VOL. 1, NO.

LASALLIAN
DIGEST
EXCLUSIVE
HOW HE
THREW ME
OFF-
CENTER
Speak like a pro
LAYOUT
LINGO

LOOK GOOD
SPECIAL REPORT

IN PRINT BY RANDY C. TORRECAMPO

OUTLINE
II. Layout Lingo
III. Elements of Design
IV. Your Noble Purpose
V. Magazine Layout
Guidelines
Layout Lingo

Speak the same lingo

to avoid
misunderstanding.
Layout Lingo

Bleed
When 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
Layout Lingo
Column
One 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
Crop marks
Crossed lines placed at the
corners of an image or a
page to indicate where to
trim it

Center marks
Vertical lines used to
indicate the center of a
two-page spread for
folding or cutting
Layout Lingo

Grid
The underlying
structure of a page
12-grid layout
Twelve is ideal,
because it’s a
multiple of two, three
and four.
Layout Lingo
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
The Dummy’s Guide
to a Magazine Dummy

Don’t plan
on the screen
PLAN ON PAPER
The Dummy’s Guide
to a Magazine Dummy

Every layout begins with a DUMMY

Not this dummy…

…but this 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.
Elements of Design
Shape
Anything that has height and width has shape. Unusual shapes can be
used to attract attention.

•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
Space: The importance of breathing
The 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.
 TYPOGRAPHY
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
TYPES OF FONT

– Serif
– Sans Serif
– Decorative (script, decorative,
digital)
– Dingbats
YOUR NOBLE PURPOSE
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
Magazine Layout Guidelines
Before you begin
your layout:

•Determine the
purpose of your
magazine Keep in mind:
•Identify your There’s no one right way
target audience 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
SIMPLICITY
Crystal 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 crowding
Group similar elements in close proximity
Don’t use more than three typefaces. Use
variations.
PHOTO GUIDELINES
Clean, clear center of interest

Looks natural

Has a cutline
Bordered
Relevant

Face is big enough

PHOTO GUIDELINES

The grip and grin

BAD PHOTOS
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 Edit carefully
a bungled photo
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

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.