EXAMPLE 418
Another way to feature the editorials
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 420
Novel use of rules on an editorial page. By Sherbow
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 421
News photograph on the front page
]
It is absolutely necessary that the text matter of a periodical be
easily read, yet the type-face should not be selected for that reason
alone. It should be well formed and pleasing to look at, and, if
possible, be a face that makes feasible some harmony in design between
text type and head letter.
In publications that have text matter in eleven-point or twelve-point a
letter such as Caslon Oldstyle would doubtless be satisfactory, and on
small publications Old-Style Antique or Cushing Oldstyle render
excellent service.
Scotch Roman, notwithstanding the fact that it contains hairlines, gives
fairly good results, provided the paper is not highly calendered.
Letters with hairlines when printed on calendered paper lack the little
legibility that they otherwise possess. Many letters could be made more
legible, especially those composed on machines, by cutting the matrices
so that the print of the thin lines is a trifle stronger.
The chapter on “Type-Faces” should be read in this connection.
* * * * *
TYPE-FACES FOR THE HEADINGS.—An ideal condition in periodical make-up is
one which makes possible the use for headings of the identical design of
type that has been selected for the text matter, as in Examples 410 and
411, where a French Oldstyle has been used, and in Example 415, where
Scotch Roman is the type-face.
It is not possible always to use the very same design of type-face for
both headings and text matter. After a text letter has been chosen for
legibility or other reason, the identical type in larger sizes may prove
to be too plain for the sort of periodical on which it is to appear. And
there are sometimes special reasons, regrettable but unavoidable, an
instance of which is this volume, wherein the text matter is in Scotch
Roman (a modern letter with some relation to old-style) and the headings
and captions in a type-face of old-style form. This combination is not
ideal, and the explanation follows. In order that “The Art and Practice
of Typography” could be published at a price that would enable it to be
widely circulated, the chapters, as soon as each was prepared, were
first printed in _The American Printer_. The type-face used for the text
matter and headings in that publication was Scotch Roman, hence it was
felt necessary to use Scotch Roman for the text of this volume. However,
it was believed that a darker type-face of old-style formation would be
more pleasing for the headings, and a Goudy letter was selected.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 422
Fine specimen of typographic make-up
]
A modern type-face (Bodoni Bold) appears on the headings in Example 412,
413 and 414. Bodoni (not the bold) is also used for headings in Examples
416 and 427.
Caslon Oldstyle is to be found used for both headings and text in
Examples 426 and 430. Old-Style Antique appears in Example 431.
The _Saturday Evening Post_ for many years made use of an old-style
letter for its headings that as a type-face was known as Post Oldstyle.
The italic, outlined and filled in with gray-printing lines, is shown in
Example 424.
A Gothic decorative letter is not out of place on a Christmas number of
_Collier’s_ (Example 425), but is not recommended for general use on
periodical pages.
Large, bold, black type-faces for headings in periodicals should be
avoided.
Interest can be added, in the treatment of department headings of
technical publications, by using slightly decorative panels, but such
decoration should be light or slight, and not the commonplace sort
sometimes found in ill-treated job work.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 423
An attractive first text page. By Lester Douglas
]
Editorial and title headings in typographic treatment should blend with
other parts of the text pages and not look, as some do, like
quarter-page advertisements inserted in reading matter. Example 429
shows good treatment.
* * * * *
MAKE-UP OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS.—When planning to use illustrations on
periodicals both facing pages should be before the person doing the
planning. The text matter of the two pages forms a background of gray,
and the problem is to place illustrations, headings and initials in
positions that will not only be well balanced but so assembled that one
will not interfere with another.
Usually there should be some text matter between illustrations; they
should be placed toward the outer side of the page (see Example 422).
The center position is practicable when there are three columns and the
illustration is but a single column in width, or when the expense of
running around may be incurred (see Example 424).
Illustrations frequently look better separated from the heading, as in
Example 414, than when joined with the heading, as in Example 412.
The same style of illustration should, if possible, be used on facing
pages. Make-up that shows a line plate on one page and a halftone on the
adjoining page is inharmonious and not so pleasing as when all
illustrations on facing pages are of the same character. They should be,
say, either line like that in Example 414 or halftone like that in
Example 412.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 424
Illustration placed in center, necessitating running around
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 425
Feature page of a Christmas number
]
When an illustration appears on a text page, initial letters should be
plain and small, as in Example 414; but when no illustration appears the
initial can be large, as in Example 411, or even decorative. For regular
purposes initials as used on Examples 409 and 425 are inadvisable.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 426
Convention feature page of a technical journal
]
Pleasing use of a vignette style of illustration is to be seen in
Example 430. It lends interest to the first text page and at the same
time illustrates the leading article.
The illustration in Example 429 is also effectively placed.
