Design and Layout

P. StudtCommunications

GRIDS

Before you design a page, you have to determine how the page will be set up.The grid determines the underlying pattern that organizes the pages into columnsThe grid provides the structure that divides elements into rows, keeping photos and stories evenly aligned.

Grid Formats

2-Column GridNewsletters often use this gird, but photo and text width options are limited.

3-Column GridAlso popular in newsletters and in tabloids. Doesn’t offer much variety or flexibility.

More Grid Formats

4-Column GridA common grid for

tabloids. More flexible than a 2 & 3 grid format allowing the text to be wider.

5- Column GridThe most popular tabloid grid and commonly used on broadsheet section formats

One more…

6 Column GridThe standard grid

forbroadsheets. Most

ads are sold in these universal column widths

7 – 11 Column GridsThough the 5-column format is most common in tabloids, some publications choose to experiment with these more complicated formats.

Grid Size

Broadsheet Grids twice the

size of tabloids Provides room for

longer text, bigger photos and more expansive headlines

Tabloid Grids Smaller size, roughly

half the size of broadsheets, makes tabs easier to produce and cheaper to print

Popular with readers: handier, less bulky, faster to scan

Stories and ads can dominate a page more effectively than in a broadsheet

DESIGN

Design is the visual communication of the paper’s personality.Good design emphasizes news in relation to its importance.The designer must use visual means to clarify the news and to guide the reader through it.Designers work with four main graphic elements– headlines, body type, artwork and white space– to make it easy for reader to progress through the publication.

Design PrinciplesDominance- tells readers where to look first. A dominant element helps readers begin to scan the page. A designer can achieve dominance with the size of an element.Proportion- gives design elements appropriate emphasis on the page. Sizes and shapes should vary from page to page unless two elements are equally newsworthy. Size the most important one so the reader sees it first and then vary the sizes and dimensions of any other photos so that vertical and horizontal rectangles help achieve interest.

Sequence- involves guiding the reader with visual cues. The designer incorporates various levels of emphasis from the top left to the bottom right on a page or on two facing pages. For instance, designers decrease headline sizes from the top to the bottom of a page, and put visual interest in every section of a page or spread to keep readers going.

Balance- means that one side of a page or spread weighs roughly the same as the other. Type and art are distributed evenly in a strictly balanced page. The designer should avoid strict symmetry; it is dull and misleading in the sense that all the elements are equally newsworthy.

Contrast- helps to emphasize certain parts of the page. Contrasting shapes and shades can establish differing visual emphases that keep the reader moving. Contrast can help set up a focal point on the page and a sequence from the most to least important element.

Unity- gives the whole publication a graphic personality of its own. To achieve a unified look, designers use type, lines and screens in consistent ways. They choose one or two type styles for headlines and keep using these styles. The principle of unity also guides the consistent use of other graphic elements also (ie. Standing headlines, column signatures, section labels, folio lines, etc.)

Layout Style

Newspapers adapt their layout styles to establish a visual tone. Many papers combine these styles in ways that overlap.

Layout Styles…

Vertical- the grayest look, relies heavily on headlines and body type. The eye moves from the top, where the emphasis consists of headlines, down the single columns of body type to the bottom. Then the eye goes back up to the top of the page again to start another story.

Horizontal- uses headlines, body type, artwork and white space, often in a backwards to pull the eye across and around the page.Brace- closely related to horizontal layout, also uses multi-column headlines and other wide elements.

Modular- groups headlines, body type, artwork and white space into vertical and horizontal rectangles.Circus- attracts readers to all parts of a page rather than steering them through a page in a sequence. Few stories run full length on the front page. Instead, most of the front page is devoted to teasers in order to draw readers into the paper.

One-page- provides a quick look at the news and then guides readers inside. The front page in this style includes a column of news briefs or teasers as well as a few full-length stories and some large pieces of artwork.Magazine- tends to use full-art cover with a dominant headline and page refers. Body type is kept to a minimum.

Designing Newspaper Components

The Flag (or nameplate) Flag essentials: the name of the paper. The

city, school or organization it serves. The date. The price. The edition and the volume.

Traditionally positioned in the center, top of the front page

Alternatives include: boxing it in the corner, flipping it sideways, floating it partway down the page, adding ears (text or graphic elements in the corners beside the flag

The Flag Debate

Flags should evoke a sense of tradition, trust, and sobriety

Flags are like corporate logos and should look fresh, innovative, and graphically sophisticated.

* Flags should reflect the personality of the paper.

Designing Newspaper Components Continued…

Logos and Sigs Logos, sigs or bugs label special stories Story logos are usually small enough to fit

within a leg of text. Logos should be designed with a graphic

personality that sets them apart from text and headlines

Logos should be a consistent size that’s maintained throughout the paper

Logos should have flexible widths that work well in any design context.

Logos should label a story’s content without confusing its layout– they shouldn’t disrupt the flow of text or collide against other elements.

Column logos promote the personalities of writers. The are a way to label writers who regularly appear in the publication. They usually consist of The Writer’s name, the writer’s likeness, and a catchy title (ex. Dear Abby).Sigs and bugs identify topics. They are functional yet decorative labels for Briefs and non-standard news columns Opinion pieces that appear on news pages Regularly appearing features References to stories on other pages Fast Facts General topic stories

Designing Newspaper Components Continued…

Liftout Quotes (pull quotes, breakouts, quoteblocks, quote sandwiches, etc) They should be quotations, complete sentences spoken

by someone in the story, not paraphrases, decks, or texts

They should be attributed. Don’t force the reader to search for the speaker’s identity. Tell us who’s doing the talking.

They should be bigger and bolder than text type– something distinctive that won’t be mistaken for a headline or subhead that catches the reader’s eye

They should be 1-2 inches deep. Shallower makes them seem too trivial and deeper make them seem too dense and wordy

Combine quotes and mugs to really hook the reader.

Liftout Quote Guidelines: Be sure it’s a quote worth lifting. Promote

great quotes! Don’t sprinkle liftouts randomly throughout

the text, place quotes symmetrically. It’s OK to interrupt a leg of text with a 1-

column liftout, but use 2-column liftouts only at the top of the text center. Text that jumps back and forth gets too confusing.

Keep liftout quotes as typographically tidy as you can. Avoid partial quotes, parentheses, hyphenation, and ellipses.

Get it? Got it? Good!

Now let’s look at some Design Guidelines and Pointers (this is where the power point ends and the handouts begin).

Work Cited

Smith, Helen F. Springboard to Journalism. Columbia Scholastic Press Advisers Association of Columbia University: New York, 1991.Page Design:Grids. Handout. Nuts & Bolts: The Flag. Handout. 122-126.