- When I mentioned rhythm in design,
I tend to get puzzled looks
as if I'm going to dance while working.
Obviously this would not be an efficient way to work
and not pleasant for anyone to watch.
Rhythm in a publication with multiple pages,
whether in print or on screen is about consistency,
legibility and variety.
If you look at a book printed in the 19th century,
you find little variation, very dense type
and the fairly great overall tone.
In the 20th century with the advent of radio
and television, layouts became more open
and had a greater reliance on images.
Today, we are immersed with competing visuals all the time,
online or on television
we expect several levels of information.
Augmented reality adds a new layer of information
that moves and it has sound.
Consequently, a multi-page design with the same tone
on every single page is quickly ignored.
Variation is required, I think about rhythm in publications
or online as if I were making a film.
Every good film will have quiet moments,
exciting action, loud moments and time to think.
There will be changes in volumes, scale and intensity.
The movie with two hours of constant car explosions
is not for me.
In a print or PDF screen-based document,
I put the pages together using InDesign.
I frequently refer back to the pages panel.
A good trick is to set the size of the icons
as jumbo and view the pages horizontally.
This gives me a good overview
of how the publication is paced.
If there are dull areas
or pages that are too similar in sequence.
There are publications that are lively and energetic
and others that may be scholarly or corporate.
Keep in mind that the grid typography
and proportions are consistent.
This allows room to create differences in layout.
Even an academic publication should have variation
to engage the viewer.
A common hang line consistent sizes for headlines and text
and varying sizes maintain order
and allow for more vitality.
Give yourself and the reader, the luxury of space.
If the content can only fit on 12 pages
when it fills the entire page in six point type, add pages.
You might be able to jam everything in and save money
but the final product will be ignored because nobody
can get past the clutter of the first few pages.
Consistency and variation in a publication creates intensity
and engages the reader with rhythm.
This creates a flow and helps the reader understand
what to know and how to feel.