“And I saw the designers, small and great, stand before Adrian; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of editorial design: and the designers were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

A good logo should compliment every cover of every issue. AR is merged naturally with all the covers. Having a negative space for the image and adding an isometric three dimensionality conforms with the image and gives enough character to become a logo. The negative effect of the characters reduces the weight of the logo while still maintaining the popping out effect.

The Architectural Review / October 2010

LOGO

The title of the Magazine. Usually a typographic design which is

identifiable with each issue to avoid confusion with the reader. It is

usually situated at the top (left corner) of the cover to look better

when stacked behind any other magazines of the same genre.

What makes this a bad logo is the choice of typeface. The typeface, Impact, was a free to use and an excessively used typeface for headlines. Also, the side ribbon is synonym with hazardous equipment. This is the rather obvious choice for a logo feature for the magazine which lacks originality.

PC Extreme / November 2003

Creative Review is a graphic design oriented magazine. Graphic design is often associated with two dimensional imagery. The isometric three dimensional drop cap breaks this uniformity and popping it out of the article. Also, the space around the drop cap itself gives a bit of breathing space both for the text and the whole page itself.

Creative Review / October 2010

Drop Cap is a letter at the beginning of an article to mark its start.

The Drop Cap varies in size; usually runs several lines deep in the

paragraph. A Drop Cap can become a signiture to the magazine.

DROP CAP

While a large drop cap could be a typographic feature on its own, in this example, it is failing to meet its use. The exaggeration of the size makes the drop cap seems as though it is a headline. The position is quite confusing. Does it form part of the article? A bit of indentation might have worked.

Flair / September 2010

In this example the text wrap does not fit the cutout precisely. Giving the cutout a good wrap easily gives the model better positioning on the spread. The text box was also given a curved shape, to fit inside the background. Note that the curve was big enough to maintain an easy flow for reading and avoid untidiness.

Edge / October 2005

CUTOUT A ND TEXT W RAP

When you abuse the breaking power of a cutout, the uneven text works against the reader. Having more than one cut out destroys the grid completely. Also, when having large cutouts and text size, more attention should be given. Here, an indentation for a new paragraph further destroys the text wrap and confuses the reader.

Computer Arts Project / March 2010

A Cut Out is a subject in an image which has been isolated from its

background. Usually used to break the layout grid.

Text Wrap is usually used in conjunction to a Cut Out. The text is

adjusted in a way to contour the cut out image and reduce the white

space between the two.

A pull quote breaks up text bodies. This example is what it does. Instead of opting for a larger body copy on the lower half, the text is divided into two long columns and joined using a rather large and spaced out pull quote. Although it is quite long for a pull quote, the leading and weight of the quote makes it easy to read. Also worth noting is the generous white space.

Domus / September 2010

A Pull Quote is a small selection of text or a person’s quote which is

pulled out from the text. It is designed in a larger typeface and used

to give a rest to your eyes and add visual interest to the layout. The

quote usually points out important information found in the text or

a shocking statement.

PULL QUOTE

A pull quote looses all of its function if it is not within a form of body copy. This pull quote lures the viewer to the upper left side. Its typeface is too condensed and unbalances the photo. The pull quote seems to be alien to the whole page as though added just for the sake of including another editorial feature.

Hello / September 2010

I find Stand Firsts generally difficult to read. What I find interesting in this example is that the first line is longer than the rest. This facilitates the reading method until it progresses you to the rest of the stand first. This format gives you the advantage of narrower leading, and an interesting layout design.

Icon / October 2010

STA NDFIRST

DJ / November 2005A stand first is a selling point for an article. Thus, it should be short and easy enough to read at a glance. A 10-rack stand first is too long. It is made up of five sentence and two paragraphs. The low weight of the typeface is too thin to read as a normal piece of text. Also, a missing border around the stand first would help. The choice of layout for this stand first might be stylish but it lacks readability.

