How to think about creating a layout
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 4:05 am
be?” We ask this question occasionally as we are getting to know a new client’s company. It may seem silly, but the answer helps us bypass industry jargon and reach the core of a company’s personality. It’s only fair, then, for us to return the favor and answer the same question.
But first, let’s narrow the scope to one of the many jobs in marketing: design. If you were to take on the task of creating your own layouts, how would you think like a designer? What animal best represents the mind of a designer?
The answer is: magpies! Magpies are known ixtri lista tan-numri tat-telefon for being thieves. They are smart, noisy, and love bright, shiny objects (all things that may be true about your friendly neighborhood designer). Occasionally, they weave their stolen shiny loot into their nests. A well-known design maxim lifted and tweaked from a T. S. Eliot essay is this: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” In the spirit of the magpie, designers search for shiny, good ideas to weave into their layouts.
Now, graphic designers with integrity do not actually plagiarize other people’s work. But they must be good at examining other designs to see what makes them work. They steal good ideas, not content. In fact, in true magpie style, they steal good ideas not just from other designers but also from a host of other professions. Here’s the secret for your own layouts: by stealing skills from other vocations, you can also think like a designer. Let’s start with…a translator.
Think like a translator
I remember sitting around at a family reunion, listening to one of the grizzly uncles tell what they thought was a real knee-slapper, only to be met with blank stares. “Ach,” he would say, “It just sounds so much better in German.” Translating humor is hard work, requiring extensive knowledge of both languages. You have to be able to translate not only the words but also the lingo, rhythms, puns, and punchlines to make it funny in the other language.
In the same way, graphic design requires translation. Graphic designers have to take text or scribbles on a napkin or words from other people’s mouths and turn them into color, pattern, and texture. In order to translate well, graphic designers have to “speak” fluently in both languages—visuals and text. They have to read well and listen carefully, making sure they understand before communicating in the new language.
To think like a translator as you create layouts, make sure you thoroughly understand the content you are trying to lay out—the first language. Have you read it? Read it again? Have you had someone else read it and compare their notes with yours? If you’re gathering information, have you taken good notes? Have you tried the message out on a buyer or someone who doesn’t know the information like you do? Translating the message between the buyer and the seller is important. Test on both sides so you know it will work.
Second, if the language of visual design is new to you, brush up on the basics. The elements and principles of design (and art) are simple: things like color, shape, and shadow. Find a list of elements and principles and study other examples of what you’re trying to create to see how others use them.
Think like a gardener
When I first began to beautify my yard, I assumed it would be easy. All I needed to do was go to the nearest garden center and pick up a few things. Not so, I discovered. Designing a lovely garden is a time-consuming, multi-faceted task.
A key feature of garden design is creating beauty through contrast. While I love snapdragons, an entire field of snapdragons somehow lessens the effect of their burst of color. Skilled gardeners use height, color, texture, growing season, and placement to create sections that play against each other. Large sections of low-contrast plants emphasize high-contrast centerpieces. The contrast keeps the garden beautiful, fresh, and lively.
In the same way, you can keep layouts fresh by using contrast well. Is everything in your layout the same? Or are you varying font and image sizes, planning focal points, and keeping the color fresh and lively? Like a skilled gardener, plant visual pieces and content carefully. The end result will be worth the work.
But first, let’s narrow the scope to one of the many jobs in marketing: design. If you were to take on the task of creating your own layouts, how would you think like a designer? What animal best represents the mind of a designer?
The answer is: magpies! Magpies are known ixtri lista tan-numri tat-telefon for being thieves. They are smart, noisy, and love bright, shiny objects (all things that may be true about your friendly neighborhood designer). Occasionally, they weave their stolen shiny loot into their nests. A well-known design maxim lifted and tweaked from a T. S. Eliot essay is this: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” In the spirit of the magpie, designers search for shiny, good ideas to weave into their layouts.
Now, graphic designers with integrity do not actually plagiarize other people’s work. But they must be good at examining other designs to see what makes them work. They steal good ideas, not content. In fact, in true magpie style, they steal good ideas not just from other designers but also from a host of other professions. Here’s the secret for your own layouts: by stealing skills from other vocations, you can also think like a designer. Let’s start with…a translator.
Think like a translator
I remember sitting around at a family reunion, listening to one of the grizzly uncles tell what they thought was a real knee-slapper, only to be met with blank stares. “Ach,” he would say, “It just sounds so much better in German.” Translating humor is hard work, requiring extensive knowledge of both languages. You have to be able to translate not only the words but also the lingo, rhythms, puns, and punchlines to make it funny in the other language.
In the same way, graphic design requires translation. Graphic designers have to take text or scribbles on a napkin or words from other people’s mouths and turn them into color, pattern, and texture. In order to translate well, graphic designers have to “speak” fluently in both languages—visuals and text. They have to read well and listen carefully, making sure they understand before communicating in the new language.
To think like a translator as you create layouts, make sure you thoroughly understand the content you are trying to lay out—the first language. Have you read it? Read it again? Have you had someone else read it and compare their notes with yours? If you’re gathering information, have you taken good notes? Have you tried the message out on a buyer or someone who doesn’t know the information like you do? Translating the message between the buyer and the seller is important. Test on both sides so you know it will work.
Second, if the language of visual design is new to you, brush up on the basics. The elements and principles of design (and art) are simple: things like color, shape, and shadow. Find a list of elements and principles and study other examples of what you’re trying to create to see how others use them.
Think like a gardener
When I first began to beautify my yard, I assumed it would be easy. All I needed to do was go to the nearest garden center and pick up a few things. Not so, I discovered. Designing a lovely garden is a time-consuming, multi-faceted task.
A key feature of garden design is creating beauty through contrast. While I love snapdragons, an entire field of snapdragons somehow lessens the effect of their burst of color. Skilled gardeners use height, color, texture, growing season, and placement to create sections that play against each other. Large sections of low-contrast plants emphasize high-contrast centerpieces. The contrast keeps the garden beautiful, fresh, and lively.
In the same way, you can keep layouts fresh by using contrast well. Is everything in your layout the same? Or are you varying font and image sizes, planning focal points, and keeping the color fresh and lively? Like a skilled gardener, plant visual pieces and content carefully. The end result will be worth the work.