Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements (contents) on a page. A page of a book or a magazine is similar to the brick of a building. Every page has a definite layout. When it comes to the layout, there are several elements within it that need to be taken care of.
Design is the creation of a plan for the construction of an object or a system. It helps in laying the foundation in the formation of any new object or system. And, when it comes to the page designing, layout plays a pivotal role in graphic design. Layout refers to the arrangement of various elements on a page. It usually refers to a specific placement of image, text and style. Understanding the layout of design is very important because of the fact that it is the layout which makes a page presentable, readable and appealing to the eyes. If the layout is not correctly understood, there is a probability that the message that needs to be conveyed might be lost and the cost as well as the labour invested in putting together the content would go in vain. Irrespective of how good the content is, if the arrangement of the content is not organized, the impact of the same would be nil. Effective layout is what makes the information are legible, clear and attractive.
According to Jenifer Tidwell, “Page layout is the art of manipulating the user’s attention on a page to convey meaning, sequences and points of interaction.” In simple words, a page layout is the arrangement of various elements in such a way that a proper structure could be given to page. No matter how simple a page appears to be, but, behind the placement of even the minutest element like a dot or dash, a logic is there, provided the same is done professionally. It takes a group of professional and skilled group of people to make an effective page layout. Several people work on the layout to make a graphic design. They include:
- Visualizer and Designer
- Photographer
- Illustrator
- Composer
- Finishing Artist
- DTP Operator
Different stages are taken care of by the above mentioned people. Designing a layout always involves research, thought and modelling. There are certain basic elements that are usually included in page layout, but there is really no limit to the innovations that can be adopted while deciding on the layout for a page. Thus, what needs to be taken care of is to keep a fair balance between the basic aesthetics and the scope of innovation.
Layout is the arrangement of various elements like text and images on a two dimensional surface in order to make sure that all the information is legible, clear and attractive. For designing an effective layout, a designer must be very clear about the purpose of the design. Depending on the same, all the other aspects must be decided. From idea generation to the final product, layout designing passes through various stages. Different degrees of finishing are associated with each stage.
The basic stages of a layout are as follows:
1. Visualization
2. Thumbnails
3. Rough layouts
4. The comprehensive
1. Visualization
An idea first appears in the mind. After a long thought process, the same gets translated into a structured form. Then at this stage, the idea or concept thought by a communicator or designer can be translated into visual form by using a pencil or pen. Also, during the visualization stage, the concept or idea is put onto the paper from the mind. It is the first stage among the various stages of layout planning. The more accurate and realistic the visualization is, the better the idea would turn out to be.
2. Thumbnails
This is the stage that primarily focuses on the visual part of the page. At this stage, different sketches are prepared by placing elements differently. This is the stage of trial and testing. During this stage, a very rough approximate size and shape of the element is drawn. Body copy or the text can be shown as square or rectangles. Advantages: It can be done quickly It is economical (least use of colours, paper etc.) At least 6 trial layouts can be developed on one A/4 paper because of the small size Each trial provides new ideas Judging the ideas becomes easy Although the above mentioned are some of the advantages of this stage, you, at the same time, it is very essential to draw the thumbnail sketches to the proportion. Thus, at every step, a balance of creativity as well as realistic approach is a must.
3. Rough Layout
Once the best option from the selected thumbnails sketch has been chosen, the same has to be drawn to the actual size of the finished layout. Here, all the elements are indicated clearly and accurately. The rough layouts are generally used to give presentation to the editorial learn or very senior people in the organization. They are quite economical and effective while at the same time help to make the idea clear to the editorial learn. The degree of finishing of the rough layout depends on the client’s demand, time, amount of information with the designer and the skills of the designer as well. In case of the rough layout, there are different levels of finishing ranging from very rough to well-finished.
4. Types of Layouts
In general, layouts can be classified into two types:
Finished Rough – The client many a times is not interested in the rough layout, but only wants to see the finished rough, i.e. the actual size of the finished product / design. All elements should be presented accurately with regard to size, style, spacing, placement etc. So, the final rough looks like a finished layout or something like a copy of original art will be pasted in place of the rough.
Earlier, all the rough layouts were prepared manually by skilled artists. But nowadays, with the use of computers and the related software, the rough layouts can be created in very less time without much effort and with more precision. Rough layouts are mostly presented to the client in the form of a low-resolution printout or a soft copy in a CD or pen drive.