A Stand First is a short introduction which summarises the story,

aimed to sell the story. Often positioned before the article, it

generates hype to the reader to read the article. A Stand First is also

known as a “Sell” or “Strapline”.

Headlines work best in white space. Often, the quality of a headline is dependent on the content around it. Sometimes it is shadowed, and sometimes more prominent. With the choice of typeface for the headline, the By Lines compliment the headline in an impeccable manner. The layout conforms and extends the headline’s effectiveness into the page.

Canvas : The DIY Issue / July 2010

The Headline is the title of the article. Usually designed to be the

typographically prominent inside the layout. It is usually merged

sensitively with an illustration, or image to enhance its effect.

A Headline is sometimes divided into 2 or more racks (2-rack

headline) which means that the Headline is divided into 2 lines.

HEADLI NE

A 6-rack headline is too long, especially with long words. This should be helped with proper colour contrast. White on yellow makes this headline near impossible to decipher. Also, if the headline is for a separate side article, it is too big. This may confuse the reader of what he was reading.

DJ / November 2005

Computer Arts Project / March 2010 Captions accompany images and that is what they must do. Sometimes having captions close to an image affects the composition of the image, or misaligns the grid. By numbering the image and noting the captions on another area of the page, clutter is reduced. This option should not be abused. The captions must be close as possible to the imagery, describing the relation of the image to the article, and not hiding them on the page. Each caption should be neatly separated from one another like in this example.

A Caption is text that describes an image, often positioned below

or by the side of an image. The description usually describes the

relation of the image to the article and not a visual description

which states the obvious.

CAPTION

Malta This Month / January 1998Captions should be spaced far enough from the image by not giving the illusion that the text is literally part of the image. The length of the caption is too long. By giving an italic typeface and having narrow leading, reduces its readability, especially when having three long lines.

Edge / October 2005 In this example, the box is a prominent factor in the article. Each box represents an element that defines game design. Boxes can help the separation of information making it easier for the viewer to comprehend. Also, having boxes neglects the reading direction, making each box equally important from another. Its layout is neatly divided and accompanied by imagery and text.

A Box is a set box, usually positioned in line with the layout grid,

which is mostly used as side notes to the article. The idea of a Box is

to break the layout and differs the content from the rest of the text.

A Box does not necessarily be a rectangle. It can be any shape.

BOX

Gardening Malta / Spring 2000Having boxes usually heavier in colour than the background means that more care should be taken to ensure that the text inside is neat. Lines should be spaced out for better readability. A thicker margin to the box is important to enhance the boxing effect and break it from the rest of the article.

Nation Geographic / October 2009 In this example, the cover lines are divided into two: One main title and four other titles. The main title describes the issue, the selling line. The main title forms part of the cover usually in a binding manner to the imagery. The symmetric composition of the cover lines and the imagery, help one another into increasing their effectiveness.

Cover Lines are titles of articles found on the front cover of

the magazine. They are used as selling points for magazines,

informing the buyer of what is inside the magazine. Cover Lines

are sometimes made out of different sizes and weight according to

the importance of the article, although sometimes interferes with

the cover image.

COV ER LI NE

Focus / August 2002Filling up the cover with cover lines may help to feature what the issue contains at a glance. In this example though, different contrasts in weight, drop shadows, and an uneven layout that does not compliment with anything, creates a sense of overwhelming information that the prospective reader may skip or worse, opting for another magazine.

Modern Elegance / June 2008 White space on magazine covers is a necessity. When a magazine is distributed for free with a newspaper, covers can be more daring. Reducing cover lines to a minimum and having a better cover image, may lure the viewers better. Modern Elegance popped out the cut paper collage image with white space.Newspaper design is often cluttered and packed with information. A magazine cover that is light on text and better image quality invites the eye to have a look.

