d. Unity.
Whether the story requires one or several pages, you must
establish a unity of page elements that will continue the central theme or
idea you wish to communicate to your viewer.
(1) If you are dealing with two facing pages, you can maintain the
unity by story continuity (text) or by a headline or photograph that runs
across the gutter.
(2) If you have back-to-back pages, your last element on the first
should make your reader desire to turn the page and follow the story to its
conclusion.
(3) You will more than likely achieve this unity if your lead
elements have impact, the layout has a logical order of an easy-to-follow
information flow, and presents a feeling of balance.
19. Flow/Directional Lines in Layout.
a. How We Read. In our culture we read from top left and down to lower
right of a page, in smooth, back and forth loops.
The top left is the
primary optical area (POA) and should be the location of our most impact,
attention-getting element. The bottom right area, the terminal area (TA),
is the goal of the eye scan and when our eyes reach this area, the mind
automatically knows from habit that the page has ended. Refer to figure 1-
12.
b. Layout Elements. From this point, a layout must contain appealing
elements that lead the readers' attention, in that left-to-right loop
pattern, until we reach bottom right. Elements that may cause the scan to
backtrack and read higher should be avoided. An example of such an element
is a picture with a strong leading line that would redirect the reader's
attention upward into the portion of the story that has been read.
c. Using Lines of Force. Directional lines of force, real or implied,
are those elements that move from the primary optical area through the left-
right loop scan to the bottom right of a layout.
(1) In laying out your pictures, you must find those lines of force,
leading lines, and use them to build reader interest and force the eye to
flow with the story.
(2) Lines of force can be established by other elements, such as a
headline, copy, or the shape and size of a photograph. Directional lines of
force, when used incorrectly, can lure the eye away from the direction in
which you would like
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SS0516
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