design basics

Design basics

Modular designStories should be shaped like rectangles. Pages = Rectangles stacked on top of each

other.

Visual anchorEach page should have a dominant piece of

art.Strong design = At least one-third of the

page is art. Use photos of real people doing real things

Balance & ContrastVary the shapes and sizes of photos (and

stories) on a page.Avoid putting a photo right on top of an ad.If you run more than one photo, make sure

one is substantially bigger than the other.

HierarchyHeadlines get smaller as you move down

the page.Don’t put art between the headline and

start of the story.

TextAvoid columns more than 20 picas wide or

less than 10 picas.Use italics, bold, reverse in small doses. Type smaller than 8 point is hard to read.

Captions & JumpsAim for one caption, one photo.Don’t jump if you only have a couple inches

of type to get on the next page.Only jump once.

Break the rulesAt times, creativity works.

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