Six simple secrets to designing the perfect print layout

Advertising guru David Ogilvy created the perfect print layout in the 1950s, based on years of reader research. There’s no reason to be creative. Just follow his formula, and you will be fine.

If your job is to produce a print product (such as a handout or a page in a newsletter or a magazine), start with a letter-size page in Word or InDesign.

1. A caption goes under the photo. It should either describe what is happening in the photo or quote a key point from the story. Use your caption to sell the story to the reader. “Twice as many people read them as read body copy,” Ogilvy says in “Ogilvy on Advertising.” Use a sans serif font like Helvetica, Arial or Verdana in 9 to 11 poi
2. The photo goes at the very top. The layout works best with a horizontal photo. It should be professional photo that illustrates some key concept within your story. If your client won’t hire a photographer, buy a stock photo online from iStock or another source, and build the cost into your fee to the client.
3. Next comes your headline. Other than the photo, your headline should be the most dominant item on your page. Use a standard, highly readable font like Garamond, or Times New Roman, or Cambria in a size between 30 point and 42 point.
4. If you are working with a printed page, run your copy in three columns under the headline in the same font as your headline, but in a much smaller size. Usually 9 point to 12 point works fine. If you are working on a blog post, you will have to work with the web site’s style sheet and are pretty much at the mercy of the web master. Do what you can to keep it readable.
5. Use a drop cap in the first paragraph. Ogilvy’s research shows that drop caps help draw readers into the body copy.
6. Break up your copy with very short subheads. They also increase your copy’s readability.

Those are the basics. For the details, find a copy of “Ogilvy on Advertising” and study the hell out of it.