Unity

When laying out a page or display, you should consider carefully where to establish the margins. The margins should be equal at the top, bottom, and on the outside with a narrower margin at the gutter. A copy should never extend outside the margin, although photographs may do so when they bleed off. Bleeding off is when the photograph extends to the edge of the page. The space between photos, text, and headlines should be one half of the space of the gutter. The layout is a showcase for displaying your photographic skill. The entire layout must be functional, and it should be invisible, It should not call attention to itself, but rather to the underlying story. The best way to achieve an invisible layout is to avoid gimmicks. Fancy background, photographs cut at odd angles, and collages are totally unacceptable in a professional layout. UNITY When the story requires more than one page or display board, you must position and align the page elements (copy, pictures, headlines, and cutlines) to establish unity. Each page should have one dominant element. This can be a large photograph, big headline, or copy set in a special way. Unity must continue from page to page. You can do this by story continuity or by a headline or photograph that runs across the gutter. Remember, no matter how the various elements and pages are unified, they must present a total package that is easy and convenient to read. This is the whole purpose of layout. Figure 1-9 shows an example of how unity is maintained. Notice that if you use large photographs Figure 1-9.—Maintaining unity. 1-22