Re: Page layout resources

Subject: Re: Page layout resources
From: Paul Goble <pgcommunication -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 15:08:36 -0500

Hi Viv,

What a fun opportunity!

In addition to the tips which have already been mentioned, take a look
at your bookshelf. What do you see? Any 8.5x11 documents from big
publishers or your big multinational competitors? None at all? I
didn't think so. It's really, really hard to do good page design on
such a wide page. Many typographers recommend no more than 70
characters per line. Any page wider than about 7 inches gives you the
choice between too-long lines, too-large fonts, or too-wide margins.

Of course, you may be forced to use a standard page size if the
documents will be printed by customers or salespeople. Possible
design solutions are to use a 2-column layout, or one narrow text
column with lots of graphics in the margin. Both are possible, but
difficult, with Word. Make sure you thoroughly understand how Word's
section breaks work
(http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/WorkWithSections.htm). Annual
reports from Fortune 500 companies are a great source for 8.5x11
layout ideas.

Once you've figured out the basic page design, fine-tune the
typography: change the way Word does justification, use typographic
characters, and fine-tune the spacing. These measures are nicely
summarized in an excerpt from a book by Aaron Shepard at
http://www.newselfpublishing.com/WordType.html

Microsoft Word for Publishing Professionals, by Jack M. Lyon, also has
some good advice.

--
Paul Goble
Omaha, Nebraska
pgcommunication -at- gmail -dot- com
www.pgcommunication.com


Viv Crawford wrote:
> We're looking at publishing a suite of marketing and pre-sales docs that need to be as flash as anything the big multinationals we compete with can produce.
...
> We've had front covers professionally designed, but the pages with actual content on still just look like Word docs.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Gain access to everything you need to create and publish documentation,
manuals, and other information through multiple channels. Choose
authoring (and import) as well as virtually any output you may need.
http://www.doctohelp.com/


- Use this space to communicate with TECHWR-L readers -
- Contact admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more information -


---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat


References:
Page layout resources: From: Viv Crawford

Previous by Author: Re: FW: Updating page numbers pulling from a hidden field
Next by Author: Re: ZapfDingbats and FM8 to FM7
Previous by Thread: Re: Page layout resources
Next by Thread: RE: Page layout resources


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads