You are on page 1of 12

Document Design

Dr. Will Kurlinkus


Everyone Grab
a Magazine
Page Layout
1.  Start with the content. Read it, think about what the
most important or interesting or thought provoking
elements are. Think about visualizing through intriguing
pictures. Think about how the content logically divides
itself (where you’ll add subheadings)

2.  Create your list of key elements described in step one.

3.  Get inspiration. What do the other layouts in your


magazine look like or what style do you want to follow.

4.  Start your grid. Create your wireframe of simple boxes


and columns. Think visual hierarchy: Where do I want
text, images, headings, headings, pull quotes, etc. It’s
easier to draw this. Stay within your grid.

5.  Fill in your grid. Paste your text into your grid and
consider general visual hierarchy.

6.  Style your layout. Think about the contrast between


fonts, images, headings, colors, how much space is
between lines. How big your font is going to be. How
you want your images to appear. Etc.
Margin: The white
Space surrounding
Your layout.

Alley: space between


Columns.

Gutter: space
Folded between
Pages.
Layout Tips
1.  The most read, visible parts of the layout are
the upper and outer parts. This is where
provocative words and images go.

2.  Don’t split up the text across multiple pages—


keep the eye flow natural

3.  Use your subheadings as a way to maintain


interest, break up text, and let readers jump to
what they might be interested in.
¡  Make them consistent, distinct from the rest of the
text (a few points larger, bolded, a different font,
probably sans serif)
¡  Don’t place subheads near the bottom or at the top
of your columns. Nor do you want to place them
immediately next to an image. Vary them—but lace
them internally.
¡  Don’t center your subheads, align them like the rest
of your text.

4.  Pull quotes: Try not to place them between


columns—creating one really narrow column.
Instead, have them black columns fully.
Unnatural
Natural
Typography An orphan

1.  Body text. Use a popular serif font like Caslon,


Jenson, Chronicle, Miller, Palatino, or Garmond.
¡  Stick with one font and size for your publication.
¡  The size of your text has to do with how it looks in your
columns and how many words you want per column—
ranging from 9-11 point. Don’t go out of that range
though.
¡  There are two options for alignment: left or justified.
Never center or right aligned. I prefer left aligned.
¡  Print a test page to see how big it will actually appear.

2.  Columns. To wide and no one wants to read them.


Too narrow and the flow of the text is disrupted.
¡  1-column layouts are rarely used. The column is too long.
2-column layouts are used for the biggest stories in
magazines. 3-column layouts are most common and
easiest to add headings, images, and style to.
¡  Don’t include too much or too little tracking (space
between letters) or leading (space between words)
¡  Take care of your widows and orphans—the small
amount of words that begin or end a new column.
Good Visual
Hierarchy

Bad Visual
Hierarchy
Create a
wireframe of
one of your
magazine
layouts
using our
terminology
Now Create a
Page Layout for
The Provided
Article
Must include:
1.  A title
2.  Credits
3.  Kicker
4.  Pull quote
5.  At least one image with caption
6.  Folio
7.  Several subheads
8.  Several columns

You might also like