL + V” to paste the graphics, do this as many times as you see fit to populate the Canvas.
  • In our example, I will hit “CTRL + V” twice to get 6 rows to populate this Canvas.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 7

Align the Graphics

  • Select the last row and position it just above the ending of the canvas.
  • Don’t worry about the left and right position at this point.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 8-a

  • Now select all the Graphics and click on “Vertical Distribute Center”.
  • This will distribute equal spacing between the rows.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 8-b

  • Click on the Align to Artboard.
  • Now any alignment you make will be with respect to the artboard.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 8-c

  • Now click on “Horizontal Align Center” to perfectly center all the rows with respect to the Artboard.

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator Step 8-d

  • Your Step and Repeat Logo Wall is ready to be saved and delivered for print!

Logo Wall Instructions Illustrator

There are a few other things to consider to ensure best results. 

  • Try to use Vector files. These files typically end in .PDF, .EPS or .AI. Because without losing quality or pixelation you can expand these graphics.
  • Raster graphics are ok too, but they should be higher resolution. If you saved the logo from a website it’s unlikely to be any good.
  • If you have text on your Step and Repeat, ensure to convert Fonts to Outlines.

Conclusion

We hope that this assists you to design your very own Step and Repeat Wall. If you have any questions or need assistance feel free to contact us. We also have professional designers to help you create this as well.

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