Rule of thirds and Golden Spiral

So, the first "golden" rule is the "Rule of Thirds" or "Golden Ratio". It affects the ratio (1:1.618) of a picture size, as well as the placement of the main subjects in the photo. This ratio is close to the 35mm ratio, so you don't need to change the size of the photo in most cases. But you need to consider the composition: main subject should lie on one of the four lines or four intersections (subject's eye for example). Truthfully speaking, these rules are not always the same. Rule of Thirds is a simplified version of the Golden Mean.





Another rule is the "Golden Triangles". It's more convenient for photos with diagonal lines. There are three triangles with corresponding shapes. Just roughly place three subjects with approximate equal sizes in these triangles and this rule will be kept.





And one more rule is a "Golden Spiral" or "Golden Rectangle" (you'll see why it's a rectangle in the tools section). There should be something, leading the eye to the center of the composition. It could be a line or several subjects. This "something" could just be there without leading the eyes, but it will fulfill its purpose anyway.



Thanks to Mr Smith for this post :)

Layout Advice

A cover should be a poster. A single image of a human will sell more copies than multiple images or all type. Always has, always will. Think about why.

Roger Black

Never set a lot of text type in all caps. After a while, it’s just too hard to read.

Roger Black

Use only one or two typefaces. Italian design is the model: a strong sense of a few things that work together. Avoid a free for all of multiple fonts/colours.

Roger Black

Break up type to add interest

Chris Frost – Designing for newspapers and magazines

Don’t use too many typefaces. Too much variation will end up looking a mess. It’s best to limit yourself to one font, and variations of it.

Chris Frost

Even mediocre photographs attract an audience and a good news picture, even on an inside page, may attract 80% of the readership.

Harold Evans – Pictures on a Page

Just switching type face from serif to sans can result in massive differences in reader comprehension, and response, to advertisements

Colin Wheildon – Are you communicating, or just making pretty shapes? (2005)

There are few major newspapers in the English speaking world today which use the sans serif type for the body text. Conversely, many major magazines choose sans serif. Serif faces have long been regarded as highly readable. One theory is that the serifs acted as tram lines, keeping the eyes on target. Another was that the modulated thick and thin strokes of serif types provided greater opportunity for individual letters, and hence words, to be distinguished and read.

Colin Wheildon

Responses to text in printed colours showed a considerably lower level of good comprehension.

 81% said they would prefer to read the page of coloured type because it was more attractive. But the test results clearly show that in practise, they found coloured text more difficult to read. It was attractive to look at but did not make a good reading environment.

Colin Wheildon

Every picture should have a caption. Readers get very irritated if they cannot find the caption. But the caption must not state the obvious. A picture of a vicar pouring a cup of tea, should not have for its caption: Vicar, pouring cup of tea. Captions should add to the information in the photo, not re-state it.

Many music mags use witty, tongue-in-cheek  captions.

Type size for the body of an article should be between 9-14.  (not the headlines, standfirst, crossheads etc). Some newspapers go down to 8, and many would consider that anything above 11 is too large, wastes space, and patronises the reader. 9 is the most common size.