Intro to Media Design Midterm
4 elements of design
-Headline- The oversized type that labels each story -text- The story itself -photos- The pictures that accompany the stories -cutlines- The type that accompanies photographs
Number of columns and decks:
1 columns-3 to 4 lines deep 2 columns- 2 to 3 lines deep 3 columns- 1-2 lines deep 4 columns- 1 lines deep 5 columns- 1 lines deep 6 columns- 1 lines deep
Jumping Stories (rules kinda.)
1. Make it worth readers while - jump 6 inches of text 2. Start story Solidly: 4" of text before force jumping. 3.Jumping stories once: You'll lose/ confuse the readers if you jump a few inches to page 2.)
Guidelines for building pages with art:
1.) Keep all stories rectangular 2.) Vary your shapes and sizes 3.) Emphasize whats important (play of stories, big photos, and placement of each)
What is visual personality made up of?
1.) Writing style 2.) Ratio of photos to text 3.) length of articles 4.) based of non audience factors (Age, Gender, Income, region, education.) and audience factors (budget and size)
Formula for headlines:
1.) the column width 2.) the point size and 3.) the number of lines
point size
Changing the point size changes the height of a font. The bigger the size, the taller the type. (Height of the slug)
Tripods
Comes in three parts: a bold word or phrase (often all caps) and two lines of deck squaring off alongside. Works better for features then for hard news
Which margins are the largest?
Bottom- moves the design up to optical center(focus on design. Eye sees slightly above and to the right of center.
law of proximity
objects near each other tend to be grouped together
initial cap
a large capital letter set into the opening paragraph of a special feature (AKA drop cap)
photo credit
a line giving the photographer's name (often adding the paper or wire service he or she works for)
jump line
a line telling the reader what page this story continues on
cutoff rule
a line used to separate elements on a page
Novelty type
adds variety and flavor. Works well in small doses
C2
advertising (2nd most expensive)
C3
advertising (3rd most expensive)
Aligning
all the same height but different width (Move eye across design)
text
the story itself
cutlines
the type that accompanies the photographs
refer/reefer
A brief reference to a related story elsewhere in the paper
Infographic
A diagram, chart, map or list that conveys data pictorially
index
A directory of contents
sidesaddle head
A headline placed to the left of a story (beside) instead of above it; also called a side head. Can be flush left, flush right, or centered.
Standing head
A label used for packaging special stories or features
folio
A line showing the page number, date, paper's name, etc.
cutout
A photo in which the background has been cut away (also called a silhouette)
liftout quote
A quotation from the story given graphic emphasis (also called a pull quote or breakout)
Sidebar
A related story, often boxed, that accompanies the main story
Logo
A small, boxed title (with art) used for labeling special stories or series
Deck
A smaller headline added below the main headline
Sig
A special label set into stories giving typographic emphasis to the topic, title, writer's name, etc. (also called a bug or logo)
Grouping
All the same size together to make something bigger
Teasers
These promote the best stories inside the paper (also called promos or skyboxes)
Types of Magazines
Consumer (Target audience, ex. Young people), trade (Business or restaurants), associations (business to certain group ex. Frat or sororities , House dragons (aimed towards business owners, employees... This type is almost gone.)
Parts of a magazine
Cover pages, table of contents, impressum, editors letters, feature well back of book
symmetrical balance
Duplicate weights on an axis
Asymmetrical Balance
Equal distribution of weight (physically or visually) achieved without identical units on both sides
Making stories fit (What do you do?)
Too short? - Add text, add liftout quotes, add another line of headline, mugshots or filler stories. Too long?- Trim the text, trim the photo/ resize it, shorten a headline (make sure it makes sense) move an ad, move to another column or another page.