* * * * *
ARRANGEMENT OF HEADINGS.—Headings, in a way, advertise or “sell” the
contents of a periodical, and their arrangement depends on how far the
editor or layout man wishes to go in advertising or “selling” the
contents. The American people have so much reading matter available that
it is probably necessary in most instances almost to force them to read
the various articles in periodicals. Encyclopedias are read even if
there are no display headings and the type is in six-point, and there
are periodicals that are read without urging; but it may as well be
conceded that articles are read more when they are well advertised.
A well-advertised story will be found in Example 413. The title is
brought out prominently in a large, bold type, as is the name of the
author. The italic line above the title smacks of real advertising, as
does the group of type inserted in the upper part of the text. The
display in Example 412 is frankly advertising in its appearance.
The _Saturday Evening Post_ heading (Example 424) is large, but there is
no descriptive advertising, and there is little of the nervous fear of
going unread so evident in Examples 412 and 413.
Calm, yet pleasing, treatment of headings is to be found in Examples 411
and 423. It is well to give attention to the presentation of article
headings, but sometimes in the place where the heading should go there
is so much noise and so much talking that, as a means of resting the
nerves, the leaf is quickly turned or the periodical laid aside.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 427
News headings and make-up
]
Periodical titles, as they appear on the first text page of each issue,
are variously treated. The small, neat effect of Example 423 is
commendable. It is in Scotch Roman and harmonizes with the article
heading and text type. Title headings on a larger scale will be found in
Examples 410, 415 and 416. Special lettering is sometimes pleasing, as
in Examples 421 and 430.
The news department of trade and business periodicals requires numerous
headings. Example 427 is suggestive. There the news articles are in
narrow columns and have a newspaper style of heading.
Caslon Oldstyle looks well on any class of publication. Roman capitals
and lower-case and italic may be used in the same line, as on Example
429.
* * * * *
THE CAPTIONS.—It is customary to set captions centered under
illustrations in a size smaller of the type-face used for the text
matter and to arrange the caption in one or more lines no wider than the
illustration.
When the caption is in two parts the first part is usually set in
capitals and the second part in lower-case, both centered. The
lower-case is sometimes roman and sometimes italic.
Seldom do captions receive the special decorative treatment that has
been accorded them in Examples 412 and 414. Even two-line initial
letters have been used with them.
The plain double caption in roman capitals and lower-case is to be found
in Examples 421 and 422. A single caption in italic lower-case is shown
inside a rule that surrounds the illustration in Example 424.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 428
A conservative and readable editorial page
]
Arrangement of captions in lines of the same length, making a block of
type (as in this book) is liked by many. However, the caption is to be
read and its shape is not of more importance than its legibility. It is
a mistake to arrange a caption in several lines of capitals and then
letterspace some of the words to obtain the block effect. Such
letterspacing advertises the effort as unsuccessful and also disfigures
the page.
* * * * *
THE EDITORIAL PAGES.—In periodicals, editorial pages are treated
variously. There is no standard style such as is found in most
newspapers. All five editorial pages reproduced here, in make-up and
typographic treatment, differ from one another.
The _Ladies’ Home Journal_ (Example 417) has the title of each editorial
in a small rule panel along with the publication’s trademark, and the
matter is set in two wide columns. The first clause beginning each
editorial is composed in capitals and small capitals. The page is
surrounded by a double-line border.
_Collier’s_ (Example 418) begins each editorial with an initial letter,
followed by several words in capitals, and the title in a dark-faced
italic is set at the left end of the line. A decorative symbolic heading
is placed above all.
_System_ (Example 419) has a neat, readable editorial page, arranged in
an interesting manner. The name of the magazine, of the editor, and the
month and volume are neatly placed at the top, and the blank space that
follows, occupied solely by the small black decorative mark, gives
pleasure. Each editorial is introduced by a heading in small capitals
and by an initial, which is larger in the first article. The editorial
page of _Advertising and Selling_ (Example 420), by Sherbow, is unlike
any of the others. Rules are used between columns, on both sides of
headings, and above and below the page heading. The result is pleasing,
and invites reading of the page.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 429
Caslon headings and an old-style text type
]
The style of make-up of _The American Printer_ editorial page (Example
428) was purposely patterned after that of the conventional newspaper
editorial page. The editorials of conservative metropolitan newspapers
are probably read more regularly than any other part of the
publications, and such reading has possibly been invited by the restful
style of the typography. There is reason to believe that this somewhat
old-fashioned treatment and its lack of affectation have really
accomplished what was intended.
The editorial page should be unlike the other pages of a periodical, and
these examples should assist printers and editors in determining
suitable typographic treatment.
