LAYOUT SERVICES FOR PAPER BOOKS, DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS
In the layout of books on paper, the professional mixes both graphic and editorial design with the concept of publishing. It will act the same way in documents and publications.
Simply putting objects and text on some pages is not a professional layout. Getting a good composition requires expertise and also skill.
Textual elements and graphics should be placed according to a previously established design. It is about ensuring that the composition has editorial harmony and logic.
Generally, the same person will carry out both the previous graphic design and the layout of the book. In certain editorial tasks, these works can also be carried out by different people.
The aesthetics, the typography, the hierarchy of the publication including the style of the paragraphs, is the work of the designer. The layout designer will be responsible for translating these guidelines into the established book format.
There are many layout programs but that is not enough. The most fundamental tool is knowledge in the creation, design and production of publications.
The layout must be imperceptible to the reader, while offering readability to the content and fluidity to the text. Only in this way will the reader not be distracted and enjoy a pleasant experience.
THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED DURING LAYOUT
- Double page view (Avoids space problems in binding and provides visual unity)
- Use of grids and margins (To balance the contents in a homogeneous and correctly centred way)
- Application of a grid or base grid (It will allow all the pages to have the same number of lines and that there are no unevenness between the last line of the pages)
- Baseline observation (All pages, except the end of chapter, must close on the last line)
- Eliminate widows and orphans (There should not be lines with a single word, nor paragraphs with a line at the end of the page and that continue on the next one. It should also be avoided that a page begins with the last line of the last paragraph of the previous page )