Layout

A layout is the spatial arrangement of graphic elements for a printed publication. Graphic elements include photographs, illustrations, tint blocks, backgrounds, line rules, display type such as headlines and subheads, initial caps, body copy, and other graphic devices. Layouts show the arrangement of type and white space and indicate the size and position of elements. The layout [Page 508]containing these elements serves as a prototype or blueprint for production. Layouts are used to create a number of communication tools used in public relations practice, such as brochures, newsletters, advertisements, fliers, posters, invitations, programs, proposals, and websites.

Layouts are often used by public relations practitioners as a development tool to perfect the flow and look of a printed piece, test the presentation of a printed piece with members of the target audience, and obtain employer or client approval of a printed piece before it is published. Public relations practitioners, along with graphic designers hired by practitioners to develop materials, often create various stages of layouts before producing a printed piece. The first stage is the development of thumbnails, miniature rough sketches of the printed piece. These small sketches show various possibilities for layouts. They are quick pencil renderings—smaller, but in proportion to the actual size of the piece. Thumbnails allow risk taking and experimentation. Typically, they are not executed on a computer but are fast, free-wheeling sketches used for brainstorming. In the second stage, a rough layout is produced from one of the thumbnails. This informal layout is the actual size of the printed piece and shows a more detailed arrangement of the design elements. Often, a rough layout is used as the guide to final print production. In some instances, however, practitioners may develop a comprehensive layout, which is a refined version of the layout and a close approximation of the finished work. A comprehensive layout is useful for the pitch to a prospective client or for gaining advance approval for a costly publication or campaign. Since they are full-size simulations of the finished product, comprehensives, or comps, are generally expensive and time-consuming to produce.

Layout principles are extremely important in the development of layouts. Layout principles include

• balance, the organization of elements either symmetrically or asymmetrically along an implied axis;
• dominance, the placement of an attention-getting element that stands out because of its size, tone, or shape;
• unity, the sense that the message is an integrated and cohesive whole;
• proportion, the spatial relationship of elements similar in nature; and
• flow, which promotes eye movement and direction in a layout.

The term dummies is often used synonymously with layouts, particularly in the production of multipaged documents such as newsletters and brochures. A dummy is a rendering of a page or pages in the planning stage, often unbound and with type and graphics crudely indicated, to show a printer the positions of the various elements. Storyboards are layouts used in broadcast work such as for a public service announcement or television commercial. The storyboard is a series of rough sketches of the scenes accompanied by each scene's description and dialogue.

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