Simple and neat magazine page layout

By: Sir Khalid Rehman

Whatever you do in real life, it has to be done with neatness and elegance. Get an attractive magazine and a shoddy one from the bookstall. Compare them page by page and you will know what makes one better than the other. Go step by step from learning the basic design principles to the most sophisticated touches.

What’s designing a good magazine layout all about? It’s presenting the content in the best way. Opinions may differ from person to person but a good layout speaks for itself. A sophisticated literary magazine is certainly different from a trendy teenager weekly. But there are certain universal principles followed by all layout experts. You start with ‘Page Setup’.

Page Setup

Because most articles encompass more than just a single page magazines use ‘spreads’ or ‘facing pages’ rather than individual ‘pages’. So you set page preferences to show ‘Facing Pages’ without any gap between the two (set consistent margins around the edges). Use option ‘Mirror Margins’ to make them balanced on each side.

A grid system, comprising a series of guide lines is used to quickly design consistently uniform pages throughout the magazine. The grid indicates lines and columns to accommodate text which is flowed in the preset columns, and images set in picture boxes. On a standard A4 page, three or four columns are usually laid out.

Placing Images

As you know, a picture is more eye-catching than letters or text. On any page or facing-page layout the main image related to the article grab the reader’s attention. However, you must never forget that a page is meant to be read. So the text flow should by eye catching too, and must not strain the eye of the reader. A layout designer may be compelled to spread large amounts of white text on solid black background but it is never wise as it puts strain on the eye of the reader.

The photographs should be of a high resolution: 70-100dpi on newsprint and 600dpi on matte-finish art paper. Offset paper can take 300dpi.

Pictures can be cropped or trimmed to fit the space provided for it. But never stretch or squeeze a picture to fit the space.

Some images require you to use ‘text wrap’ settings so that the text is wrapped to flow around the image.

Remember to look for and carefully adjust setting to bring text to the front because it would be the last thing you want for the article text to be hidden by a picture.

Type Styles

Your computer has so many fonts but you should not use too many on the same page. Select a good typeface that suits well for body text. Use one or more matching/contrasting fonts for headlines, highlights and captions. In the beginning, you may try only one additional font for headlines, subheadings and captions but in appropriate point sizes.

Begin by setting paragraph specifications, and that may include drop capital for the first (or the lead) paragraph.

Then set the headline and the subheading.

Lead paragraph is the first paragraph of the article. It may often be set in a slightly larger point size and may have a drop cap at the beginning.

The body copy style is the one used for the major part of the article.

Box-out or Highlight: A quote, a small paragraph might catch the eye of a reader and encourage them to read the full article, or it may sum up the spirit of the piece. That is also set as a highlight of the article.

Caption tells the readers the details about a picture or a diagram.

These are some of the basic elements of magazine design. As you make more sophisticated designs, more and more elements are added. You have to define type styles to ensure consistent formatting.

A number of fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana or Arial Black (both sans serif fonts) for headlines and serif fonts such as Times New Roman, Garamond or Palatino for the body text. Sans-serif fonts such as Arial or Helvetica can be used for the captions.

Make the Text Flow

Number of words in an article gives you a good estimate of how much space it would take up. Use your good judgment to decide how many columns would you like to the first two facing pages to have. Make text flow into the text box columns that you have set.

Most software take a font size of 12pt as default; however, magazines usually use a size of 10 or 11 points. Both sides justified is the standard format but it is less common nowadays and the right side is set as ragged (in other words: left aligned). Try the best combination of point size, line spacing and justification settings to find the best balance.

You must not fill the whole page with just the body text. You must use a photograph or some other visual element to make the page more attractive and less monotonous. A box-out/highlight would break monotony in a page when you run out of photographs or other visual elements.

As discussed in the classroom and mentioned in previous notes, when reading most languages, apart from Urdu, Arabic and Persian, a reader’s eye moves from the top left of the page to the bottom left. Page designing software allows for much creative freedom and you may feel like trying out crazy ideas. Do that as long as they look good but remember to give all the elements on a page enough room to breathe.

If page elements are clashing, separate them or get rid of them. Just remember that magazine pages are meant to be read, not to be put on the wall.

These were just the basics of page layout design. Once you familiarize yourself with them, go for more complex and more attractive professional designs. But first, do a lot of comparative study.

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