Inc Magazine Café

7 World Trade Center, NYC

29th floor

• FREE for SPD Student Members

• $10 for SPD Professional Members

• $15 for all others or you can join SPD as a student member for $25/year and then admission to this event and all others is free! 

Can you name the legendary art director who inspired this event logo? Bring your answer to the event.

Space is limited, so you must register beforehand using the form below:

Send 'em to us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com













SPD uses Eventbrite to make all of our RSVPs easier... you should too! Find more info here.

• Captions: These are the small text blocks that explain your photos/images, and many times, captions are the only thing readers read beyond the headlines. In some instances, a short caption defining the subject is all you need. Other times, captions can be more lengthy, building on the content of the story. And in other instances, sometimes long captions ARE the story. It depends on your story and how your images relate. Check out our examples below, and look at others on the newsstand to see how various magazines use captions.

Another thing to consider with captions is their design. Are they treated simply, or do they have a distinct design? Consider using mini-headlines, or using a graphic or icon along with them to help connect the caption to the image.

• Credits: If you read our "Where do I get the photos?" question a few days ago, you know you need to include source information for your images. But where do you put it? Well, you have several options.

If all your photos are from the same photographer, you can list them as a byline just like your story author. Otherwise, you'll notice that most magazines place credits in tiny type either along the gutter, the bottom margin on the page, or just under or beside the photo. Check out our examples below for starting ideas.

In most instances, the folio should be an almost invisible part of your layout ... it shouldn't interfere with your design. It should probably be in a typeface that is part of your publication's type palette and kept simple, though many do use bullets, icons, rules, color or other subtle design elements to better reflect the magazine's personality. 

Some magazines, however, do treat the folio in a way that makes it integral to the page's design. Consider some of these treatments below ... in these first 3, the page number becomes part of the design for this particular spread and then goes back to its usual more simple placement in the rest of the magazine.

Here are some examples of caption, credit and folio treatments. Click on the images to see them larger:

• Margins: This is the space around the edge of your page/spread. Check out your favorite magazines, and you'll see that most leave around 3/8" to 1/2" on their outside margins. Some have wider bottom margins than the top or sides and vice versa. Bigger is not always better, but when margins get too small, your page starts to feel cramped and crowded. 

• Text Leading: You'll notice when you increase the leading in your body copy, the columns of text feel lighter and more airy. That's another way to increase white space. Sometimes a tighter, more dense body copy is desired and looks good; othertimes, adding a little extra linespacing makes for a better look. Play around with yours, but don't go too crazy in the body copy ... it still needs to be readable.

Tip #6: Use drop caps, subheads, pull quotes and sidebars to liven up your page.
You don't have to use all of these elements, but consider them, especially on the 2nd spread where you don't have the headline package. These elements can add more visual interest to the spread beyond the images and can help draw the reader into the text.

Missed our previous tips? Check them out:

Have other questions? Email us.

Images, from top: 2009 Student Competition Winner Melanie Teppich; Wired, SELF, New York

When you design an editorial layout, you're not just designing a page or spread that will stand on its own like a poster or piece of art. Each page is part of a larger object that has its own look and aesthetic, therefore the page/spread should follow that aesthetic. Granted, in this case, you are only designing 4 pages for a magazine that doesn't actually exist .... but you should think about what that magazine would look like if it did, and design your spreads accordingly. 

For example, if you chose the Entertainment Magazine category, and you're showcasing singer Sheryl Crow, then your design should reflect that this category's magazine targets 20-somethings interested in art, music and film as opposed to something else. Imagine what this story would look like in Paste or Interview magazine as opposed to Ladies' Home Journal or Vogue, and you'll realize there is a distinct difference in the overall look. Make sure YOUR design keeps that in mind, whatever category you choose.

Not all magazine features are just 4 pages long. So like the real world, yours doesn't have to be either. Now, that doesn't mean you need to design more than 2 spreads ... in fact, we don't want you to do that. But it DOES mean that the story you're designing doesn't have to end on that second spread. 

For example, if you're doing the "How To" category, your process may have 10 steps, but you don't have to fit all 10 steps into those 2 spreads. Maybe Step 1 is on the opening spread, and Steps 2-5 are on the second spread. We'll assume you intend the rest to continue in the same design scheme. 

Of course, your story CAN end on the second spread if you want.

Speaking of spreads, don't forget to accommodate the gutter in your design. Not sure what that means? Check out our definition and discussion of the term "gutter" here. 

Missed yesterday's Tip? Click here.

Have other questions? Then email 'em to us.

What do we mean by that exactly? Well, in a feature story like this, your first spread will be an opening spread that introduces us to the story, while the second spread is clearly the middle or end of the story.

For example, the first spread always contains the headline/subhead/byline package, and often that's the only text on it. Sometimes it might contain the first few paragraphs of the body copy as well. This spread is usually more image or design-heavy rather than text-heavy. 

The second spread, however, does not have the headline treatment and usually contains more body copy than imagery. It should relate to the opening spread in appearance to continue the design scheme, but in a way that can handle more text.

Here are a few examples of the first 2 spreads of stories from recent magazines. You'll notice in these first 2 examples from New York and Wired magazines, the opening spreads contain only the headline/subhead/byline package focusing more on the design and images, while the 2nd spreads contain the bulk of the story with supplemental imagery.

In this Martha Stewart Living story, the opening spread actually contains more copy than the second spread, as you'll notice there's a long introductory paragraph on the left side. However, while the 2nd spread may not hold as much copy visually, it does contain the bulk of the content ... the explanatory photos and long captions serve as the story in this type of feature. Regardless, again the main difference is the opening spread contains the headline and introduces the story, while the 2nd spread contains the majority of the content.

Come back tomorrow for more tips and advice. In the meantime, email us if you have any questions.