Page layout
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2014) |
In graphic design, page layout is the arrangement of visual elements on a page. It generally involves organizational principles of composition to achieve specific communication objectives.[1]
The high-level page layout involves deciding on the overall arrangement of text and images, and possibly on the size or shape of the medium. It requires intelligence, sentience, and creativity, and is informed by culture, psychology, and what the document authors and editors wish to communicate and emphasize. Low-level pagination and typesetting are more mechanical processes. Given certain parameters such as boundaries of text areas, the typeface, and font size, justification preference can be done in a straightforward way. Until desktop publishing became dominant, these processes were still done by people, but in modern publishing, they are almost always automated. The result might be published as-is (as for a residential phone book interior) or might be tweaked by a graphic designer (as for a highly polished, expensive publication).
Beginning from early
The term page furniture may be used for items on a page other than the main text and images, such as headlines, bylines or image captions.[2]
History and layout technologies
Direct physical page setting
With manuscripts, all of the elements are added by hand, so the creator can determine the layout directly as they create the work, perhaps with an advanced sketch as a guide.[3]
With ancient woodblock printing, all elements of the page were carved directly into the wood, though later layout decisions might need to be made if the printing was transferred onto a larger work, such as a large piece of fabric, potentially with multiple block impressions.
With the Renaissance invention of
The original document would be a hand-written manuscript; if the typesetting was performed by someone other than the layout artist, markup would be added to the manuscript with instructions as to typeface, font size, and so on. (Even after authors began to use typewriters in the 1860s, originals were still called "manuscripts" and the markup process was the same.)
After the first round of typesetting, a
The invention of hot metal typesetting in 1884 sped up the typesetting process by allowing workers to produce slugs—entire lines of text—using a keyboard. The slugs were the result of molten metal being poured into molds temporarily assembled by the typesetting machine. The layout process remained the same as with cold metal type, however: assembly into physical galleys.
Paste-up era
The layout process then became the task of creating the paste up, so named because rubber cement or another adhesive would be used to physically paste images and columns of text onto a rigid sheet of paper. Completed pages become known as camera-ready, "mechanical" or "mechanical art".
Phototypesetting was invented in 1945; after keyboard input, characters were shot one-by-one onto a photographic negative, which could then be sent to the print shop directly, or shot onto photographic paper for paste-up. These machines became increasingly sophisticated, with computer-driven models able to store text on magnetic tape.
Computer-aided publishing
As the graphics capabilities of computers matured, they began to be used to render characters, columns, pages, and even multi-page
With modern
Digital media (non-paper)
Since the advent of
Modern web pages are typically produced using
Projected pages
Projected slides used in presentations or entertainment often have similar layout considerations to printed pages.
The
It became popular to use transparent film for presentations (with opaque text and images) using
Laying out a presentation presents slightly different challenges than a print document, especially because a person will typically be speaking and referring to the projected pages. Consideration might be given to:
- Editing the information presented so it either repeats what the speaker is saying (so the audience can pay attention to either) or only presents information that cannot be conveyed verbally (to avoid dividing audience attention or simply reading slides directly)
- Making the slides useful for later reference if printed as handouts or posted online
- Pacing, so slides are changed at comfortable intervals, fit the length of the talk, and content order matches the speaker's expectation
- Providing a way for the speaker to refer to specific items on the page, such as with color, verbal labels, or a laser pointer
- Sizing text and graphics so they can be seen from the back of the room, which limits the amount of information that can be presented on a single slide
- Use of animation to add emphasis, introduce information slowly, or be entertaining
- Using headers, footers, or repeated elements to make all pages similar so they feel cohesive, or indicate progress
- Using titles to introduce new topics or segments
Grids versus templates
A grid is a set of guidelines, able to be seen in the design process and invisible to the end-user/audience, for aligning and repeating elements on a page. A page layout may or may not stay within those guidelines, depending on how much repetition or variety the design style in the series calls for. Grids are meant to be flexible. Using a grid to layout elements on the page may require just as much or more graphic design skill than that which was required to design the grid.
In contrast, a template is more rigid. A template involves repeated elements mostly visible to the end-user/audience. Using a template to layout elements usually involves less graphic design skill than that which was required to design the template. Templates are used for minimal modification of background elements and frequent modification (or swapping) of foreground content.
Most desktop publishing software allows for grids in the form of a page filled with coloured lines or dots placed at a specified equal horizontal and vertical distance apart. Automatic margins and booklet spine (gutter) lines may be specified for global use throughout the document. Multiple additional horizontal and vertical lines may be placed at any point on the page. Invisible to the end-user/audience shapes may be placed on the page as guidelines for page layout and print processing as well. Software templates are achieved by duplicating a template data file, or with master page features in a multiple-page document. Master pages may include both grid elements and template elements such as header and footer elements, automatic page numbering, and automatic table of contents features.
Static versus dynamic layouts
Static layouts allow for more control over the
In contrast, electronic pages allow for
Static layout design may involve more graphic design and visual art skills, whereas dynamic layout design may involve more interactive design and content management skills to thoroughly anticipate content variation.
