Design Basics

What makes a good layout?

        A layout is the arrangement of type and art (photos, illustrations, or any other graphics you might have) on paper. Layouts include posters, flyers, brochures, advertisements, and newsletters. There are no hard-and-fast rules to designing layouts; however, there are some criteria you should follow.

A good layout:

   Works

                …gets the message across quickly

                …does what you set out to do

    Before you begin to design a layout, you have to know:

        1.    What is the purpose of the piece?
        2.    What message should the reader get?
        3.    Who is the audience for this piece?
        4.    Where will it be seen (or how will it be distributed)?

    Knowing the answers to these questions before you plunge in will make it easier to decide how the piece should look.

A good layout:

   Organizes

                …maps out a visual path for readers to follow—shows what comes first, second, third, etc.

                …must be organized so that the reader can move smoothly and easily through the piece.

    You need to help readers get through your piece easily. If they have to work at reading it, they won’t bother. A good layout is easy to follow. Arrange and emphasize information to make your message as clear as possible. Choose what the reader should see or read first. Where should it be? How will you make it stand out from everything else to show where to start first?

    Then decide what information should come next. Continue arranging and emphasizing (or finally not emphasizing) all of the information until everything has been seen and understood. The better you organize the layout—direct your readers through it—the faster they’ll get your message.

A good layout:

Attracts

                …grabs your reader’s attention and pulls them into your piece

                …must stand out from its competition in order to attract

    A piece can’t communicate unless it gets noticed. To get noticed, it has to stand out from the crowd by being different from everything around it. The approach you will use depends on the piece’s audience and its environment. For example, a newspaper tends to look gray because it is made up with a lot of type. Therefore, an ad with either a lot of black areas or white areas will attract more attention.

    In order for a layout to be effective, it must do all of these things, not just one or two. Good layouts do not appear like magic. You must be willing to experiment. There is no one right way to make a good layout. There are as many different ways to make a piece work, be organized, and look attractive as there are designers.

To help your layout function:

• Determine the piece’s main message and plan your layout around it. (Choose a photo that supports that message.)
• Size the piece to fit its use. (If it’s a brochure, make it a size that can be easily held and filed.)
• Keep in mind where the piece will be seen. (A magazine’s title should be easily seen when it’s in a rack.)
• Keep your target audience in mind when sizing photos and choosing type sizes. (Make everything larger and easier to see if the audience is older.)
• Check with the post office to make sure it can be mailed. (There are regulations affecting size, weight, location of information, and type of fold.)
• Choose a light colored paper and a dark ink if the piece will have to be copied on a photocopier.
• Make sure that a logo is clear and readable at all the sizes it will be used.

To help organize a layout:

• Use different sizes of type. (Headlines are bigger than subheads.)
• Put colors behind an important area of information.
• Use rules to separate information into groups.
• Change the weight of the type. (Semibold stands out, but bold really stands out.)
• Leave white areas around information.
• Pick the best location. (The upper left corner is usually read first.)
• Align similar kinds of copy.
• Put pictures next to important copy. (They attract the eye and reinforce the message.)
• Put type in a box or give it an interesting shape.
• Call out items by putting bullets in front of them as illustrated here.
• Change the style of type.
• Use different colored or reversed type (white on black) to separate and emphasize.

To create an attractive layout:

• Enlarge a photo of something small, such as a bee, so it will cover an entire spread.
• Tilt an image or a block of copy at an angle.
• Surround a very small picture or bits of type with a lot of open space.
• Choose bright colors when the piece will be viewed in a gray environment such as a text-heavy magazine.
• Use a solid black area or a large white area for a newspaper ad.
• Crop an image in an unusual way. (Show an eye, not a whole face.)
• Use very large type for a thought-provoking or humorous headline.
• Make the piece a different size and shape from other similar pieces. (Use a square envelope if everyone else is using a #10.)
• Choose a paper with an interesting, noticeable texture or color.
• Set important information in an atypical way. (Set a headline on a curve or try a script font or face.)

The Elements of Design

    In order to make anything, you have to start with the basic materials. The ingredients for making a good layout are the elements of design: line, shape, texture, space, size, value, and color. Just as the same recipe ingredients can be used to create different dishes, the elements of design can produce different layouts depending on how they’re used. Once you understand what the elements of design are and how they work, you can make the right choices to create your own good layouts.

Line         Any mark connecting any two points. It can organize, direct, separate, or suggest emotion in a layout.

With line(s) you can:

Organize information.
(Place lines between the columns of numbers in a financial report or columns of text in a newsletter.)

Highlight or stress words.
(Set off a headline with a rule.)

Connect bits of information.
(Link a caption to the photo it is describing with a line.)

Define a shape.
(Arrange a line of type in the outline of a Christmas tree.)

Outline a photo to set it off from other elements.
(Run a thick line around a photo as a border.)

