Magazines: The Double-Page Spread
Planning Your Article Once you are happy with the text of your article, think about how it is going to look on the page. There is no single perfect way to compose a page, but there are some generally accepted rules or guidelines. Remember that all of these rules are made to be broken, as long as you know why you are breaking them and what effect this will have.
Terms and Definitions Make sure you know the common terms that can be used to describe important features of layout. Here are some of them, applied to an example from Hot! magazine.
GUTTERS
WHITE SPACE
KICKER
SANS SERIF FONT
DROPCAP
PULL QUOTE
SUBHEAD
SIDEBAR
CAPTION BODY TEXT
Design Rules This advice falls into 4 sections: 1. General Layout 2. Image 3. Type 4. Colour
1. General Layout •
Use the Rule of Thirds – divide the page into three horizontally and vertically in order to create more interesting and visually appealing layouts.
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Use the ‘Z pattern’ – the eye should be drawn across the top of the page from left to right, then down the page to the left and back to the right again.
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Use white space and margins to visually balance the page. Leave a little more space at the bottom than at the top, so it won’t look like it is slipping off the page.
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Use borders when you want to frame or draw attention to information.
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Draw attention to boxes or images by using drop shadows.
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Emphasise important elements by contrasting size, colour and page position. This can also create focus for the page.
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Using multiple columns (2, 3 or 4) makes the text easier to read. Leave a sufficient gutter between columns.
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Use subheads, pull quotes and block quotes to break body text up and to give a summary of the page.
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Use sidebars or information blocks that stand off from the main body text to add interest and support the content.
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Distinguish captions, quotes etc. from body text by changing font, point size and weight.
Images •
Strong images will improve and clarify a good article; weak images will ruin it.
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Too many images will confuse the reader; too few will make the article boring.
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Keep your style of imagery consistent and complementary.
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Use graphic devices such as lines, decorative characters etc. to create visual interest on the page.
Type •
Use a minimum of 9 point and a maximum of 14 point type in body text.
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If using more than one type of font, make sure they are very different.
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However, avoid using too many different fonts in one article.
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Don’t leave orphans or widows.
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Fully justified text looks very ordered and formal. Ensure that there are no big gaps in the text.
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Wraparound text generally looks better when it is right justified.
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Left justified, ragged right text is more informal.
Spelling •
Spell checkers only catch 90% of your mistakes
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They only check for spelling, not meaning (eg too, two; there, they’re)
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Proof read your text carefully – one misspelled word can undermine the credibility of the whole article, particularly if it is in the headline!
Colour •
Warm colours appear larger than cool colours.
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Warm colours seem to move towards the viewer; cool colours seem to recede from a viewer and fall back.
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Monochromatic colour schemes (containing variations of a single colour) create a harmonious effect.
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This is also true for analogous colours (found next to each other on a colour wheel).
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Contrasting colours create energy and draw attention to themselves.
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Use colour to emphasise type or graphics. Avoid colours that are too similar in body text. Colour can also be used to segregate different types of information.
Planning the article It is essential that you draft the layout of your article before beginning work on a computer. Try out a number of different versions on paper to see which elements are the most effective before committing yourself to a particular approach.
Design tips – a summary and checklist • • • • • • • • • • •
Pull Quotes Wrap text around Images Use a range of fonts – but not TOO many, and make sure they are appropriate Break up long sections of text to make reading easier – use cross heads etc Use drop caps Lots of coloured blocks on your background Borders around text WOBs or similar Don’t be too varied – have a “house style” Bylines End signs and jumplines
Sample Layouts