Page Layout Elements The elements of a design There are basic design elements we will discuss throughout this book. You need to know their names, since all in-house designs use some of these elements. There are dozens of other objects familiar to professional designers, but most are related directly to…
Tag: layout
A Designer’s Lexicon The jargon of designers and print shops This lexicon lists terms used in layout and design. Most writers want to see a printed edition of their works; these are the words used by print designers, graphic artists, and typographers. [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H]…
A basic image program is the use of your logo on business cards, letterheads, and envelopes. The idea is to have your name and logo in front of potential and existing clients – any time you can. Place your logo in every document you design. The Basics Image programs are…
Unless the most important information you have for readers is visual – such as a picture of a new product – graphical elements detract from everything else on the page. If you find a layout lacks visual impact, try textual effects. Do not overuse graphic elements in designs. Good alternatives…
In-house designers spend most of their time dealing with text. However, few beginning designers understand how to use text effectively. The documents produced by first-time designers use too many fonts, include odd gaps in text, and break headlines in awkward places. We still communicate with words. Until icons once again…
Page Layout Design Concepts think like a page designer Printed elements compose a layout, but they are governed by invisible elements and concepts. It is possible to design layouts without knowing the basics, but the results are unpredictable. Knowing the traditional concepts of publishing helps an in-house designer produce solid…
Online and Desktop Publishing Professional quality design at home or work We assembled this site after reading what was available for in-house designers. These sites were too vague or too detailed. The sites that explained design principles well gave few examples. Sites with great examples gave shallow explanations of what…
Technological advances have led to innovations in printing and typography. We can break the history of type into eras based on technology: pre-press (pre-Gutenberg); hard-metal reusable types (Gutenberg-style printing); hot-lead machine type (Linotype and Monotype); and the digital era (phototype to on-screen type). Today, we read screens — and the…
File formats…
Learning Design by Observing The good, the bad, and the ugly Designing excellent business documents requires attention to detail and an artistic vision. Good design sense is not something people are born with, but something you gain over time. Before you begin designing your own documents, you should prepare for…