Chapter 5 & 6 - Layout and Poster

What is Layout ?

The way in which the parts of something are arranged or laid out.The arrangement of type and visuals on a printed or digital page.Concerns the organization and arrangement of type and visuals on two-dimensional surfaces to create effective visual communication.

Layout entails several interrelated goals.

• To fit visual elements into a limited space
• To arrange them so that they are functional, unified, and easily accessible to the viewer
• To facilitate communication
• To create visual impact

Process

To solve any graphic design problem, a designer must conceive an idea and realize it visually. The designer must create, select, and organize visual elements to create effective communication.

Types of Layout

• Single page, such as a poster or a print advertisement 
• Multi-page designs, such as: books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, web sites, and annual reports

Multiple page design                                                                   Single page design

Designing a Layout with and without a Grid

When a designer has to maintain balance, emphasis, rhythm, and unity throughout a series of consecutive pages, most designers use grids.A grid is a guide to a modular com-positional structure made up of verticals and horizontals that divide a format into columns and margins.

Some designers do not utilize a grid for multi-page applications, instead they design a compositional structure, page by page.
     

         Without grid

         With Grid

What are Posters ?

A large printed picture, notice, or advertisement displayed in a public place: "a poster campaign". A poster is a two-dimensional, single-page format .Used to inform (impart information, data, schedules, or offerings).The purpose of any poster is to communicate a message. In order to communicate a message, first, a poster first must grab a viewer’s attention.

When designing a poster, you should consider some key component such as :

• Understanding the subject matter
• Ordering information so it can easily be gleaned
• Attracting the audience’s attention
• Keeping it long enough to communicate the information or message

Primary goals of poster design:

• Stop somebody. 
• Communicate a clear and easily understood message. 
• Create a design that can be seen from a distance.