Project Three :: Structural Components

Structural Components of Editorial Design

• page – the single unit of editorial design
• double page spread – two single pages side-by-side are the main and most important compositional element of editorial design. All grid building and layout is looked at through this lens.
• grid – the invisible architecture of the double page spread
• margins – the free space reserved at the top, bottom, outside and inside of a double page spread (top, bottom, left, right of a single page). In general, enough space should be reserved to make reading comfortable.
• columns – the vertical units of a page used to define where elements are positioned. Columns can be any number and are often between 2 and 12.
• rows – the horizontal units of a page used to define where elements are positioned. Rows are not automatically definable in InDesign but can be simply set with guides on your Master Pages.
• gutters – the space between columns. Gutters should have enough width to help define text columns and not hinder legibility (they should not be so close that you skip across the gutter while reading).
• baseline grid – a series of evenly spaced horizontal lines which determine where the baselines of text, as well as other elements, can be positioned. The leading of all typographic elements is usually a either the same amount, a multiple, or a division of the baseline grid which helps give visual structure to the overall grid.
• folio – the area where page numbers and publication title are positioned.
• Folios are often outside or below the perimeters of the article’s design (i.e. somewhere in the outside margin).
• bleed area – the space outside of the edges of the double page spread reserved for overflow of artwork
• slug area – the space outside of page and bleed edges reserved for file and technical information for production