Introduction to Desktop Publishing

Getting the reader's attention

 

The big initial

eginning the section with an initial letter which is much larger than the body text has been used since medieval days. Old manuscripts used very ornate letters which served as decoration since there were no other graphics available.
While large capitals slow reading, they attract the reader's attention to a particular area of the page and encourage reading of the words.
Two basic types of big initial are used, the drop cap and the stand up or raised cap.

 

 

 
Drop caps vary in size, but in each case, the top of the initial capital is the same height as other capitals in the line.

Raised caps or Stand-up Caps are easier to use in most desktop publishing packages but leave a great deal of white space which may be undesirable. The large letter B in the paragraph above is a three line drop cap.

Big initials should be used sparingly and use the same font as the body text. They mark natural boundaries in the text and serve as a convenient point of entry for the reader.

 

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Quotes

Pull quotes, panel quotes or decks as they are sometimes called are a technique which have a high attention getting factor. They basically consist of taking a section of the text and presenting it to the reader in a way which attracts the attention and hopefully, entices further reading.
Pull quotes give the reader a good idea of what the text is about without giving away the entire essence.
Pull quotes often take a quotation from the story, highlight it by using bold or perhaps a box and screen (the term used in desktop publishing to describe shading), and placing it somewhere before the start of the actual text.
On some occasions, the pull quote may be a summary rather than an actual quote.

A pull quote

Boxes

A frequently used tool in publishing is the use of boxed text. The box may be filled with a screen (the term used in desktop publishing to describe shading), which immediately indicates that something is different.
A box may contain an anecdote or an interesting side issue to the story.


A Publisher Box

White space

White space is perhaps the most neglected tool for attracting a readers attention.

A page densely packed with text is a forbidding sight for most readers.


A large amount of white space sends a more relaxed and casual message.
White space is found

  • between the lines of text
  • between the words
  • around the components of the page.


  
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Graphics

A picture is worth a thousand words!

The time and effort spent choosing and arranging graphics can pay big dividends.
Graphics add interest to a page, set the tone of a publication, reinforce important ideas and set a good piece of work apart from others.

  • Photographs and illustrations are the most popular visual forms.
  • Charts and graphs can help explain numbers.
  • Be very critical in choosing graphics to illustrate a point. Choose only the best photographs with the most story-telling power.

 

  • Select the chart or graph which is most appropriate. Bar charts or pie charts to compare amounts. Line graphs to show trends.

 

 

 

  • Clip art works best when a few well-chosen pieces are used to add character to a publication. Clip art becomes ineffective when too many pieces are used on a page.

  • People should generally face in towards the centre of the page. It may be necessary to flip an image to achieve this.
  • Cropping a photo trims unnecessary information from the top, bottom or sides.

 
  • Silhouetting involves the removal of distracting background. The result is not necessarily square or rectangular and allows the text to wrap around it. Use only one silhouette on a page

 

 

Captions

The features most likely to be read are headlines and captions.
The caption is a description placed under a graphic.
Meaningful captions both reinforce the graphic and summarise the article.

  
   

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Copyright © Dubbo College 2003 - Bryan Jeffress HTTL

Last updated July 2003