Paragraph formatting
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The document discusses various techniques for formatting paragraphs and text for optimal readability, including: 1. Applying consistent spacing, alignment, line length, and leading appropriate for the font and point size. 2. Keeping line lengths short for easy reading and avoiding widows and orphans between columns and pages. 3. Using pull quotes, captions, and other visual elements like bullets and ornaments to enhance readability and engagement.
Paragraph formatting
- 1. Paragraph Formatting Group 5 Amy Daniel Robin
- 2. Applying Paragraph Formatting Paragraph formatting refers to the attributes that are applied to the paragraph as a whole .
- 3. The Goal in Text Copy Create an even tone of grey on the page Have used a reasonable point size Sufficient Leading Well Planned Tracking Comfortable line length Consistent spacing
- 4. The Biggest Goal You want the reader to feel that the text is accessible and readable You want the reader to READ the copy
- 5. Paragraph Alignment For instance, you cannot have half of the paragraph centered and the other half on the left size of the page. The alignment must be applied to the whole paragraph.
- 6. Leading is connected to many other decisions you make about typesetting. The leading should be increased as you increase the line length. Studies of optimum readability show that our eyes can easily comprehend short line lengths because we can glimpse the entire line at onetime. Short column widths, such as those of newspaper columns, give the best results in reading eas3e because they require little horizontal eye tracking, and people rarely mistake which line they are on. Leading
- 7. It is also a good idea to put extra leading between items in a bulleted list, so that each item is separated from the others. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs back. My cat has fleas I love CAKE!
- 8. Column Width is Important! It is not only the column width that helps readability but the number of characters that can fit on one line in a given font, at a given point size. Optimally, the idea number of characters per line is at least thirty. This means that the smaller your line length, the smaller the point size of your type (or the more condensed your font) should be in order to get more characters on the line. Conversely, a long line length requires a slightly larger leading and slightly larger point size of type.
- 9. When reading, the eyes have to track horizontally across a line of text, then shift back to the left side of the column, shift down to the next line, and start tracking across again. The reader’s eyes tend to get confused between long lines of copy if the heading is not increased. The extra area of white between lines keeps the reader on the correct line.
- 10. If you are using bullets in your text, it is important to make sure that the bullets are not oversized. It is also important to pay attention to the runovers, or secondary lines of text under the bullet the runovers should line up flush left with the first line of text, not the bullet. Using Bullets
- 11. they are used to separate areas of text; to replace paragraph breaks in copy To signify the end of a story in a magazine or journal and to identify printers. They have been created by type designers throughout all eras and are beautiful, quirky, and elegant depending on the taste and whim of the type designer. Ornaments
- 12. A widow is a typesetting term for a bad break at the end of a paragraph of type. A widow is the last line of a paragraph that is excessively short that is, less than half the width of the column. This short line smacks of poor planning and creates an awkward rag on the right edge of the text type. It is better to have new paragraphs at the top of columns, or a break that comes in a logical area of the text, such as after a comma or period. Avoiding orphans is columns and over page breaks is also something to think about. An orphan occurs when either the first or last line of a paragraph is separated in a different column from the rest of the lines of the paragraph. Widows and Orphans
- 13. Pull Quotes Pull-quotes are a great way to add visual interest to a layout, especially when you have a lot of text to work with but few or no photographs or illustrations. A pull-quote is a key phrase or quotation “pulled” from the text and used as a graphic element. Pull quotes are usually set larger than the body text and positioned to attract the reader’s attention. Pull-quotes are commonly used in magazine and newspaper articles, annual reports, brochures, flyers, and direct mail pieces. Well-selected and well-placed pull quotes add much more than visual excitement: they can serve as a “hook” to catch and hold your reader’s interest, increasing readership and comprehension.
- 14. Captions A caption is the brief text description accompanying a photograph, illustration or cartoon, most often as part of a longer article. Neither body text nor display text, captions require special treatment to be set for optimal effectiveness. It’s worth the trouble, though: captions tend to be among the most-read portions of any printed piece.
- 15. A properly set caption should be distinct from the body text, yet still be in visual harmony with it. Legibility and readability Captions are usually set fairly small, and yet they’re prime real estate on the page when it comes to drawing the reader’s eye. Therefore, it’s vital that captions be set for both maximum legibility (the design characteristics of the font) and high readability (the size and arrangement of the text). Harmony and contrast In Captions