Layout and Design

Deck

- A follow-up to the headline that explains the story further - Commonly mistaken as a "subheadline"

Modular Design

- A rectangular unit that contains all of the components of an article including headline, text, art, and cutlines - Everything associated with the given article must fit into the rectangular shape

Slammer

- A two-part headline that uses a bold word or phrase to lead into the main headline - Some papers limit these to special features or jump headlines

Pull-Quotes

- Attract attention to an article - Pulls a quote from an article and makes it bigger so that it pops - Text must differ in style - Useful for meaningful or powerful quotes

Cutlines

- Captions for photos - All photos except logos need one - Usually located below the photo, but is sometimes located in the side

Focus

- Every page must have one dominant element, for example, one large headline or one large piece of artwork - Most important on the front page, but should exist to some degree on every page

Thumbnail Layouts

- Fast and easy ways to think about design solutions before working on a computer - Idea and sketch of design

Colonial Newspapers

- First newspapers published in America - Very small - No art or headlines

Unity

- Harmony - Everything should work together - Consistent fonts, styles, and placements

Side Saddle

- Headline located beside, rather than above the story - Best for squeezing a story into a shallow, horizontal space - Can be used for stories that are boxed - Can be flush left, centered, or flush right

Stand-Alone Photos

- High-quality photos that tell a story without an accompanying article - Have a headline and detailed cutline - Always boxed so that it truly stands alone from the other articles

20th Century Newspapers

- More similar to modern newspapers - Bigger and bolder headlines - Larger artwork - Still had longer columns than modern newspapers

Square Photos

- Never used in newspapers - The mist uninteresting shape for our eyes to look at

White Space

- Provides relief to gray pages and gives some pages a casual appearance - May be inviting to readers

Standing Headline

- Smaller section of the page - Breaks up the page into subsections

Banner

- Standard headline style - One-line headlines that stretch across a story - The ends must go at least half way through the first and last columns to avoid white space

Section Headline

- Tells your reader what "department" they are in - Ex. News, Op-Ed, Features, Sports, etc.

L-Shape

- Text in some orientation of an "L" that wraps the art in one vertical and one horizontal side - Picture in a corner - Usually used for vertical photos

Raw Wraps

- Text wraps alongside the headline - Most often a two-line headline - Very risky because you want to make sure your text is separated from neighboring stories, but can be solved by adding a rule - Can be justified left, centered, or justified right

Vertical Photos

- The most interesting photo shape for our eyes to look at - Less common - Must make sure that the image is clearly located within the corresponding article

Bylines

- The name of the reporter of a story - Should contrast the text of the story and headline, but not in a way that stands out or makes it the focal point of the page

Flag

- The nameplate of a newspaper - Sets the tone for the publication

Proportion

- The space given to things on a page - If something is more important, it should be larger

Balance

- The way in which weight is distributed on a page - Weight can be in the forms of color, sidebars, text, artwork, etc.

Sequence

- The ways that our eyes follow the page - Readers move from biggest to smallest, from black to white, and from unusual shapes to ordinary shapes

Hammers

- Use a big, bold phrase to catch your eye, then add a lengthier deck below - Effective, but usually reserved for features - Opposite of a kicker

Kicker

- Uses a word or phrase to label the article - Usually smaller than the main headline, set in a contrasting in style or weight

19th Century Newspapers

- Very little artwork - Slightly larger than colonial newspapers - Addition of headlines - Very long columns

Jump

A line of information that says what page to turn to for a continuation of the story

Folio Line

A line of type describing the publication with the name, date, page number, section header, etc.

Sidebar

A separate design element from main stories

Emphasis

Always highlight the main subject in a photo

Tripod

Big, bold word or phrase that leads into the main headline

Box

Box that separates terms on a page

Variety

Breaks up the pattern and monotony created by repetition

Rule

Line that separates terms on a page

Economy

Omit any elements in a photo that you do not want people to look at in order to keep their focus on the intended subject

Repetition

Repeating visual elements to create a pattern

U-Shape

Text wraps around art in a "U" or upside-down "U"

Masthead

The area where staff, contact, and subscription information is listed

Widows

The hanging words at the end of a sentence

Orphans

The hanging words at the top of a new column

Baseline

The invisible grid line that your characters/letter sit on

Horizontal Photos

The most common shape for newspaper photos

Ascender

The part of a letter or character that comes above the baseline

Descender

The part of a letter or character that comes below the baseline

Teasers

The skyboxes on the front page that preview content

X Height

The typical height of the lowercase letter "x" that sits directly on the baseline

Leading

The vertical space between lines of text

Tint Screen

When you put color behind a block of text

Gutters

White space between columns of text within an article