White Space is a portion of a page or spread which is occupied

neither by text nor graphics. White space avoids clutter, improves

the composition and readability in a layout, when used well. White

Space does not necessarily mean that the space is white; it can also

be a gradient or a pattern.

Having high printing costs may result less white space, valuable

space for more content. This may affect readability, and pleasing

compositions. With an online magazine, white space is often

abused because of no printing costs. Effective use of white

space is important.

W HITE SPACE/NEGATI V E SPACE

MIPP / April 2010Having more than one image in a page, reduces their effectiveness. Having bad use of white space further degrades the quality. White space makes or breaks the atmosphere of the image. Images should by aligned accordingly in a grid and separated from distracting captions. Also, including a border to a photo when placed on a white space also changes its effect.

Icon / October 2010 The turn arrow and end icon in Icon is represented with a stick figure. One which is moving, similar to the green exit symbols used in cinemas, and one which is standing, which represents the end. These icons may appear perfect to the article because of the bio-enhancement theme, but it is used throughout the magazine. The figure icons may represent anthropological design featured in this magazine.

The Turn Arrow is an icon placed at the end of a page when an

article continues on another page. Similar to the Turn Arrow, the

End Icon shows the end of an article. Usually the Turn Arrow and

the End Icon share graphic similarities and sometimes identify the

magazine itself. Strangely enough, Turn Arrows and End Icons,

are quite conservative in their designs. Very few magazines try to

venture this feature.

TUR N ARROW A ND END ICON

PlayStation 2 Official Magazine-UK / October 2006 Sometimes its better to leave things out instead of adding something just for the sake of it. The turn arrow appears too large compared to the text size. Its position is untidy, having no clear sense of position.The end icon is overused throughout most magazines. It is quite a shame that most magazines regard the turn arrow and end icon as something extra.

In a paragraph, an orphan is a word left on its own in a line. Apart from the difficulty to read fluently with an orphan, it also visually degrades a spread. Having one word (or a short phrase) on its own leaves a visible amount of white space in a line, breaking the balance between two columns. This is usually corrected by breaking the line manually.

A widow is a sentence or part of a sentence which does not fit in the given text box. This results in a phrase which does not belong anywhere. Widows should be avoided for two reasons. One reason is because of the reader not reading certain important information. The other reason is to avoid clutter and have a better layout. That is why writers should keep with a word count provided. Rewording

some sentences helps.

ORPHA N W IDOW

Tracking, not to be confused with kerning, is the space between a group of letters. Tracking affects the visual density of a body copy and the legibility. Tracking is often abused to correct orphans and widows. It is mostly used in headlines, where a word or phrase would appear too black compared to the rest of the spread. What happens is that white space is added with tracking, resulting in a better recognition of each character. Increasing tracking t o o m u c h i n t h i s m a t t e r m a y r e s u l t i n s p a r s e l e t t e r s w h i c h b e c o m e s a d i s t r a c t i o n t o t h e r e a d e r .

Kerning is the correction of white space between two characters. Because not all letters have the same width, certain characters seem as though they are isolated from their respective word. Kerning is mostly used in headlines and titles. The larger the font size is, the more kerning may be important to use. Bigger font sizes means bigger white space between two characters, hence, kerning should be introduced.Kerning is popularly used in text logos, where increased kerning may introduce interesting typographic

features.

Leading is the space between two lines of text. It is often underestimated. Changing the leading completely changes how text is read and viewed.

For example, the smaller the

font size is, the more leading is

required. While in headlines,

leading is usually much less,

often characters touching each

other. Also, when having long

lines of text it is more difficult

to read; increasing the leading

may help.

TRACK I NG LEADI NG K ER NI NG

TopMargin Column

BottomMargin

Running Head BleedOutsideMargin

Byline

Gutter

Body CopyReversed-out text

OutsideMargin Folio

TopMargin Column

BottomMargin

Running Head BleedOutsideMargin

Byline

Gutter

Body CopyReversed-out text

OutsideMargin Folio