Motion graphics do not fit neatly into either category, but may involve layout skills or careful consideration of how the motion may affect the layout. In either case, the element of motion makes it a dynamic layout, but one that warrants motion graphic design more than static graphic design or interactive design.
Electronic pages may utilize both static and dynamic layout features by dividing the pages or by combining the effects. For example, a section of the page such as a web banner may contain static or motion graphics contained within a swapping content area. Dynamic or live text may be wrapped around irregularly shaped images by using invisible spacers to push the text away from the edges. Some computer algorithms can detect the edges of an object that contain transparency and flow content around contours.
Front-end versus back-end
With modern media content retrieval and output technology, there is much overlap between
More complex projects may require two separate designs: page layout design as the
Design elements and choices
Page layout might be prescribed to a greater or lesser degree by a house style which might be implemented in a specific desktop publishing template. There might also be relatively little layout to do in comparison to the amount of pagination (as in novels and other books with no figures).
Typical page layout decisions include:
- Deciding on the number and size of columns and gutters (gaps between columns)
- Placement of intentional whitespace
- Size and position of images and figures
- Size of page margins
- Use of color printing or spot color for emphasis
- Use of special effects like overlaying text on an image, runaround and intrusions, or bleeding an image over the page margin
Specific elements to be laid out might include:
- Boxouts and sidebars, which present information as asides from the main text flow
- Chapter or section titles, or subheads
- Image captions
- Notes like footnotes and end notes; bibliography, for example in academic journals or textbooks
- page numberis usually included in the header or footer, and the software automatically increments it for each page.
- Pull quotes and nut graphs which might be added out of course or to make a short story fit the layout
- Table of contents
In newspaper production, final selection and
To make stories fit the final layout, relatively inconsequential copy tweaks might be made (for example, rephrasing for brevity), or the layout editor might make slight adjustments to
Floating block
A floating block in writing and publishing is any graphic, text, table, or other representation that is unaligned from the main flow of text. The use of floating blocks to present pictures and tables is a typical feature of academic writing and technical writing, including scientific articles and books. Floating blocks are normally labeled with a caption or title that describes its contents and a number that is used to refer to the figure from the main text. A common system divides floating block into two separately numbered series, labeled figure (for pictures, diagrams, plots, etc.) and table. An alternative name for figure is image or graphic.
Floating blocks are said to be floating because they are not fixed in position on the page at the place, but rather drift to the side of the page. By placing pictures or other large items on the sides of pages[7] rather than embedding them in the middle of the main flow of text, typesetting is more flexible and interruption to the flow of the narrative is avoided.
For example, an article on geography might have "Figure 1: Map of the world", "Figure 2: Map of Europe", "Table 1: Population of continents", "Table 2: Population of European countries", and so on. Some books will have a table of figures—in addition to the table of contents—that lists centrally all the figures appearing in the work.
Other kinds of floating blocks may be differentiated as well, for example:
- Sidebar:[8] For digressions from the main narrative. For example, a technical manual on the usage of a product might include examples of how various people have employed the product in their work in sidebars. Also called an intermezzo. See sidebar (publishing).
- Program: Articles and books on algorithmsin a figure.
- Equation: Writing on mathematics may place large blocks of mathematical notation in numbered blocks set apart from the main text.
Presenting layouts under development
A mockup of a layout might be created to get early feedback, usually before all the content is actually ready. Whether for paper or electronic media, the first draft of a layout might be simply a rough paper and pencil sketch. A comprehensive layout for a new magazine might show placeholders for text and images, but demonstrate placement, typographic style, and other idioms intended to set the pattern for actual issues or a particular unfinished issue. A website wireframe is a low-cost way to show layout without doing all the work of creating the final HTML and CSS, and without writing the copy or creating any images.
Lorem ipsum text is often used to avoid the embarrassment any improvised sample copy might cause if accidentally published. Likewise, placeholder images are often labeled "for position only".
See also
- Aesthetics
- Book design
- Canons of page construction
- Database publishing
- Desktop publishing
- Editing
- Layout engine
- News design
- Page layout
- Page margin
- Publishing Interchange Language
- Slicing
- Swiss Style (design)
- Web design
References
- ^ O'Connor, Z (2014). Elements and principles of design: Tools for digital imagery, art and design.
- ^ Ribbans, Elisabeth (31 January 2023). "The perils of using journalist jargon outside the newsroom". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ Philippe Bobichon, Le lexicon : Mise en page et mise en texte des manuscrits hébreux, grecs, latins, romans et arabes, Paris, Aedilis, 2008.
- Flat panel display
- ^ "Buy Adobe InDesign CC – Desktop publishing software and online publisher". www.adobe.com.
- ^ "Free Page Layout Software". marq.com. 26 May 2015.
- ^ New Perspectives on JavaScript and AJAX, Comprehensive. p. VS-B2.
- ^ Sams Teach Yourself Dreamweaver CS5 in 24 Hours. p. 406.
External links
- SGML page at www.xml.org
- Symbols – All articles categorized as relating to typographical symbols
- TeX Users Group
- XML page at www.W3C.org