Utilizing Effective Layout Methods Alignment Design Principles Utilizing Effective Layout Methods Alignment

Alignment Alignment is the placement of text and graphics so they line up on the page. Use alignment to: create order organize page elements group items create visual connections

Types of Alignment horizontal alignment In horizontal alignment left and right margins are exactly or visually equal. Horizontal alignment can be across the page or within columns. It doesn't necessarily mean center alignment. A block of flush left/ragged-right text can be aligned horizontally. Even though individual lines of text are not perfectly aligned on each side, careful attention to the amount of rag (white space at the end of the line) can result in a visually balanced amount of margin on each side of the block of text. vertical alignment In vertical alignment the top and bottom margins are exactly or visually equal. Vertical alignment can be the full page or within portions of the page.

Types of Alignment cont. edge alignment Edge alignment lines up text or objects along their top, bottom, left, or right edges. center alignment Center alignment may be horizontally or vertically aligned, or both. visual or optical alignment Visual or optical alignment fixes some of the problems that can occur with other types of alignment due to the varying shapes of letters and graphics. In visual alignment the objects may not be precisely aligned but to the eye they appear lined up.

Fully-Justified Text Often considered more formal, less friendly than left-aligned text. Usually allows for more characters per line, packing more into the same amount of space (than the same text set left-aligned). May require extra attention to word and character spacing and hyphenation to avoid unsightly rivers of white space running through the text. May be more familiar to readers in some types of publications, such as books and newspapers. Some people are naturally drawn to the "neatness" of text that lines up perfectly on the left and right. Traditionally many books, newsletters, and newspapers use full-justification as a means of packing as much information onto the page as possible to cut down on the number of pages needed.

Centered headlines work best over body text that is fully-justified. About Center Text Lends a formal appearance to text, which is why it is often used in formal wedding invitations, certificates, and on plaques. Generally harder to read long lines and multiple paragraphs of centered text. Works best with fairly short lines and extra leading (space between lines of text). Centered headlines work best over body text that is fully-justified. Centered text is harder to read because the starting position of each line changes, forcing the reader to work harder to find where each line begins to continue reading. For large blocks of text, try to avoid centered text. Numbered and bulleted lists should almost always be left-aligned as well to aid in quickly scanning the list. Save centering for invitations, greeting cards, and certificates.

Left-Aligned Text Often considered more informal, friendlier than justified text. The ragged right edge adds an element of white space. May require extra attention to hyphenation to keep right margin from being too ragged. Generally type set left-aligned is easier to work with (i.e. requires less time, attention, and tweaking from the designer to make it look good).

Fully-Justified Text & Horizontal

Left-Aligned

No overall Alignment

Right Alignment

Center

Grid

Visual Optical

Hanging Punctuation

Breaking Alignment

Before and After