* * * * *
FEATURES.—Typography can have much to do with the playing up of features
in periodical make-up. An instance is the page reproduced as Example
426, which consists of what would ordinarily be the notes of the
convention. In this instance the notes were written in a style that
suggests the quaint diction of Colonial days. Some of the words of the
text were capitalized, as was done in those times. In the page heading a
few of the letters were tilted to give an irregularity caused in old
composition by defective typefounding. Even the brass rules were nicked
(brass rule was seldom in good condition in the old days). A crude
initial of ancient vintage and an illustration simulating an old woodcut
added decorative interest. This page was a change from the routine style
of the other pages.
The page from _Collier’s_ (Example 409, Insert) was one of the features
of a Thanksgiving number. Its decorative border suggests the treatment
found in Books of Common Prayer (see page 27).
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 430
Caslon typography on a magazine. By Will Bradley
]
Christmas feature treatment is also found in Example 425, also by Will
Bradley. The text letter used in this example for initials and headings
is hardly suitable for use generally in periodicals, but for occasional
features it is not out of place.
Verse when used will usually look more interesting set in italic,
especially when the italic has a decorative quality. One of the
important general magazines sets verse in Kennerley italic in a
decorative panel broken into the text page at a suitable point.
Important parts of an article reprinted in an attractive panel on the
same page would call attention to the article and invite reading.
A certain amount of restraint is necessary when planning typographic
features for periodicals. Type-faces should be selected with knowledge
and care, and seldom should large sizes be used. “Jobby” display effects
are never in order on the text pages of periodicals.
* * * * *
THE ADVERTISEMENTS.—The typographic details of the editorial section of
a national periodical in the field of advertising were recently revised
and made more pleasing, yet when made up and printed the work that had
been done was so overshadowed and counteracted by the bold types on the
advertising pages that the general result was disappointing.
It is useless to attempt good typography on periodicals so long as
advertisements are inserted in text pages or occupy facing positions;
that is, it is useless unless the periodicals set or reset the
advertisements neatly in good taste as is done by the Curtis
publications.
Advertisements should not be mingled with text matter. According to
old-fashioned ideas, the reader buys a periodical for the text matter,
and it is for him to determine whether or not he shall read the
advertising pages. In some publications the text pages are yet to be
found intact, altho preceded and followed by sold space; in others good
resolves peter out as text meets advertisement toward the rear, and in
others—a majority perhaps—advertisements dominate almost all of the text
pages.
Treatment of advertisements in periodicals need not necessarily be shy
and timid; neither need it be blustering and noisy. Where advertisements
are neatly treated and not unduly forced on the attention, readers are
likely to give as much time to their perusal as to the text pages. A
gentlemanly solicitor who talks clearly in low tones is more likely to
sell goods than one who disturbs the entire office by his loud talk and
boisterous demeanor. Apply this to the typography of the advertising
pages.
Editorially, it is to be regretted that advertising must go “alongside
of reading,” but it is to be deplored that in so many periodicals,
especially of the business and technical class, reading matter is
seemingly written and placed for the purpose of accommodating the
advertising.
The successful publication of a periodical, as of a newspaper, depends
on liberal patronage from advertisers; yet these advertisers are best
served when the publication is planned with first consideration for the
text features, and the advertisements are prepared to harmonize and not
clash with the typography of the text matter.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 431
Good typography of a pocket magazine
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 432.—A house-organ by Taylor, Nash & Taylor, San Francisco,
that features typography
]
[Illustration]
HOUSE-ORGANS
The house-organ is the little brother of the periodical and newspaper.
It is published most frequently as a means of communication between a
business house and buyers of that house’s product. Sometimes the
publication is circulated only among the house salesmen or other
employees.
Examination of more than one hundred house-organs revealed a condition
that prevails in every department of publishing—lack of standardization
in dimensions. The smallest house-organ measured about 3 × 5 inches and
the largest 9 × 12 inches. The dimensions grew, from the smallest to the
largest, by quarter inches and half inches. There are many small pocket
house-organs, some of which fit commercial envelops and others fit
baronial envelops. If there is a favorite size for house-organs, it is 6
× 9, which dimensions are those of Examples 432, 436, 437, 441, 447 and
448, illustrated in this chapter. Another favorite size is 7 × 10
inches, which are the dimensions of Examples 444 and 449. House-organs
planned in the style of newspapers and containing four or eight pages
are usually 8 × 11 or 9 × 12 inches in size.
A different stock is frequently used for the covers of house-organs, but
equally popular is the self-cover style—the first page of an eight- or
sixteen-page form containing the cover design. The practices that govern
the use of cover designs on periodicals apply to some extent to
house-organs, although typographic covers are more often found on the
last-mentioned kind of publication.
Example 441 shows a typographic cover in which most of the page is given
over to a table of contents—not a bad idea when the contents are
abundant.
