Wednesday, 7 January 2015

OUGD405 | Studio Brief 03 - Layouts, Grid and Type

I have begun my research into layouts by gathering several books based on layout themselves and the elements within them such as type.

There appears to be four basic forms of grid. So I have evaluated each to decide which is most relevant for the work I am going to produce. 

Manuscript Grid - Not appropriate as I do not have large amounts of body copy. My facts and statistics need to be broken down. 
Column Grid - Potential grid as my information is discontinuous. Columns can be dependant or independent meaning I would be able to fit my wide variety of information within the document. 
Modular Grid- Used for complex projects. I would like to make my booklet fairly simple so that the facts about the Superlambanana are easy to digest. I do not feel a modular grid is required for the amount of content I plan to use. I feel that by using a modular grid, I would be overcomplicating my project. 
Hierarchal Grid - I feel that for this grid, I need to fully asses what information I would like to include so I can consider whether this grid is appropriate. 

A strong piece of advise I found in my research is to use the same grid throughout the publication for consistency. However, the grid must be used in a variety of ways to keep interest and avoid repetition. Sometimes, repetition is appropriate but I feel for this project, I need to keep the reader excited and interested.

"Making and Breaking the Grid" contains a wide range of grid examples. One I found relevant was the 'Laurence King Publishing' catalog. The grid consists of many 1cm columns and a single horizontal band. The number of columns allowed interesting and more complex layouts. A large number of columns is something I am considering for my own booklet as I feel it is an exciting way to direct the eye around the page.

I then began to take some brief notes from "Getting it Right with Type", a guide I found useful for basic rules.
One common rule used is to have a maximum of 7 words per column for the best readability.
The guide recommends you consider the following questions when designing readable text -
Who is to read it?
How quickly is it to be read?

There are so many typefaces that there is no ideal combination of kerning size, font weight or line spacing. The book listed various examples of what works and what doesn't. The best solution for myself is to create a series of examples of body copy and ask for feedback on which is easiest to read.
Furthermore, I must consider the ideal size of the text (for body copy some argue that this is 12pt). Also, the alignment of the text is important for the context of the information.

Other rules include -
No widows - a single word left on a line after a paragraph
No orphans - a short sentence left at the top of a page after a paragraph on the previous page

Online guides suggested that a maximum of 3 fonts should be used. More ideally 2. If necessary only 1 'fancy' font should be used. There are many opinions on mixing typefaces but online sources seem to suggest very similar fonts but with minor differences such as bold/italics to add interest. Simplicity and readability is the key (less is more), however it needs to remain engaging.

I myself have opted for A5 size pages (A4 spread) for my booklet. I feel that this is most appropriate as I intend it to be a sort of pocket guide. Something that appears quick as easy to read and could be slipped into a bag. I also want it to be a child friendly size as I feel there are themes in my research that would appeal to children.

Bibliography

Ambrose, G. (2011) Layout: Layout. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Academia.
Samara, T. (2005) Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop. Gloucester, MA: Rockport Publishers.
Squire, V., Willberg, H. P. and Forssman, F. (2007) Getting it Right with Type: The Dos and Don’ts of Typography. London: King, Laurence Publishing.

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