BY RANDY C. TORRECAMPO

LASALLIANDIGEST

Speak like a pro

LAYOUTLINGO

HOW HE THREW ME

OFF-CENTER

EXCLUSIVE

VOL. 1, NO. 1

SPECIAL REPORT

LOOK GOODLOOK GOODIN PRINT

OUTLINE

I. Layout Lingo

II. Elements of Design

III. Your Noble Purpose

IV. Magazine Layout Guidelines

Layout Lingo

Speak the same lingoto avoid

misunderstanding.

Layout Lingo

BleedWhen an image or element on a page touches the edge of the page, extending beyond the trim edge, leaving no margin. Bleed allowance: about 1/8” beyond the trim lines

Layout Lingo

Short for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), and often referred to as process color or four color. It is a subtractive color model used in color printing

ColumnOne or more vertical blocks of text used to break up large bodies of text that cannot fit in a single block of text on a page.

Layout Lingo

Layout Lingo

Crop marks

Crossed lines placed at the corners of an image or a page to indicate where to trim it

Center marksVertical lines used to indicate the center of a two-page spread for folding or cutting

Layout Lingo

GridThe underlying

structure of a page

12-grid layout

Twelve is ideal, because it’s a multiple of two, three and four.

Orphan A word isolated at the top of a column or page

Widow A syllable, word, or less than one-third of a line isolated at the bottom of a column, paragraph, or page

Layout Lingo

Don’t plan on the screen

PLAN ON PAPER

The Dummy’s Guideto a Magazine Dummy

Every layout begins with a DUMMY

Not this dummy…

…but this dummy

The Dummy’s Guideto a Magazine Dummy

Elements of Design

Line

Any mark connecting two points. It may be straight, curved, squiggly, thin, fat, and dotted.

•Organize information

•Highlight or stress words

•Connect pieces of information

•Outline a photo or set it off from other elements

•Create a grid

•Create a chart or graph.

•Create a pattern or rhythm by drawing many

•Direct the reader’s eye or create a sense of motion

•Suggest an emotion

Elements of Design

Shape

Anything that has height and width has shape. Unusual shapes can be used to attract attention.

Three Types of Shapes

Geometric shapes, such as triangles, squares, rectangles, and circles, are regular and structured. These shapes work very well as building blocks for graphic design.

Natural shapes, such as animals, plants, and humans, are irregular and fluid.

Abstracted shapes, such as icons, stylized figures, and graphic illustrations, are simplified versions of natural shapes.

•Crop a photo in an interesting way, such as in an oval

•Symbolize an idea

•Make a block of text more interesting by setting the text into a shape

•Create a new format

•Highlight information

Elements of Design

Shape

Anything that has height and width has shape. Unusual shapes can be used to attract attention.

Elements of Design

Space: The importance of breathingThe distance or area between or around things. The absence of text and graphics

•Give the eye a visual rest•Create ties between elements•Highlight an element•Make a layout easy to follow•Make type as legible as possible

Elements of Design

Color

•Highlight important elements such as headlines and subheads

•Attract the eye

•Signal the reader where to look first

•Create an image or a mood

•Tie a layout together

•Organize

•Group elements together or isolate them

•Provoke emotion

COLOR MEANINGS

RED- is the color of fire and blood,

energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.

- emotionally intense - enhances human metabolism - brings text and images to the

foreground- In advertising, red is often used to

evoke erotic feelings

COLOR MEANINGS

ORANGE- combines the energy of red and the happiness of

yellow

- associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics

- As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite

- is the color of fall and harvest

- has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design

COLOR MEANINGS

YELLOW- is the color of sunshine- associated with joy, happiness,

intellect, and energy - to highlight the most important

elements of your design - usually perceive yellow as a very

lighthearted, 'childish' color, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products

- is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety

COLOR MEANINGS

GREEN- is the color of nature - growth, harmony, freshness, and

fertility - has strong emotional

correspondence with safety - has great healing power. It is the

most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision

COLOR MEANINGS

BLUE- the color of the sky and sea - often associated with depth and

stability - is considered beneficial to the

mind and body - is strongly associated with

tranquility and calmness - use blue to promote products and

services related to cleanliness, air and sky, water and sea

- suggests precision when promoting high-tech products

COLOR MEANINGS

PURPLE- combines the stability of blue and

the energy of red - is associated with royalty - symbolizes power, nobility, luxury,

and ambition - is associated with wisdom, dignity,

independence, creativity, mystery, and magic

COLOR MEANINGS

WHITE- is associated with light,

goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity

- safety, purity, and cleanliness

- use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products

- is an appropriate color for charitable organizations

- is often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products

COLOR MEANINGS

BLACK- is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery

- is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown

- denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color

- a black background diminishes readability

- , you can use a black or gray background to make the other colors stand out

- contrasts well with bright colors

TYPOGRAPHY

TYPOGRAPHY

The art and techniques of type design, modifying type glyphs, and arranging type.

