Print design

www.LTScotland.org.uk/sustainabledevelopment/climatechange

Desktop Publishing (DTP)

DTP involves laying text and graphics on pages. As well as being able to use DTP and graphics software you need to know:

1. The names of various page elements

2. Some basic typographic ideas

3. Some simple principles for attractive page design.

Page elements

The Scotsman front page , 3 October 2006

Page elements

Masthead in serif caps

Splash (lead story) headline in serif

Puff in sans serif reverse type

Strapline in serif

Index

Mug shot

Jump line

Logo

Body text

Sidebar

Headline in sans serif

Caption

Cutout

Rule

Slogan (Scotland’s National Newspaper)

The Scotsman front page , 3 October 2006

Basic typography

Font Type Examples Usage

Serif Times, Century Serifs are the small strokes at the ends of the letters. Serifs make small body text readable as the strokes lead the eye along the line; serif fonts can connote tradition, the past, authority

Sans Serif Arial, Century Gothic Sans serif is French for ‘without serif’. Sans serif connotes modernity in mastheads; often used as subheads within serif body text

Script Comic Sans, French Script

Connotes personalisation – use sparingly

Display Broadway,Impact Use sparingly for particular connotations

Simple design principles

• Print and web designer Robin Williams provides simple page design principles inThe Non-Designer’s Design Book (2rd ed.), Peachpit Press, 2003.

• When you design a page of a magazine or a print advertisement you should consider four aspects:

1. Contrast2. Repetition3. Alignment4. Proximity

• These are illustrated in the following slides which analyse the design of the front cover of New Scientist, 19 May 2007.

Contrast• Contrast makes different elements

look different

• Magazine information: the title is the largest textual element in the top section of the page.

• Story puffs: The puffs for the three stories are differentiated by font size and colour.

• Modules: the top and bottom modules have their elements left and right and aligned. The central module has text and image centre aligned.

Repetition• Repetition gives a unity to page

design

• Typography: the typefaces are all a modern sans serif which also connote the up-to-date nature of the content.

• Colour: Note the repetition of the colours: dark blue and orange text; turquoise in the background of the puff top-right, text bottom left and in the image background.

Alignment• Alignment leads the eye around the

page

• Almost every element on the page has been aligned with one or more elements. There are three vertical lines and 3 horizontal lines - all invisible - which have been used to line up page elements

• Centre-alignment is often regarded as ‘boring’ but here the axis of symmetry of the bear is used as a line to centre the lead story puff on climate change. The centering visually links image and puff.

Proximity• Proximity places related elements

together

• The page uses a modular layout with three horizontal modules:

• Top: this contains magazine information: title, date, frequency (weekly), types of content (news, ideas, innovation, careers).

• Centre: Puff for lead story above an appealing polar bear picture.

• Bottom: Puffs for two more stories plus price and bar code.

Planning advertising content

• We need a method of planning the content of print advertisements

• One of the best-known methods goes by the name AIDA - the initial letters stand for attention, interest, desire and action

• The method is also useful in planning front page of any print publication as this acts as an ad for the content.

Attention

• How are you going to attract people’s attention?

• You will need to consider aspects such as:– choice and treatment of main image(s)– choice of words, font, size, colour for main text– where the ad is placed to maximise the chance of it

being seen by the target audience.

Interest

• Once they have noticed the ad their interest must be gained

• You will need to consider aspects such as:– choice and treatment of supporting image(s)– choice and treatment of body text.

Desire

• They must be encouraged to desire the product/service/campaign aims

• You will need to consider :– what benefits will the reader gain by spending money

and/or time and on the product/service/campaign?– perhaps posing an intriguing question which is only

answerable by reader action.

Action

• The advertisement should provoke the reader into the desired action

• You will need to consider if the advertisement includes information such as:

– where to purchase/access/join the product/ service/campaign

– where can the reader can find out more (e.g. address, phone number, email, website).

AIDA analysis

• Examine this cover from New Scientist (19 May 2007)

• How does it try to attract the reader’s attention?

• How does it try to gain reader interest?

• How does it encourage the reader’s desire to buy the magazine?

AIDA analysis• Examine this poster for An

Inconvenient Truth (2006)

• How does it try to attract the reader’s attention?

• How does it try to gain reader interest?

• How does it encourage the reader’s desire to see the film?

• How does it try to provoke reader action?