Lay-outing

Mrs. LEAH G. RONDAEL PULOT NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

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Lay-outing
Layout Who Makes the Layout? Some Guidelines in Layouting Principles of Effective Layout Planning the Pages Basic Rules in Headline Typography Cuts Guidelines in Using Photos Using Captions
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Page make-up can be an interesting, challenging job. A good make-up can help sell Layout the paper. If it is clean-cut and vigorous, it invites reading. A newspaper must not only have fresh, interesting materials; it has to sell. It must make a good first impression through the packaging of its content. This packaging or arrangement of types and photos on a page is called layout (or make-up). Layout aims to attract the readers and lead them to read the contents. It also gives the paper a distinct personality. Some regularity of arrangement makes the different contents easy to find and read.

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Who makes the

The layout, being a part of the personality of the paper, should not be left entirely in the hands of printer. Planning the layout gives the staff members opportunity for creative expression and it enables the paper to reflect the students ideas rather than printers. It is often practical to have page editor determine the layout of his page. However, to achieve harmony throughout the paper, the page editors are supervised by the managing editor. The make-up man (compositor) merely follows this dummy prepared by the staff. The make-up artist (the managing and page editors) should be artistic, resourceful, imaginative and careful. Also, he should have a good sense of proportion. He must not merely be able to make the contents fit into the page, but he has to place proper emphasis and balance. He has to be familiar with the available types. He must know the know how to make effective use of photos. Above all, he must know the principle of good layouting.

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The area where a news story is placed increased its importance.

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Some guidelin es in

Avoid tombstoning (placing of two or more heads in the same face type at approximately the same level in adjacent columns) by having heads of more than one column width or by boxing. Know the relative value of each part of the front page. The order of importance follows the S pattern I this manner: A B C D

Build from the top down. Distribute headlines Put on the front page only what is important. A cluttered page is
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Have plenty of breathing space Whites, as they are commonly called, give the feeling of the content not being too difficult to read. This can be achieved by use of subheads, shorter paragraphs, and shorter stories. Avoid using the same type throughout The use of more than one type lends variety. Use photos but not bad, obscene, small, or firing-squad pictures. The use of caps and lower case is better than all caps. Headlines should not have letters that impinge on one another as in fat heads nor should there be a lot of white space between letters as in thin heads. The label
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Use the ears of the paper found at the upper-right or left hand corner of the front page for ads, announcement etc. Avoid bunching type, whether all dark or all light. Avoid breaking stories to the tops of columns. The top of the every column should have a headline or a cut. You can avoid this by setting part of a long story two columns and by running the remaining part into the second column under the head which is set in two columns. Avoid jumping stories if all possible. Avoid separating related stories and pictures. Avoid gray areas. Break then up with the use
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Keep long columns of six-point and tabular material to minimum, especially on the front page. Avoid placing cuts or boxes where they will be surrounded by body type. They should be attached to the top or bottom of the pages or display that is itself firmly positioned. Avoid having the top half of a page too heavy. A spread beneath the fold with help prevent this. Avoid placing a small head on a rather long story. Avoid excessive leading.
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Principles of effective layouting

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Harmony Balance Emphasis Proportion Movement Contrast

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1. harmon y
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The contents of every page and of every doublepage spread should blend into a harmonious unit. Headlines should complement each other.

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Pictures should not distract the eye too much from the type. No one part of the page should overshadow entirely another part of page, although there should be one dominant point of interest.

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2. balance
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Pages should not seem top or bottom heavy.

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They should not lean to the left or to the right. Perfect balance is achieved by having like units balancing each other. Occult (hidden) balance is obtained usually by having unlike units balancing each other; that is, a cut may balance a group of headlines; a twocolumn-head may balance a box and a singlecolumn head.

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3. emphas is
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Display news according to its importance. The news value of every story must determine its page in the newspaper, its position on a page, and the size and style of headline it is to have. do not distort the news value of the story by giving it a more important position or a larger headline than it deserves. All stories on page one should be more important than other stories, except those in special sections. The upper right-hand corner of the first page is usually considered the most important position, and the upper left is second. Positions above the fold are more important than below. Boldface type gives more prominence than

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4. proporti on
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The general format of the paper must be in pleasing proportion. A 12 x 20 inch page is usually set in five columns, each single column measuring 2 inches (or 12 ems). The body of a story should occupy at least twice as much space as the headlines. Banner headlines should be used only when the news really justifies them. Pictures must be sized properly so that their shapes will be in keeping with other shapes on the page. Long, narrow cuts s well as square ones are undesirable. The lengths of articles should be considered. Sometimes an unusually long story can ruin the proportion of a page. Although you should try to avoid jump stories, a jump story is better than a poorly proportioned page.