Cutline
Information about a photo or illustration (also called a caption)
Types of Headlines
Kicker, Slammer, hammer, and tripod
feature well
Largest part of magazine- contains main features (can be short, longer, or longer than 10 pages)
Leading
Leading is the vertical space Between lines of type/ text
Backwards S
Leads the eye down the page (s shape)
Flat plan
Like a dummy/ladder that includes all pages of a magazine. Gives you control over the publication production process and it was important for art directors to see where their piece fits in the puzzle.
cursive type
Looks like handwritten script. in some families the letters connect and in some they don't. Font is 18 point Diner Script.
To estimate the size of typeface
Measure from the top of an ascender to the bottom of a decender
horizontal
Most common for news photos(Going straight across from side to side)
butting heads
Two or more headlines set right next to each other. Also called tombstoning
Slammers
Two part head that uses a boldface word or phrase to lead into a contrasting main headline.
hanging indent
Opposite of paragraph indents. First line is flush left, lines are indented to "hang" along the edge of those black bullets
Break copy flow
Photo in the center of the story breaks flow of copy.
small headlines
Range from 12- 24- point
midsize headlines
Range from 24- 48- point
kerning
Reducing space between the letters
Thumbnail
Smaller version of a page (1/2 column wide picture of someones face)
Reverse type
White words set against a dark background
set width
Width of a character in relation to the height.
Subhead
a boldface line of type used to organize the story and break up gray text
Jump headline
a headline treatment reserved for stories jumping from another page
display head
a jazzed-up headline that adds drama or flair to special stories
Serif
The extra strokes at the end of a letter
x-height
The height of a lowercase x.
Impressum
The list of staff or people that work on the magazine
Descenders
The lowercase letters that fall below the baseline, as in characters g, j, p, and q.
Flag
The newspaper's name (also called the nameplate)
Headlines
The oversize type that labels each story in which type is above or besides text
points
The smallest unit of print measurements/ 72 pts to an inch
Gutter
The white space running vertically between elements on a page
Width of columns and look of magazines
The wider the column, the bigger the type (x-height) depends on the reader/mood of magazine, 4 or more columns- newspaper like.
Byline
The writer's name, often followed by key credentials
type page
area inside margins where you design
C4 (where the ads are)
back of magazine (MOST EXPENSIVE)
vertical
considered more dynamic than square and horizontal (up and down_
square
considered the dullest of the three shapes (even four sides)
C1
cover page
Modular Design
design that views a page as a stack of rectangles (tops and bottom line up to create rectangles)
type hierarchy
establishes an order of importance within the data, allowing the reader to easily find what they are looking for and navigate the content.
paragraph indent
first word in a paragraph is indented nine points using the tab key.
Which margins are the smallest?
inside- Double truck-- 2 pages designed together as one unit.
Kickers
kickers lead into headlines using a word or phrase to label topics or catch your eye. Typically much smaller than the main head, set in a contrasting style or weight.
Raw Wraps
lets text wrap alongside
large headlines
range upward from 48-point
Tracking
refers to the amount of space between a group of letters to affect density in a line or block of text (positive spacing)
flush left type
runs flush to the left edge of the column
flush right type
runs flush to the right edge of the column
mugshot
small photo that only shows the persons face
3 basic shapes of photos
square, vertical, horizontal
justified type
text has straight margins on both the right and left edges
Baseline
the invisible grid line the characters sit on
Ascenders
the part of certain lowercase letters (b,d,f,h,k,l,t) that extends above the x height.
photos
the pictures that accompany stories
Italic type
to emphasis words, for literary excerpts
Text
type for stories set in a standard size and typeface, stacked in columns (or legs)
bastard measure
type set in a different width than the standard column measure (Any non-standard width for a column of text)
serif type
type with tiny strokes, or serifs, at the tips of each letter. Ex. times or roman.
Sans serif type
type without tiny strokes, or serifs, at the tips of each letter. Members of futura family.
hammers
use a big, bold phrase to catch your eye, then add a lengthier deck below.
boldface type
used to highlight key words or names irritating in high doses
leading
vertical spacing between of lines of text (measured in points)