BasicsBasicsofof

Design & Design & GraphicsGraphics

Course BJMC-107Course BJMC-107

Lecture-1Lecture-1

Ratan Mani LalRatan Mani Lal

Need for designNeed for design Integral part of print media but

essential for TV and New Media too Full-sized newspaper (broadsheet)

needs maximum design inputs For journalism, design lessons based

on newspaper design, moving on to other sizes

Includes: Design, Typography, Production

Design for Print MediaDesign for Print Media Design – defined as the process of giving

form to an idea In context of print, its a combination of –

• Arrangement of elements

• Typefaces

• Pictures

• Blank spaces Balancing of all elements that makes

sense in context of publication contents and is aesthetically pleasing

Design for Print Design for Print (contd…)(contd…)

In a print publication, a design idea can be given a shape with the use of several elements that are part of the publication

These include:• Title• Masthead• Headlines• Text• Pictures• Blank spaces• Rules• Boxes

Examples…Examples… Some newspaper front page designs

TypographyTypography

It means the art and style pf printing It includes type faces, their

designing, principles and purpose Type originally meant a rectangular

piece of metal or wood on one end of which was engraved or cast a character or a sign used for printing

History of printingHistory of printing

Symbols etched on wooden plates in Babylon about 4000 years ago

Wooden printing plates used in Japan in 270 AD

The forerunners of modern newspapers were printed from wooden plates in Europe around the year 1380 to 1440

The Gutenberg phenomenonThe Gutenberg phenomenon

Johann Gutenberg of Mainz in Germany invented the movable type in 1631, marking a new chapter in mankind’s history

The first printed and regularly appearing newspaper reached the readers in Paris in 1702

The printing sagaThe printing saga

The first-ever daily was produced in 1811 Line-casting machine used in 1826 The Times in London first to use rotary

press in 1908 The first usable typesetter machine was

produced in 1970 Computerized typesetting mode came up

in 1975 Desktop publishing became commonplace

by the 1980s.

From huge sheds to table top From huge sheds to table top

Earlier a newspaper printing set-up used to occupy a huge industrial shed

Today except for the rotary machine, all other operations including typesetting, preparing photographs, designing pages, making printable computer files etc. are done from table tops in small rooms

Basics of TypographyBasics of Typography

Despite the revolutionary changes in print production and

printing technology, we cannot do without the knowledge of the

basics of typography since even the computer-based type system carries the traditional technical

nomenclature

The Point systemThe Point system The typographical point system is the set of

measurements used in printing and applied in every phase of print production

1. Didot system - indicates the set space, column width, headline and text setting, spaces, rule etc in points and Ciceros

2. Pica system - Anglo-American system that gives these in points and Picas

In both systems, Type sizes are given in points.

Two SystemsTwo Systems

The Didot system divides one metre into 2,660 points. The most frequently used denomination is the Cicero that is equal to 12 points

The Pica system is based on points and inch. One inch is made of 72 points or 6 picas. One pica is made of 12 points Pica is denoted as ‘em’. It can be seen that Pica is the equivalent of Cicero

The Measuring UnitThe Measuring Unit

Printing houses generally prefer to get the illustration and photo size in millimetres or centimetres, and also since most of the pre-production and design work is done on computers

Type ClassificationType Classification Type faces derived from the various

basic art styles of the 19th century and the modern art of the 20th century

Classified into groups depending on characteristic traits bearing resemblance to each other, such as,• Medieval antique• Classical antique• Egyptian or Square Serif• Grotesque or Sans Serif• Script or Cursive• Ornamental or Decorative

Type GroupsType Groups Medieval antique

It includes faces of the Renaissance and Baroque style

Marked by smooth curves, tender joint between the serif (that is the small extension of a line beyond a bend) and the main body, having a light & smooth appearance

Highly legible

Classical antique

There is a great difference between the up and down strokes in these types.

Its serifs are thin and meet the body at right angle.

There is no rounding up at the meeting point.

Not very legible therefore not used for body type, but used in headlines.

Square Serif

Here the serifs are thick, square and therefore suited for big, bold headlines or for playing up anything considered important

Sans Serif

It has no serifs and its old versions were not very readable, but the new versions are clear and lively.

Its tender curves and rounded forms make it good even for long running texts

Widely applied as headline type also

Script or Cursive

It is not good for long running texts but due to its manuscript like looks, it dissolves the rigidity of customary typography.

It can be used for one or two exceptional headlines.

Ornamental or Decorative

These are highly decorative typefaces that are used in posters etc.

Type MeasurementType Measurement

The points denote the size of the base on which the type face rests. Sizes 1, 2 or 3 points are used as only space or rule

Usually 8 and 9 points used for body text, cross headings and headings are set in 12 points upwards

Basics of printingBasics of printing

Three factors -•Phototypesetting or composing

of text and headline•Processing of photographs and

illustrations•Plate-making and printing on

rotary machine

Three stagesThree stages

Editorial department - collection, compilation, correction and processing of written material, and preparation of manuscript for the printer with editing, standard symbols and instructions for correction and setting

Three stages Three stages (contd..)(contd..)

Photo section– providing advertisement material, photographs, illustrations, graphics

Production- Page-making according to editorial and designer instructions along with text and headline setting, corrections, negative or positive making, plate making and finally, printing

Preparation of manuscriptPreparation of manuscript

Text typing on computer terminal Editing and text correction Transfer of the text on to a page Giving headlines Text formatting for typeface, type

size Addition of pictures, graphics Finishing touches with box, rules,

space, borders etc.

Scaling of photographs & croppingScaling of photographs & cropping

The original size of every illustration or picture is almost always different from the size in which it will appear in the paper and that is why it has to be enlarged or reduced

When the illustration is processed by the printer its size changes but the ratio from width to depth remains constant

Scaling ratioScaling ratio The illustration can be reduced or

enlarged along its diagonal as per this relationship:

Original illustration

Enlarged size

Scaling ratioScaling ratio The illustration can be reduced or

enlarged along its diagonal as per this relationship:

Original illustration

Enlarged size

Scaling ratioScaling ratio The illustration can be reduced or

enlarged along its diagonal as per this relationship:

Original illustration

Enlarged size

Scaling ratioScaling ratio The illustration can be reduced or

enlarged along its diagonal as per this relationship:

Original illustration

Enlarged size

CroppingCropping Cropping is done to highlight the

desired part of a picture or sketch

Picture before croppingPicture before cropping

CroppingCropping

Picture after CroppingPicture after Cropping

Page designPage design

The basic objectives of make-up in a print publication are:• Conveying the main contents (which

could be news in case of a daily newspaper or a weekly newsmagazine) with as little obstacles in the reader’s way as possible, minimizing the efforts put in by him to find, read and understand the news

• To give an orderly and meaningful outline to the presentation

Objectives of page designObjectives of page design

• Expressing through the headline size the relative importance of various items

• To give an overall attractive packaging to the day’s publication

• Creating reader habits and taking advantage of them

• Helping the reader to find what he wants and expects at a place that is most suitable

Display elementsDisplay elements

The page

Columns (number, width)

Special treatment (box, italics, etc.)

White spaces, rules, dots, asterisks

Blurbs, intro, by-line, credit line

Basics of good lay-outBasics of good lay-out

The right typefaces or fonts, column width and space

Creative arrangement of text, visuals and other elements

Sense of balance Maintaining the right sense of

visual contrast Accepting and guiding reader’s eye

movement

PrinciplesPrinciples

Symmetry & asymmetry Settings, typographical rules System of typographical unity Typographical order Displacement Proportionality Contrast Rhythm Composition

Thank youThank you