Newspaper Layout and Basic Guidelines

Newspaper Layout and Basic Guidelines

1. NEWSPAPER LAYOUT BASIC GUIDELINES Prepared by: Wendell Taraya SPA FILIPINO

2. COMMONLY USED APPLICATION: MICROSOFT OFFICE PUBLISHER NEWSPAPER SIZE STANDARD: 12 INCHES (width) X 18 INCHES (Height)

3. BASIC PAGE LAYOUT 1 . Headlines are centered , sub-headlines only have the FIRST word capitalized . 14 font size. 2. Pages are always five columns across. 3. Vertical lines are used to divide the page between articles . Horizontal lines are also used to separate text. Lines are 1pt, solid, black . Lines are NOT used if an article on the page has a shaded background.

4. 4. If you will put a shaded box behind an article, the easiest way is to find one a place in the paper, copy and paste, and fit the box to the area you need. If you need to make the box , use the rectangle tool , Make sure the shaded box has been ‘sent to back’, and just slap your text box right on top. The box has a .25 black border.

5. 5. Make sure to leave an aesthetically pleasing margin around the actual text and the border of the shaded box. TEXT CANNOT LOOK CRAMMED. Make sure nothing is too close to anything else, space is important.

6. Fonts & stuffs

7. Headlines are in Myriad Pro, Bold. Size is up to your discretion. Sub-headlines are Myriad Pro, Regular. Size for this is also up to your discretion.

8. In bylines , names are in ALL capitals, Trade Gothic, bold #2, 9.5. Please make sure all names are spelled right and all articles are credited correctly!.

9. Article text is Minion Pro, regular, 9.5. This one should definitely be set under ‘paragraph styles’, called ‘article text’. Have the text selected, click ‘article text’, and you should be set.

10. Picture credits are Trade Gothic, Medium, size 4. Picture captions are also Trade Gothic, bold for the first part of caption, medium for the explanation of the caption.

11. Pull quotes are Trade Gothic, Medium, size is up to your discretion. Use horizontal lines to separate the pull quote from the article text. A line width of 1 is usually good.

12. Pictures & Graphics

13. A . Photographs need to be of the highest resolution possible . When you get photos off Google, place the filter on the ‘large’ so you get the high-res photos. With cartoons and stuff it doesn’t matter. B . Photos have a .25 width solid black border.

14. C . Make sure text is wrapped nicely around the photos, use your judgment, make it look nice. To wrap text around the edges of an oddly shaped picture : Click the picture Right click, format picture Click layout, then select Through.

15. D. All pictures need to be credited , even if it just says google.com, or the person’s name, or whatever. Get the credit box as close to the picture as you can ; this is going to require some messing with the text wrapping. It usually helps if there isn’t a text wrap on the credit box. E. When you select photos to place in the paper, look at it and decide if it will look alright in black and white. So nothing too dark, with too much shading, etc.

16. MODERN NEWSPAPER LAYOUT TIPS FOR SCHOOLS

17. DESIGN TIPS FROM A NEWSPAPER ADVISER Modern design styles are often in a state of flux. The list below are eight of the common design styles that are currently being implemented by the professionals. Using them will give your project a clean, stylish look that is sure to be appealing.

18. TIP #1 - MINIMALIST DESIGN Don’t make your newspaper look crowded or too busy. Use lots of white space where you can. Newspapers have always looked crowded in the past, but modern design tends to use more white space, thus giving more importance to the images and text you do have on a page.

19. TIP #2 - HAVE GOOD COLOR SCHEMES Don't use too many colors. That just looks messy. Know what colors go well together and which ones clash. On a newspaper, colors will always print darker than what is on your computer screen, so it is important to lighten up your colors.  Colors are important, but clashing colors just because they happen to be your favorite ones will not be looked upon well. Colors should be designed to point the reader in the right direction , not distract him or draw the eye away from your main message.

20. TIP #3 - FLAT LOOK Try not to use 3D effects, bevels, or too many shadows. Those styles went out last decade when they were novelties at the time. It is the flat appearance that looks clean and stylish. Clean is the operative word. Design now-a-days reflects a clean look instead of a busy, loud, in-your-face look. This concept works well for newspapers. You don't need a lot of effects. You aren't showing off effects. You want people to read your newspaper. Clean is better.

21. TIP #4 - GRID OR GEOMETRIC PATTERNS Modern design often employs images in a grid or geometric pattern. Again, this gives your project a fresh, clean look with straight lines and easy on the eyes visuals. A newspaper is often laid out in columns. Each column should be the same proportions --particularly in width. Try to keep your columns the same width and aligned with each other up and down. Leave more space between columns than not. There is a tendency to want to cram the columns together to get more information on the page, but that create a very busy and loud design

22. TIP #5 - CHOOSE EASY-ON-THE-EYES FONTS Your articles and stories are central to your newspaper design and layout. Don't use fonts that are difficult to read or make out. Use fonts that the eye can pick up on easily and avoid using many different kinds of fonts. Stick with the same font for each of your different text groupings: your main text, your titles, your subtitles, and your headings.

23. TIP #6 - STAY CONSISTENT IN YOUR FONT SIZES Different sized fonts can be used, but stay consistent. When your copy text suddenly gets larger in the column next door, it has an unconscious impact on your readers. Not only does it look messy, but it creates a visual detraction from the message. Typically, an 11 pt or 12 pt font is used for copy. Your main newspaper title can be as big as you like, and article titles range between 14 and 18pt font sizes. What ever you choose, remain consistent.

24. TIP #7 - ALIGNMENT IS ESSENTIAL! It may seem tedious, but a well-aligned newspaper will standout as being far superior to those that are not aligned properly. Here are some areas of alignment you should consider:

25. Columns -  Make sure your columns are the same width and either aligned at the top or the bottom and evenly spaced between themselves. Pictures -  Align pictures to each other where you can and to text where appropriate. Always try to show straight lines.

26. Titles -  Align titles vertically or horizontally where obvious. Centering titles over columns will also look good. Horizontal and Vertical Spacing -  If you have space on the right, make sure there is the exact same amount of space on the left. If you have space between a title and a textbox, make sure that you keep the same spacing between other titles and textboxes.

27. Keep picture aspect ratios -  If you need to shrink a picture on only one side only (vertically or horizontally) to make it fit a particular space, don't shrink it. This will only make your picture look fat or skinny instead of natural. Instead, crop it. It is always better to crop the picture to align it than to make an image look unnatural.

28. TIP #8 - MANAGE FREE SPACE Empty space is as important as the space you do use. Leaving large holes in your newspaper design is not wise, but trying to use all the free space up may not be wise either. Well positioned empty or white space can make a newspaper really stand out, look clean, look fresh, and look elegant.

29. Thank you!