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Page Layouts / I |
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Mary Ann Owens |
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The Columbo Chronicle, Vol. 1, Nr. 3, August 1991 |
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The layout on the pages of your exhibit can help make it or break it to that medal level you desire. The name of the game is not only how good your material is, but also what you do with it on the pages. |
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Page layouts are looked at from two different aspects. one is t he physical layout and the other is the content layout. We will look at them separately although there is a definite and obvious link between the two aspects. The content layout will be discussed in the next issue. |
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Physical Page Layouts: |
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Page layouts are laid out with the aid of a template. (Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, I use lots of aids to get to where I want to go.) |
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The template (page 8) is placed under a normal sheet of typewriter paper as the exhibit page is too heavy to see through to the template underneath. One could use a light-box instead with the exhibit page. |
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The lines are as follows: 1) A one-inch margin is drawn all around the template. "A" - In the top area are put the headings from the plan page plus any additional sub-headings needed for that page. The various headings should have a consistent measurement above line "A" as well as in from the lines "B" & "C". "B" & "C" - Material can extend into this area when necessary but text should not. This is your breathing room between pages. You also need to allow for page overlaps in some frames. "D" - No text should be in this area because some frames have deep grooves for slipping the page into. Large items can extend into the area. However, the "D" line is used by most exhibitors as the visible bottom line for both material and text so that the look is a straight line across the frames and not a set of jarring stepping stones. |
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2) Vertical and horizontal lines are drawn dividing the page into four equal quarters. "t" - Vertical line is used for centering items visually on the page during planning sessions. 7" - Horizontal line is a help primarily with next set of lines. |
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3) A set of vertical and horizontal lines are drawn dividing the page into three equal sections either way. "G" & "H" - Vertical lines also help with centering. "I" & "J" - Horizontal lines help define the plane of the page before rulers are used for exact measuring. |
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4) The shaded area is the crucial area on the page. This is the area that the eye is drawn to which means that a philatelic item, neither text nor open space, should be in this area. George and I call it the "ice-pick" test. I once commented about an exhibit that if I stacked the pages and thrust an ice-pick into the shaded area, it would hit very little philatelic material. Since then, we have seen any number of exhibits with many pages that do not have material in the crucial area on the page. Hence, this article. |
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We both agree that it is not possible to do the above on every page, but we would highly suggest that a healthy majority of the pages in each frame have the better page layout look, i.e., material in the "ice-pick" area. |
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Planning the Page Layouts: |
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The template has more uses than just getting material into the "ice-pick" area. As mentioned above, I use the "E" - "J" lines as guides for page payouts and centering. I use it especially for making certain that any "special" items are above the "J" line, whenever possible. |
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The template is useful in getting the sense of what a page will look like when completed after you have had a chance to use it for awhile. Like any aid, it takes time and practice to be able to use it meaningfully. |
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Now it is time to lay material on the pages in a pleasing layout taking into consideration the "Ice-pick" area and the thematic point of the page. If your texts have been typed ahead of time, have them laid out at the top or even above the pages so that you will have some idea of what and how much is contemplated for the page as well. However, the material layout is first and foremost. |
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It used to be that thematic pages all had the same general appearance. There would be a heading on top followed by some thematic text. Then there would be two rows of stamps followed by more thematic text, if needed. The lower half of the page would have a cover and below that would be some philatelic text. In those days, 10 points were given for presentation. |
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Now presentation is 5 points and the guidelines for page layout have also changed. The material should be placed on the page in the same sequence as the text reads. And, the text must be in the proper sequence of the story line. The thematic point on the cover might place it at the top of the page, the middle, or the bottom. |
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Another way to look at it is: Each chapter is equivalent to a chapter in a book and each page is a paragraph within that chapter. Each item and each group of text is a sentence of that paragraph (page). Sentences in that paragraph have a LOGICAL SEQUENCE and so should your items and the accompanying text. |
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Page layouts are easier to plan if each of your thematic design items is available for use in more than one element from single stamp through larger items. OPTIONS are the keys to good layouts. I have very few Elephant stamp designs that are not available in at least two and some of them in four or five different elements. |
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Once the material has been selected and placed on the page so that the page is pleasingly full, the text is CUSTOM FIT to suit the remaining space. Final layout of material DETERMINES placement of text and not the reverse. The text is no longer put only at the top, middle, and bottom of the page. Now the text is placed as near the relevant material as is practical. That way, the judges will know which text belongs with what material. The text does not have to be lines across the page. It can be blocks frequently matching in size and shape the item it is talking about. It can be stacked one word to a line to fit the narrow vertical space. Ingenuity with text can help make a page very interesting and different from other pages. The text should interact with the material and should not take over the page. The text should take up much less space on a page than the material. |
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Now that the USA is issuing material with further descriptions in the selvage, think of your thematic text as being in that selvage which means that it will be close to the material, but not so close as to touch. Try very hard not to have any other item between the discussed item and the text. |
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While we advocate that the thematic text should be on the page before the philatelic text of any item, that does not mean that thematic text should always be at the top of the page and philatelic text at the bottom of the page like railroad tracks. We see many pages in the exhibits sent through the AAPE critique service where it is very difficult to decide which text goes with what material. That means that judges who do not have as much time to analyze the relationships are going to have even more problems. |
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The widths of the text across the page should not be preset on a typewriter or computer as always going to be the same width. Exhibitors with computer generated texts are taking the easy way out more than we would like to see. |
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Instead of having texts between two preconceived points, texts should be in widths that primarily are centered above or below the material when not alongside. it makes for easier reading, greater clarity, and aids the story-line flow. |
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Another way to have text not overpower material is in its width in relationship to the item. We try to not have text wider than a cover or other large item. With stamps, several in a grouping will be the same width as the text for the items. Once in a while, a wider text is needed to give the feeling of a foundation or base needed to balance a Particular arrangement. The wider text is the EXCEPTION. Your eye will tell you when such is a departure is necessary. The best thing is to prepare text of different widths and heights and see what highlights the material best. That text which takes over the page is too much. Lessen it! |
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As most texts are a couple lines and rarely get to full paragraphs, it is suggested that the first line not be indented but be flush left like the other lines. We would also suggest that if the last line is not right justified (assuming you are right justifying the other lines), that the line be more than a few words. otherwise, redo the text until those few words are included in the line above. It will give a better appearance. Look at the paragraphs in this article and analyze which ones look better. There are many different lengths in the last lines for you to look at. |
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It is wise to not have texts of more than four to five lines in any one area for several reasons, including the facts that judges and viewers are less apt to read them the longer they are. And the larger the paragraph, the more it is apt to take prominence away from the material. |
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The easy way out with text is to have a paragraph at the top of the page to cover all the items on the page. DON'T! Jury has not the time to hunt and match! |
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George and I work very hard to try and have thematic texts in at least two different places on the page if there are more than two items on the page. That way the thematic text is near its items on the page. If there is going to be some interesting philatelic text to amplify the appreciation of items, the thematic text might be less in volume in order to keep down the total text on that page. The thematic texts will not be less in number. |
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One major exception to only one thematic text on the page would be when all the items on the page are of the same design and the page is a philatelic study. However, we strongly stress that no page be completely devoid of thematic information even within a philatelic study. To do so is to risk interrupting the continuity of the story-line text within your theme. Another would be if large items fill the page and very little room is left. With little room for text, it will be necessary to make the best use of the space. |
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e-mail: mary ann owens |
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copyright © 2000-04 fran adams |
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