Create a grid.
(Separate items into columns for a catalog.)

Create a graph.
(Draw a line across a grid to show profit and loss over time.)

Create a pattern or rhythm by drawing many lines.
(Vary thick and thin lines and the spaces between them.)

Direct the reader’s eye or create a sense of motion.
(A diagonal line looks more active than a horizontal one does.)

Suggest an emotion.
(Use a curved line in a ballet poster to suggest elegance.)
 
 

Shape    Anything that has height and width.
                 Shapes define objects, attract attention, communicate ideas, and add excitement.

With shape you can:

Crop a photo in an interesting way.
(Drop it into an oval.)

Symbolize an idea.
( A heart symbolizes love.)

Make a block of copy more interesting.
(Set the copy for a Fourth of July ad in the shape of a star.)

Create a new format.
(Make the whole brochure the shape of a triangle.)

Highlight information.
(Run a screened or tinted shape behind important copy.)

Imply letterforms.
(Use a triangle to represent the letter a.)

Tie the piece to the subject matter.
(Use geometric shapes on an architect’s brochure and natural, curvy shapes on a zoo brochure.)

Tie together all the elements on a layout.
(Use square bullets and square copy blocks and crop photos square.)

Texture         The look or feel of a surface.

    Texture adds richness and dimension, emphasizes, and suggests mood or feeling. Texture can be tactile or visual. Tactile texture can actually be felt. For example, a piece printed on uncoated, rough paper or the use of embossed type will result in a tactile texture. Visual texture creates the illusion of texture on the printed piece. Pattern is a kind of visual texture. When an image or a line of type is repeated over and over—on wrapping paper for example, the rhythm of the lights and darks adds dimension to the surface. Patterns work well as backgrounds or borders in layouts.

You can use texture to:

Relate an image to its background.
(Run a floral pattern around a photo of an elegant, floral picture frame.)

Give the piece a mood or a personality.
(A piece done on soft, textured paper stock gives a feeling of warmth.)

Create contrast for interest.
(Run a solid color around a very textural photo or illustration, or around a block of type.)

Fool the eye.
(Create a wrapping paper pattern by repeating type to add dimension and visual texture.)

Provoke a particular emotion.
(A piece with pictures of trees and flannel shirts produces a different reaction than a piece with pictures of chrome and glass objects.)

Create a feeling of richness and depth.

Add liveliness and activity.
(Foil stamp a word or two on a letterhead.)

Space   The distance or area between or around things.
               Space separates or unifies, highlights, and gives the eye a visual rest.

You can use space to:

Give the eye a visual rest.
(Leave plenty of white space on a spread otherwise filled with copy.)

Create ties between elements.
(Put less space between elements to make them look related.)

Form positive and negative shapes.

Give a layout a three-dimensional quality.
(An element that is overlapped by another looks as if it’s farther back.)

Highlight an element.
(Put a lot of empty space around something important.)

Make a layout easy to follow.
(Put ample margins around a piece.)

Create tension between two elements.
(Place two photos so they are almost touching each other.)

Make a page dynamic.
(Have unequal spacing between elements.)

Make type as legible as possible.
(Allow comfortable spacing between letters, words and lines of type.)

Size    How big or small something is.
             Size shows what’s most important, attracts attention, and helps you fit your layout together.

With size you can:

Show which element is most important by making it the biggest.

Make elements come forward or recede on the page.
(Larger ones tend to come forward.)

Give the reader a sense of scale.
(In a photo, show a hand with an object for comparison of size.)

Make all elements easy to see.
(Use bigger type and pictures on a poster that will hang on a wall.)

Get a piece noticed.
(If you mail it in an envelope that’s larger or smaller than a #10—regular business letter size—it will attract more attention.)

Contrast two elements to add interest.
(Put a large photo beside a tiny line of type.)

Break up space in an interesting way.

Make elements fit together properly in the piece.
(Set type in a small size to make room for more pictures.)

Establish a consistent look throughout a brochure or newsletter.
(Make all heads the same size.)

Value     The darkness or lightness of an area.

    Value separates, suggests mood, adds drama, and creates the illusion of depth. Value gives shape and texture to everything around us. Every element in a layout has value. Because value is relative, an element’s value can be affected by its background and other elements around it. Setting a lot of type in a small area of white paper will make the paper look as if it has turned gray. Slight variations from light to dark—low contrast value—can be used to create a calm, quiet mood. Great variations from light to dark—high contrast value—will convey a feeling of drama or excitement

With value you can:

Visually separate different kinds of copy.
(Use large type and heavy leading for body copy—lighter value—and tightly packed, smaller type for sidebars—darker value.)

Lead the eye across the page.
(Run a dark to a light graded tone or tint in the background.)

Create a pattern, such as a checkerboard effect.

Give the illusion of volume and depth.
(Shade a shape to make it look three-dimensional.)

