Basics of Page Design

 Page designers want readers to be able to proceed in an orderly manner as they scan page and move effortlessly from story to story  Need to arrange knowing (likely) will see picture, then headline. So arrange so can glide from picture to headline. (So why we don’t separate headline and start of story with photo)

The basics 1. Modular shapes 1) One format dominates American journalism – modular format Every story, along with pictures, graphics, etc., arranged in shape of square or rectangle. No odd (P or L) shapes. Why we don't use L layoutsL layouts

2. Contrast  Use an assortment of vertical and horizontal story shapes.assortment  A page shouldn’t be three stories; 6 columns across on top of each other

3. Dominant Art  Always start with the art. Find your dominant photo. Put that in. Then add that text. Move on to next photo (or graphic element).  Dominant photo (or graphic, etc.) placed on upper half of page, usually top right or left. Now, a lot of publications put it in the middle. Can take up a fifth of page.

4. Page balance How will you make sure art is spread out? How will you make sure one side of page is not text heavy? Let’s look at this front pagefront page

5. Headlines  Remember to vary. Usually 54 to 66 is biggest you will go. Again, let’s look at this pagepage  Rule: Don’t let your headlines buttbutt  Use decks, etc., to provide other ways for scanners to get information.

6. Other images/elements  Make sure it’s clear with your design what photos/graphics go with what stories.  Use varied elements to draw readers to story/share informationelements

7. Rules  Rules are usually measured by their width and serve three functions:  Separate items on a page  Group items  Establish a page’s personality

8. Type Serif (flourishes on end): body type Sans serif: Display type, accent type Most papers provide copy editors with a guide that spells out what is to be used for what 9 to 10 point body type