Should a house-organ consist of only two or four leaves, it is
unnecessary to give over the entire first page to a cover design, as the
title could be treated as in Examples 436, 438, 439, 448 and 452. If the
cover page is to be lettered, it is well to have it treated in a style
that will harmonize with the typography of the inner pages. See Example
435.
Seldom is there any reason for a house-organ to contain more than four
or eight pages. Few of the more ambitious house-organs survive the first
one or two issues, or are profitable if they do. A house-organ to be
effective should be published regularly. Too many instead of being
periodicals are “spasmodicals.” There is more likelihood of a
house-organ being published regularly if it be modest in plan and brief
in contents. Printers err when they suggest elaborate and bulky
house-organs to their customers. The smaller kind, neat and stylish in
typography, attractive in make-up, good to look at and easy to read, are
more desirable under average conditions.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 433
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 434
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 435
Pages from a quaintly-treated house-organ, by the Seaver Howland
Press, Boston. Both type and illustration suggest the “good old
days”
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 436
Distinctive lettering and typography
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 437
Interpolated paragraphs in italic
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 438
A house-organ in miniature
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 439
Planned after the printer’s house-organ at the left
]
The titles of house-organs are not usually as conventional and dignified
as those of magazines and other periodicals, although those who have a
liking for the conventional select the word “Bulletin,” adding to it as
part of the title a word which connects it with the business. Hence we
have the “Linotype Bulletin,” the “Hampshire Service Bulletin” (Example
436) and the “Ad.-League Bulletin” (Example 440). Printers, for their
house-organs, use a variety of titles that include “Typographica,”
“Imprint” (Examples 432, 442, 445, 446, 450 and 451), “The Typographer”
(Example 438), “Pica” (Example 448), “Type Talks” (Example 452),
“Warde’s Words” (Example 447). In other lines are to be found “Drug
Topics,” “Statler Salesmanship,” “The Constructive Banker,” “The
Wallace” (Example 444), “Poor Richard’s New Almanack,” “Selling Sense”
and “The Ambassador” (Example 455).
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 440
Attractive rule treatment of headings
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 442
Simple, effective typography
]
The number of columns that should be used in house-organs depends, of
course, on the size of the page. One column is sufficient for the small
pocket publication (Examples 433, 434, 435, 445, 446, 453, 458 and 459).
The page should be made up in two columns when the size is about 6 × 9
(Examples 438, 439, 440, 444, 448, 449, 450 and 451). The purpose of
more than one column is to make reading easier and not just to provide a
narrow column. On some house-organs the columns are made so narrow that
it is as difficult to read them as when they are very wide.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 441
Contents outlined on the cover
]
The margins on the house-organs should be of the same proportions as on
periodicals and booklets—the most margin at the foot, with the type-page
inclining toward the head and binding side. In fact, such margins should
be found on all printing in which there are two facing pages.
The type-faces used on house-organs should be legible and at the same
time good-looking. Caslon Oldstyle is suitable for house-organs as well
as most other purposes. The Caslon style of type is used on Examples
433, 434, 436, 440, 441, 448, 450, 451, 453, and 455. Other faces used
on the house-organs here reproduced are Kennerley Oldstyle (Examples
432, 445, 446), Old-Style Antique (Examples 442 and 447), Cloister
Oldstyle (Example 452), Bodoni Book (Examples 457 and 458). These and
other good faces are available for house-organ purposes.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 443
Dark-toned typography by Griffith-Stillings Press, Boston
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 445
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 446
Rubricated typography by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 444
Suitable treatment for this silverware publication
]
What has been said in the chapter on “Periodicals” about the suitability
of type for headings applies as well to house-organs. In most of the
pages here reproduced it will be seen that the head letter is the same
kind of type as the text letter or is harmoniously similar.
The treatment of display announcements or house advertising should be
such as to carry out the purpose for which the house-organ is issued.
If, as an instance, the publication is issued for the purpose of
presenting the attractive wares of a stationery house, it would be well
to devote half of the pages to illustrations, descriptions and prices of
stationery supplies. Sometimes when the display announcements are as
numerous as the text pages, an announcement is placed on the left page
facing a text page at the right. When this is done, the typography
should be neat in appearance; the type sizes should not be large, and
the type itself not any blacker than, say, Caslon Oldstyle. Especially
is it a mistake to use dark faces when illustrations of merchandise are
a part of the page. Dark type-faces subordinate and render ineffective
such illustrations.
A house-organ designed entirely—display announcements included—in the
original Caslon Oldstyle by someone who knows how to get the best out of
the type, would be ideal. The capitals, small capitals and lower-case of
roman, and the capitals and lower-case of italic, can be manipulated so
as to produce an abundance of typographic variety and interest.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 447
Easily read and pleasingly illustrated. By the Warde Press, Pittsburgh
]