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Layout is the arrangement of the elements of the design in relation to the space that it occupies according to an overall design scheme. This could also be called the management of form and space. The objective of layout is to present the visual and textural elements that are to be communicated in a manner that enables the reader to receive it with the minimum of effort. With good layout, a reader can be navigated through quite complex information in both print and electronic media.
Layout addresses the practical and aesthetic considerations of the job in hand such as where and how the content will be viewed, regardless of whether the final format is a magazine, website, television graphic or bottle of bubble bath. Positioning of the various elements in the layout is guided by use of a grid, a series of reference lines that allows quick and accurate placement of items that ensures a consistent visual identity from page to page, or item to item across a range of products.
Gavin Ambrose is a practicing graphic designer and a part-time tutor on the MastersÕ TypoGraphic and the Undergraduate Information Design courses at the London College of Printing. Upon graduating with a Masters Degree in Communications from Central St Martins he worked as a freelance designer for several design agencies, including Studio Myerscough, Rodney Fitch & Co. and Masius. Current commercial practice includes clients from the arts sector, galleries, publishers and advertising agencies and he is the author/designer of previous books on branding and packaging. Gavin lives and works in London.
Paul Harris PG Dip London College of Printing, is a freelance writer and editor who has written for magazines and journals both in London and New York including Dazed & Confused, and has previously written about packaging design. Paul lives and works in London
Basics Design: Layout
by Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris - List Price: £12.95, Check Links Discounts up to 35% Paperback with Flaps, 176 pages, 200 colour images, May 2005
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