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5. movem ent
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Effective make-up should not be stilted or monotonous. One of the chief criticisms of perfect balance make-up is that there is no movement. Everything is balanced on an optical fulcrum slightly above the center of the page. With occult balance, a desirable rhythm directs the eye from one part of the page to another from the most important to the least important.

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6. contrast
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Both light and dark headlines should be used.

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Every head and cut on a page should contrast with adjoining material. Contrasting adjacent headlines will help to emphasize the importance of each other. Boxes and pictures between heads sometimes are good devices. Some newspaper copy, such as features or the head of the important story can be set in double column. (There should be 5-6 lines of double column for the opening of news story).

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Planning the pages

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The Front Page Inside News Pages Editorial and Features Pages Sports Pages
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1. The front page

The front page is the show window of the paper; it gives the reader his first impression.
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2. Inside new
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Inside news pages should be made up as facingpage units rather than a single pages, particularly in the 5-column (or smaller) pages. Principles of contrast and balance should be applied in planning the make-up of facing pages. Inside news pages generally do not use as large heads as are on the front page.

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3. Editorial and
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These pages must have a distinctive and dignified appearance. The masthead may be placed in either of the lower corners, as is often done in streamlined newspapers, or on the upper left hand corner of the left page of the editorial spread. Editorials traditionally appear
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4. Sports pages
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These pages may have a bolder, more lively appearance than other pages in the paper. Their make-up should suggest their content: action, speed, color. Large, bold heads, even streamers may be used. If two sports pages are used and they are opposite each other, they should be planned as a unit, just as are news pages. Boxes and tabulations should be used frequently to break gray areas and to add interest. Many action photos should be used, if possible. Use only a small sports nameplate on a one-page sports section.
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Basic rules in headline

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Hand lettering should be used sparingly. Original art work is expensive, and too much variation in type faces gives a disorganized, confused appearance. The layout artist should select the largest type possible that will not give a crowded appearance. The headline should be read in one glance; therefore, the line should not be too wide. Best line length is about twice the point size of the type in picas, i.e., 18-point type should be set in lines about 36 picas wide for best results. Headlines should be limited to fewer than 35 characters. The eye can read a combination of letters and spaces totaling 35 in one eye movement. Anything beyond that will not convey the message to the reader in a hurry. Capitalized lines should kept to a minimum. Words and sentences set in caps are hard to read. On occasion they are effective; however, the effectiveness is drastically curtailed if caps are used frequently. Headlines should rarely be set vertically. English-speaking people read from left to right, not from top to bottom. Type set vertically is more expensive and does a poor job of attracting since it is difficult to read.
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cuts

An essential part of layout is the use of cuts. Cuts make a page attractive and serve as focal around which to plan a page. Cuts are usually made from photos. Less common are diagrams, maps, charts and cartoons.

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guidelin es in using

Avoid firing-squad photos. Use action shots. b. Crop a picture intelligently; c. Dramatize essentials and eliminate nonessentials d. Look for the point of interest. e. Have only one point of interest. f. In portraits, emphasize details such as eyes. Leave some space on the side towards which the subject is facing. Do not skimp on space for a picture. In a group photo, each face should be no smaller than a 25-centavo piece.
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People in pictures should be looking in towards the center of a paper.

If the picture is reversed, retouch any details that will make this obvious watch on the right wrist, left-handed salute, etc.
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Sacrifice the body to play up the face. Avoid half-column cuts. Strive for a good photo (or cartoon) on every page. Look for photos with sharp details and contrast. Use good, large prints for reproduction. Scale pictures properly. Plan photographic needs with the photographer. (Give him a credit line.) Dont place cuts on the fold. Use proper captioning by the photographer.
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Using caption

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Use bigger, bold types than the usual body type. Prefer catchlines to overlines. They are more readable. Write short simple captions, except for a caption story. Have the picture in the front of you when you caption it. Describe what is happening without being obvious. Avoid opinions. Say when or where the picture is made. Avoid expressions such as is pictures Use the present tense to describe action.
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If all persons are identified, check the number of people against the number in the caption. Check agreement of verb tense with adverbs of time.

Preparing cuts for the printers: Reproducing photographs and other illustrative material differs with the printing process. In letter press printing, cuts are usually made by the photoengraver. In the offset process, photos and line-drawings go directly to the printer. (Larger prints and drawing are preferred for photoengraving. Actual size is preferred for the offset process.) Otherwise, the process of preparing for the printer is basically the same.
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