Exploring Layout

The Brief:

You are to reconstruct three sets of text, choosing the most appropriate paper size, fonts, hierarchy of information and text. The layout of the three bits of text should be considered, paying attention to the importance of the information involved on the page.

Laying Out A Document:

Hierarchy:

Order of information and the importance of the information on the document.

Line spacing:

The weight of the space in between lines, this will add to the overall legibility of the text layout.

Weight and size:

The weight is how bold a set of text is, this will add to the impact of the text and how much it will stand out on a page. The size is how large the text is or its ‘font size’ – again this will add to the impact of the text on the page.

Colour and typestyle:

The colour you choose to make the text will give the words different character and will help to emphasise different bits of information. The typestyle is the font that the text is in, different fonts will give the word different characters, using different fonts throughout the page will help to emphasise different elements.

Alignment:

Alignment to different columns on the page is how you organise the information for the reader. If the content of the page is set into different sections it will help to group relevant information together making it easier for the reader to look at the text and absorb the information.

Visual elements:

Use of images can help to emphasise a point. The whole idea of “A picture paints a thousand words” can be very true in a lot of instances to help convey your information to the reader. Graphic elements such as lines and dividers can help to add a visual structure to the document.

Grids:

Following grid lines across the document can help to make the text layout and image layout more aesthetically pleasing – for example: using the rule of thirds and column layout.

Eye travel:

Consider the flow of the users eyes through out the page, the eyes should not be jumping all over the entirety of the document to view all of the elements as this will make it harder to absorb all of the information and make it more visually straining on the reader – therefore making the reader more inclined to just give up and not view all of the information. English speaking people will be more inclined to read from the top left corner to the top right corner first and then read down the page, this, for example is a good way to think about how a document is laid out.

Cinema Ticket:

• The appropriate size that we as a group decided to go with was 10 cm by 15 cm as it is a cinema ticket.

Glastonbury Festival Poster:

• The Glastonbury poster was made on an A3 sheet.

Dundee Restaurant Menu:

• The menu was made on an A4 sheet.