- When we think about a publication,
we consider it on the screen as an InDesign file.
A printer produced it and now exists
as two-dimensional pages.
The reader will read one page
and move on to the next in order.
This is wrong.
An editorial publication or book
is a three-dimensional object.
The viewer may skim the pages forward or backward.
In an editorial publication and certain types of books,
if all typography and page layout is the same,
he or she will quickly tire and set it down.
An excellent publication should behave like a great film.
There are quiet moments when the characters have a nice chat
and then loud shocking moments
as Godzilla tears through Tokyo.
Some sections of the film are very slow and seem to drag on
but make the viewer think of it.
There are no explosions here.
And of course, there are fast and exciting moments
like a car or a chariot race.
All of these form a cohesive and interesting experience.
If a film were a traditional fiction book
with the same gray block of type on every page,
nobody would watch it.
So when I start a publication project,
I map out the rhythm I think the publication should follow.
Where should it be loud, quiet, have quick rhythm,
and how does it finish?
I draw it out as a long chart.
This helps me see the publication as a whole.
Now I'm ready to start laying out the content.
I use my map as a guide telling me
when I need a big text page that is loud
and demanding attention.
Or when I need a very soft and quiet moment
for something serious with gravity,
meaning a simple text page with generous negative space.
And when I want to hit the viewer with a big close up image
to get his or her attention.
The sequential design follows the same rules
as a single page or screens composition.
Similar forms should echo throughout the layout.
The designer applies a consistent proportion system.
The color or black and white palette
works with the content to help the viewer's understanding.
I place an image that has a prominent shape.
I use that as a guide to determine the next picture.
I can then use another shape
from the second image and continue along.
The viewer may not notice this,
but the experience will be seamless,
creating a precise rhythm.
I also use this approach when I'm dealing with color.
In this instance,
an annual report for a photographic foundation,
there are only four colors, pink, yellow, white, and black.
And there's one typeface in the same size and weight
throughout the book.
Since the cover was pink,
I used pink on the first spread and introduced white.
The typography is the same as the cover's type.
After a few spreads of text, I added a yellow page
to the pink and introduced black and white photographs.
These are laid out as a small group of photos
creating a staccato effect.
The yellow from the previous spread
gave me license to make an entire spread yellow.
Now, I increase the size of a black and white photo,
and introduce a color one.
The viewer has now seen
all the colors and types of photographs.
I then added a full page image
to create a dynamic spread and go back
to a white page with black text.
The color and forms on each spread lead to the next one.
I can cycle through the palette
and expand or contract the images as needed.
Rhythm is also a way to lead the viewer along a path
and then throw in a wrench.
When I need to stress a point,
I may place a double spread image
in the middle of a series of dense text pages.
Or I might pull out a sentence and use an entire spread.
It's these changes in the familiar rhythm
that keep the reader's interest.
It's tiresome when each page is exactly like the one before.
These hard stops or loud moments
can signify a new chapter or section.
A series of image only pages
can create a publication within a publication.
Each variation signals to the reader
that the content is different in meaning and importance.
Some of the masters of sequential design
like Alexey Brodovitch,
never felt they had made the perfect solution.
It's a complicated task involving typography,
grids, color, images, multiple pages,
and the factor of time as the viewer reads.
Successful sequential design
requires the long view and the micro.
Not only do you need to think of the publication as a whole,
but you also need to design every spread
with flawless typography and craft.
Some say designing is easy,
like art class in elementary school, we know it's not.
But it's challenging in a fun way.