included at this web site when answering these, and other, questions. What is the purpose of my publication?
Form follows function.
Your first step in designing an attractive, effective publication is to define it's function. Ask yourself: How is the publication going to be used?
- Attract attention?
Is it designed to attract attention—like a poster or an advertisement?
- Transparent container?
Is it designed to be a "transparent container" to communicate ideas continued from and onto adjacent pages?
Your answers will determine the typography, layout and typography most appropriate for your publication
Where will readers encounter my page?
Consider your
publication's environment. Will readers encounter your page close-up or far-away? What other print communications are competing for attention? Environment and competition should influence every aspect of
page layout, from the size of the page through your choice of typeface, borders, photos and column layout.
- Posters
designed to attract attention from ten feet away needs to be set in a larger, more attention-getting typeface than books which will be held in the reader's hand.
- Advertisements
in magazines and newspaper advertisement requires white space and strong borders to set it off from adjacent advertisements.
- Books
require margins to accommodate the reader's thumbs without obscuring text.
- Newsletters
require different designs depending on how they will be distributed, i.e. folded and inserted in envelopes or if address labels are going to be placed on the back cover.
What kind of image do I want to project?
Start by considering the kind of emotional response you want to arouse. Then consider the type of audience you want to attract. Ask
yourself questions like:
- Do I want to project a conservative or contemporary image?
- Do I want to appear cheap or expensive, quiet and dignified or flamboyant?
- Do I want to present a formal or informal appearance?
Next, consider the message you're communicating and your reader's expectations.
What kinds of readers do you want: those seeking security or those attracted to the latest trendy designs?
The use of symmetrical
page layouts and quiet columns of containing a single classic serif typeface projects an entirely different image than an asymmetrical, or unbalanced, page layout containing sans serif typefaces set in widely-differing
sizes.
What is the precise mix of text and graphics?
The size, quantity and relative importance of the text and graphic elements that make up your page should determine
its column structure.
As your message becomes more complicated, you need the flexibility offered by increasingly-sophisticated multi-column layouts.
- A mystery or romantic novel consisting entirely of words can be set in a single column of text.
- A proposal or report containing charts and graphs that don't interrupt the text text can be placed on a page containing a narrow column (for visuals) and a wide column (for text).
- But, a newsletter containing several stories of varying length and numerous photographs requires a more sophisticated multi-column page layout.
What is the information hierarchy you want to communicate?
Design with a magic marker. Use different-colored markers to visually signal the relative importance of headlines and
subheads.
Besure you make important information—regardless whether they're headlines or photographs—significantly larger than unimportant information and place important elements near the top of the page or use white
space to draw attention to them.
How can I make my message as easy to read as possible?
Strive for the perfect combination of typeface, type size, column width, alignment and line
spacing. Here are some tips for easy-to-read text:
- Avoid awkward word spacing or excessive hyphenation by choosing the right combination of type size and column width. Be especially careful when using narrow columns of large, justified type.
- Set columns far enough apart so reader's won't read across column gutters rather than returning to the beginning of the first word of the next line in the same column.
- Reduce headline letter spacing to replace unwanted white space inside headlines (where it does no good) with white space around the headlines (so it can frame the headline and attract the reader's attention).
- Avoid excessive or ambiguous hyphenation, i.e. too many lines of hyphenated text or awkward word splits, i.e. "the-rapist." Hyphenation difficulties are often due to setting large type in narrow columns.
Conclusion
Review the above six questions, or use the Planning Worksheet, the next time you begin a print publication. You'll soon notice function replacing opinion and habit as the
basis of your design decision.