The arrangement of type is the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing) and letter spacing.

TYPE MEASUREMENTS

– One Point = 1/72 of an inch– One Pica = 12 points– One Inch = 72 points or 1 pica

TYPOGRAPHY

PARTS OF A FONT

TYPOGRAPHY

TYPOGRAPHY

TYPES OF FONT

– Serif

– Sans Serif

– Decorative (script, decorative, digital)

– Dingbats

YOUR NOBLE PURPOSE

Organize large volumes ofcontent into related parcels of information

Craft the typography to make it comfortably readable over many pages, yet lively enough to continually engage the reader

YOUR NOBLE PURPOSE

Structure the parts of pages and sections to accommodate a variety of content, whether image- or text-based

Integrate images with typography to achieve a unified form that builds a communication much bigger than its parts

YOUR NOBLE PURPOSE

Magazine Layout Guidelines

Before you begin your layout:

•Determine the purpose of your magazine•Identify your target audience

Keep in mind:There’s no one right way to create a good layout

A good layout and design is:•Attractive•Convenient•Easy to the eyes•Helpful

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

CONTRAST

Using italicized or bold text to create emphasis is a sample of contrast.

Contrast of line, shape, size, tone and texture.

Successful pages will have vertical and horizontal elements, dominant and secondary elements (heads, boxes, lines, etc).

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

BALANCE

An effective design balances the visual weights on a page.

Symmetrical and assymetrical balance.

Assymetrical

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

PROPORTION

Two-thirds –The most visually alive are is the first one-third of a page (optical center).

It is important to have one dominant element on a page.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

SEQUENCE

Every design should have a logical sequence.

Large to small. Color to black and white. Irregular to regular.

PRINCIPLES APPLIED

PRINCIPLES APPLIED

UNITY

The way layout, design style, typeface and color work together to communicate the same content.

Your choice of layout, color, and typeface is important.

PRINCIPLES APPLIED

CONTROL

Identify the center of visual impact a.k.a. the focal point. It gains impact by the use of contrasting elements.

Similarity

Proximity - how elements are grouped together.

Closure

PRINCIPLES APPLIED

COHERENCE

Use text and visuals in a consistent way throughout a publications to create an identity.

Project conference

Style guide

PRINCIPLES APPLIED

CONTINUITY

Sequence of events – pages are like a sequential series of events

Prime viewing areas should be fully utilized

PRINCIPLES APPLIED

SIMPLICITYCrystal clear simplicity is harder to achieve than

a crowded, busy design.Fewer elements – If you can remove it without

losing anything, it is not needed.More space is less crowdingGroup similar elements in close proximityDon’t use more than three typefaces. Use

variations.

Clean, clear center of interest

Looks natural

Has a cutline

Bordered

Relevant

Face is big enough

PHOTO GUIDELINES

BAD PHOTOS

The grip and grin

PHOTO GUIDELINES

The execution at dawn

BAD PHOTOS

PHOTO GUIDELINES

The guy at his desk

BAD PHOTOS

PHOTO GUIDELINES

The bored meeting

BAD PHOTOS

PHOTO GUIDELINES

How to salvage a bungled photo

Edit carefully

Crop aggressively

Run a sequence

Reshoot

Use alternative art

Retouch mistakes

Bury it

Do without it

PHOTO GUIDELINES

A GOOD CROP

Eliminates what’s unnecessary

Adds impact

Leaves air where it’s needed

PHOTO GUIDELINES

A BAD CROP

Amputates body parts

Forces the image into an awkward shape

Changes the meaning of a photo

Violates works of art

PHOTO GUIDELINES

A B

Surprise the reader Give readers a surprise so outstanding

they would pass it along for another person to read.

The secret: Make it special

Guidelines are made to be broken, but only for a valid reason.

If the rules are constantly broken, consistency goes out the window.

Don't be so predictable as to be boring.