Content Layout

Understanding layout of content is going to be a vital part of my brochure so that I am able to present the web trends in a readable, fashionable way. Using a mixture of images, text and white space creates an interesting layout on paper. It is understanding to balance these elements that creates a visually appealing brochure. I have found that if you are to have text, to make it understandable, the best layout is to use columns of two or three. You can see quite a few examples of this method used below;

Some printed material focus their efforts more upon the typography than the other aspects of the design, this creates a different feel to the printed material, you can see some examples of this here;

This example is excellent because it also shows the method of cutout text to reveal an image through the text.

Another important thing I noticed in print is the shapes used to add additional interest in the subject is the addition of shapes and lines around a person or object. I think this allows the reader to instantly recognise what is at the centre of attention. You can see some great examples of this here;

References;
http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/42-excellent-examples-of-magazine-layout-design-for-your-inspiration/
http://indulgy.com/post/pEfMtH34d1/layout-dansk-magazine
https://www.behance.net/gallery/Magazine-Feature-Magazine/9812813
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/marindsgn/3894231417/in/photostream)
http://www.amandamocci.com/#1906059/THE-UNIVERSE-POSTERS/
http://www.aisleone.net/2012/design/typographic-revolt/
http://www.opus-design.jp/press/item_539.html
http://www.magspreads.net/2013/07/fashion-look-book-layout-design.html
http://milesmind.tumblr.com/post/44590898712

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Organisation of tasks – Creative Futures

Following my previous projects, where I had constantly thought I was not getting enough done and that I wasn’t going to hit deadlines, I thought a vital part of this semester would be my organisational skills. Therefore I have listed every single task I wanted to complete for this project and created a timetable so that I knew what work needed to be done, and when it had to be done by. I also decided that it would be vital to sum up each section of the project after it had been completed on time, which is why you can see the schedule broken down into understandable sections. I have tried to get all the work listed accomplished with a few weeks to spare before hand in, this means that I have allowed for mistakes or extra work along the way.

Understanding Grids

I read the book “Making and Breaking the Grid” by Timothy Samara so that I had a better understanding of grids in general. There are many many uses for grids and layouts and I will be able to implement what I have learn’t in this book into almost every aspect of my work.

There is a massive history of grids that date right back to the Romans and Greeks, and whilst this isn’t completely relevant it allows us to understand where the grids came from and how they became what we know and use today.

Early uses of grids were used in architecture to get the correct proportions, which then moved on to design furnishing and everyday household objects, and then into print. In print, grids were used to give structure to a document both visually and spatially. Every grid is split into different sections, these are margins, flow lines, spatial zones, markers, modules and columns. You can see a diagram of what each section represents here;

Using different combinations of these sections is what makes every grid slightly different to the other, for example if you have maybe 3 columns with a smaller line length surrounded by large margins and spatial zones, you would have a easily readable page rather than having just one column with a longer line length with smaller margins and spacial zones which would make it much harder to dread and take in. Something to take into consideration due to it’s importance is not only the typeface you use but some of the attributes like size, line height and letter spacing.

Manuscript, Column, Modular and Hierarchical are the four main types of grid, of course there are variations within these categories but they are different enough to understand they have their own use and purpose.

The manuscript grid is the simplest of the four as it’s structure is designed to accommodate large amounts of text so can be seen in textbooks most commonly, it is also the same structure that is used for writing essays. It doesn’t even have to just consist of text though, images can be used to implement space into the text to give the eye a rest of reading.

The column grid is probably the most common because of it’s functionality in wide range of aspects, both images and text can be placed within a column grid, and you find that there is a large history of this style of grid in newspapers and magazines and this has seemingly been transferred to the web with such templates as the 960 grid:

This grid allows for up to 12 columns on a page, which allows the designer to have much more control over the layout of the page.

A modular grid is very much similar to a column grid but different in the sense that it also has horizontal flow lines which divide the page into columns into modules. A group of modules can be put together to create spacial zones, which can be allocated different content in a way of having an overall order.

The hierarchical grid is the last of of the four, it is probably less commonly used grids too. It works much less systematically based on the fact that the elements have their own constrains so they are arranged in such a way they look right on the page but the layout probably wouldn’t work for any other purpose. By using spacing and equal margins you can make elements that are somewhat unorganised become arranged in a presentable manner, you usually this type of layout within posters.