Give a piece an understated, subtle feeling.
(Use only light values.)

Make a layout dramatic.
(Use areas of black against areas of stark white.)

Emphasize an element.
(Make the most important element very light and all the others dark.)

Make objects appear to be in front of or in back of each other.
(Dark areas recede in space.)

Color     The ultimate tool for symbolic communication.
                Color identifies, conveys moods, attracts, highlights important copy, and organizes.

You can use color to:

Highlight important copy.
(Run all subheads in red so they’ll stand out.)

Attract the eye.

Tell the reader where to look first.
(Copy in a red circle will be read first.)

Make elements appear to vibrate, creating a feeling of excitement.
(Try purple and green together, or orange with blue.)

Tie a layout together.
Repeat a color from a photo or an illustration for the background, or as colored type.)

Organize.
(Color code parts of a manual or training document.)

Set off different parts of a chart or graph.

Create a mood.
(Bright colors convey excitement while pastels soothe.)

Group elements together or isolate them.
(Set off an important block of copy by putting it on a tint, or wrap a tint around several pictures.)

Provoke an emotional response.
 

The Principles of Design

    The principles of design determine what you do with each of the design elements and how you do it. Use the principles as you would a recipe. The principles (recipe directions) tell you what to do with the elements (ingredients) and how to do it.

    The four principles of design—balance, emphasis, rhythm, and unity—help you combine the various design elements into a good layout. Each principle of design can be applied to all of the seven elements. For example, you could use line, shape, texture, space, size, value, and/or color to create unity in a layout.

    The principles of design influence each decision you make when creating a layout. They affect where you place your type and art, how each piece of art and block of copy relate to each other, what you show readers and how you show it. As you work with the design principles, keep asking yourself how each principle will help your layout work, make it attractive to viewers, and organize it to communicate the message clearly.

Balance         An equal distribution of weight.

To create balance you can:

Repeat a specific shape at regular intervals, either horizontally or vertically.
(Make all the photos the same size rectangles and set them the same distance apart.)

Center elements on a page.

Put several small visuals in one area to offset a single, large visual or block of copy.

Use one or two odd shapes and keep the rest "regular" shapes.
(Put two photos in ovals and keep all the copy in square blocks.)

Lighten a text-heavy piece with a bright, colorful visual.

Leave ample white space around large blocks of copy or very dark photos.

Have a large light area near the center of your piece while putting a small dark area near the edge.

Offset a big, dark photo or illustration with several small bits of copy, each surrounded by plenty of white space.

Divide your page into an equal number of columns or horizontal rows.

Emphasis         What stands out most gets noticed first.

To create emphasis you can:

Place a small element, such as a line of reversed type or a small photo, in the middle of a large area of black or white.

Surround an illustration with a lot of text.

Use a series of evenly spaced, square photos next to an outlined photo with an unusual shape.

Put an important bit of copy on a curve or an angle while keeping all the other type in straight columns.

Use bold, black type for a head or subhead and much lighter type for all other text.

Place a large picture next to a small bit of copy.

Put a shape that appears to be three-dimensional or a black-and-white photo against a field of flat color.

Reverse the headline out of a black or colored box.

Use colored type or an unusual face for the most important information.

Put a list of benefits or a sidebar (a short article that supports a longer one) in a tinted box.

 


Rhythm         A pattern created by repeating elements that are varied.

To create rhythm you can:

Repeat a series of similarly shaped elements along the same baseline, with even white spaces between each (regular rhythm).

Make all the text the same size (in the same-sized columns or boxes) but make the pictures different sizes (repetition and variation).

Alternate dark, bold type and light, thin type.

Alternate dark pages (with lots of type or dark pictures) with light pages (with less type or light-colored pictures) in a brochure.

Repeat a similar shape in various areas of a layout.

Repeat the same element in the same place on every page of a newsletter so the reader moves steadily through it. (Repeat a reduced version of the nameplate at the top.)

Use a lot of elements with tight spacing between them, or a few elements with loose spacing between them.

Unity      All the elements look like they belong together.

To create unity you can:

Repeat a color, shape, or texture in different areas of a spread or throughout a brochure. (Make all the photos circular or oval.)

Group elements, such as a related headline, body copy, picture and caption, together.

Pick visuals that share a similar color, theme, or shape.

Line up photos and copy along the same grid line(s) throughout the piece.

Stick to one or two type families, varying only size or weight for contrast throughout a brochure or newsletter.

Keep the type style you select for heads, body copy, photo captions and callouts consistent throughout.

Use the same color palette throughout.

Place callouts (quotes or sentences that summarize a piece, also called "pull quotes") near the section of type from which they were taken or to which they apply.

Put a border around a poster, page or spread.

Group elements with lines, screens, or tints.

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Source:  Making a Good Layout by Siebert and Ballard.