Layout is the process of composing a printed publication from individual elements, for example, forming pages of a magazine or newspaper from lines, illustrations and headlines. This is done by specialists – layout designers, about whose work you can read, for example, on the website http://aov.ru/layout.html.
To engage in layout, it is necessary to have a layout scheme of the future publication. Layout is one of the components of the pre-press process. An example of it is ordinary text typing on a computer in a text editor, but this is the simplest example. Such preparation can be done by any moderately experienced personal computer user, but there are areas of activity where layout is a full-fledged profession. For example, in the printing industry, a layout specialist plays an important role.
The process has its own clear rules and recommendations. In modern sources, there are many rules based on which you can place a specific element – a line or a picture – in a specific place. An example of such rules is, for instance, no more than three font types on one page, highlighting a text fragment in no more than one way, the indent size of the first line must not exceed the size of the same indent of the last line. But in newspaper printing, such rules are not observed; instead, there are their own, applicable only in this area.
A layout designer is one of the first positions that an employee will occupy when starting work in printing. As a rule, the work of a layout designer is often combined with the work of a text typesetter. In printing companies, there is often no clear division between the duties of a layout designer and an artist-designer. It is widely believed that the latter works in the publication only at the founding stage, when it is necessary to develop and approve a unique style, that is, in the first months of the publication's life, and then his duties are transferred to the layout designer.
A layout designer may or may not have a printing education, but despite its absence, he can still potentially apply for the position of person responsible for the publication's release or technical editor. If the layout designer is experienced, he has enough skills to do the work of a designer or model maker, but his direct responsibilities do not include making layouts and working with images, but solely the layout of the mockup and its final pre-press preparation.
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