Design Principles - What is a Book - Content: Definitions

Design Principles

What is a book? 
Content: Definitions

Having developed my concept and chosen my design direction for my publication I next needed to establish my content so that I could create illustrations for the other definitions. I started this by looking at the brief that highlighted some suggestions of typographic and editorial terminology,  I then research anatomy of type on the internet and create a larger list of potential words I could use.  I wanted my publication to have strong content so wanted to pick words thats definitions had genuinely sinister connotations as I felt if I started trying to force connotations on words it would ruin the whole theme of the publication. My final words were; 

• Leading 
• Hanging quotes 
• widow 
• orphan 
• scale 
• rag 
• rivers 
• gutter

I then planned to add in a contents page and introduction to make my 10 double page spreads. I felt confident that I could work with these typographic terms to make some really interesting and engaging reinterpretations through my illustrations. The next stage was for me to collate the definitions of the words to typeset within my double page spreads. As the majority of these were collated from internet blog posts I looked at a range of sites and merged the definitions together to ensure it was holistic and accurate. I then asked my tutor to proof read these and he gave me 2 minor changes but other than that said they were good. 

Leading

The spacing in-between the lines of type, this greatly affects the readability of the text. Correctly spaced lines make it easier for the reader to follow the text, this also improves the overall aesthetic of the text. Many factors affect leading for example; typeface, type size, weight, measure and word spacing.

Hanging quotes

The glyphs that belong within the margin of body copy. Failing to implement hanging quotes causes a quotation mark that is flush with the text. This will interrupt the left margin and disrupt the rhythm of the reader. Hanging quotes keep the left alignment intact and balanced therefore increasing readability.

Widow

The line of text at the end of a paragraph separated from the rest of the text, meaning that this line is either in the next column or in the next page. It can also appear as an opening line of a paragraph at the bottom of the column or a page, thus separated from the rest of the paragraph.

Orphan

The word or small selection words in a separated row that end a paragraph. This creates too much white space between paragraphs. It is considered bad form within typesetting as it impairs the aesthetic of the page through seemingly erratic white space.

Scale

The proportionality between type size within a page layout. Scale is important as it establishes a typographic hierarchy that improves readability and creates harmony and cohesiveness within the text. Multiple scales can be used from the traditional scale developed in the sixteenth centaury to contemporary versions that create a well-rounded aesthetic to ones layout.

Rag

The uneven alignment of text running along the margin of a column. Text with a large rag tends to have fluctuating, drastically uneven line lengths that look unattractive and impairs the rhythm of the text. A text with a short rag is often uniform and allows the reader to flow from one line to the next with relative ease.

Rivers

The gaps within typesetting paragraphs. These appear to run through a paragraph of text, due to a coincidental alignment of spaces. The rivers can occur regardless of the spacing settings, but are most noticeable with wide inter-word spaces caused by full text justification or monospaced fonts. Rivers are less noticeable with proportional fonts, due to narrow spacing.

Gutters

The white spaces between two pages of a book, or more generally, between columns of text. They are a type of margin that are designed to control and direct the attention of the reader, as solid blocks of text without a break can be extremely difficult to read and comprehend. As a result, gutters are implemented to keep the layout visually interesting, keeping the reader on task.