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Design in Typography. General Rules of Display.

Before considering minor particulars, it is necessary to bear in mind as the fundamental principle in display work, that each single job, no matter how complicated or elaborate its details, should have one well-defined general idea of construction. It matters not how plain the work maybe, nor how ornate, the general effect of the whole must never be lost sight of. The same rule applies in any work of art. The limitations of subject and material must in every case be considered; but after making all allowance for these, there is in typography a practically unlimited field for the exercise of genuine artistic skill. Half-a-dozen lines of simple display matter will reveal the art of the skilled workman, or betray the weakness of the bungler. The engraver or lithographic designer has a greater scope for the originative faculty than the artistic compositor. The latter has his details ready to hand, and can select such as he deems most suitable; but the only opportunity he possesses of showing originality is in his general design, and in the due subordination of all details to the general effect.

First, as to the general form of the work. This must in a great measure depend upon the proportions of the page. The square form is not artistic, and fortunately is not common. The most usual form of page is the oblong, either upright or wide; and the approximate form of the matter (solid pages always excepted) is that of the oval or ellipse. In the composition of a painting, the prominent object is never placed exactly in the centre. In typographic composition the same rule holds good, for wherever it is possible, the principal lines are arranged above or below the centre of the page.

It should be remembered that the presence or absence of a border in no way affects the general rules of display. The only effect of the border is to restrict the margin, and within its boundary the same rules hold good as if there were no border at all.

It is always unfortunate when the principal line comes at the head of a page of open work. A full line at the head should also be avoided wherever possible. Neither should the larger, longer, or more important lines be allowed to gravitate to the bottom of the page. In the one case the work is top-heavy; in the other, it is weak in the upper portion.

We have indicated the ellipse as approximately the best form. Some years ago a German printer, studying the subject of title-pages, evolved an idea which, though whimsical at first sight, will really bear examination. His theory was, that the more closely the outline of the work imitated the general contour of the human form, the more satisfactory the effect would be. That is, roughly speaking, a somewhat elongated ellipse, with two points (corresponding to the two centres) for the longest and most emphatic lines. It is a curious but well-known faculty of the imagination to translate all vague or shadowy outlines into some semblance of the human figure; and any one who takes the trouble to examine the best specimens of typographic composition with this idea, will probably find that the German theory has a sound basis.

A favorite form with the old printers was the triangle, upright and inverted. In the title-pages of two centuries ago, inverted triangles abound. They were commonly made to diminish in size of type. A paragraph in lower-case would begin with a full line of great primer, a shorter line of english following, a still shorter line of pica, and downward in proportion, finishing off with an ornament at the bottom. This style, called by the French a cul de lampe, is in bad taste, and should be studiously avoided.

No display is good which does violence to the grammatical structure of the matter. Herein lies the chief difficulty, and it is in this respect that the compositor has the chief opportunity of displaying his constructive skill. The main lines should be distinguished by the boldness of the letter in which they are set, by their position in the page, and by additional space above and below, which causes them to stand forth in relief. They must be complete in themselves, and set forth at the first glance the general subject of the page. Careless and unsystematic display is always marked by the feebleness of the principal lines and undue prominence of subordinate matter. Part of the main line is sometimes thrown into the background, and the grammatical divisions so utterly ignored that the sense is obscured instead of emphasised by the division of the matter.

It detracts from the emphasis as well as the symmetry of the page when the most important line is at the head. Something should always lead up to it. It is generally allowable to take a minor line from the body (as in a circular or advt. « Established 1866, » « The Best House in the Trade, » &c.), and place at the head. A short rule beneath cuts the preliminary matter off from the main line, and gives it the necessary prominence. If no line can be introduced above the main line, a vignette or headpiece can generally be inserted, which will throw the leading line into its proper position, and restore the balance.

A common ambition of advertisers is to appear always at « the head of the column. » It is a mistake to suppose that this is the most prominent position. The eye instinctively slurs over titles. It is well known to proof readers that errors in head lines are more likely to escape detection than those in the body of an article. The two positions already indicated as the centres of the ellipse—points lying between the centre and the top and bottom of a newspaper column—are the most prominent.

Symmetry should always be observed. Thus, if all the chief lines in a displayed page are centred, a small paragraph of two or three lines ending in a break has a bad effect. It upsets the balance of the whole. Paragraphs are only admissible where they are sufficiently large to form a decided feature in the page. Where they consist of two or three lines only, they should be broken up as nearly as possible according to their grammatical structure, into lines of unequal length, and each part placed in the centre, as for example:

Prospectuses, Proposal Forms, Copies of Annual Report and Balance Sheet, or any other information, may be had on application at any of the Branch Offices.

This is the preferable arrangement:

Prospectuses, Proposal Forms, Copies of Annual Report and Balance Sheet, or any other information, may be had on application at any of the Branch Offices.

Instead of the irregular form of an ordinary paragraph, the symmetrical form of the ellipse comes in again with good effect.

The punctuation of a displayed page is a disputed point. There are two entirely opposite systems in use, both of which are objectionable. The old-fashioned style is to punctuate fully, as in solid matter. The latest affectation—as may be seen in many modern title-pages—is to omit punctuation signs altogether. A medium course is the best. The sole object of punctuation signs is to mark off the grammatical divisions of the matter. Now display—when it is carried out in an intelligent manner—answers this purpose far better, and renders punctuation to a great extent superfluous. Then the points are often page 8large enough to throw a line out of centre, and spoil the symmetry of the page. But however carefully the grammatical divisions are marked off in the composition, the comma will often be necessary in the body of the line, and the period at the end (which it is at present fashionable to omit) should always be retained. There is one substitute, however—the space ornament at each end of the line—but in severely simple display this resource is not available.

One more important point to consider in composition is that of light and shade. Lines should never be crowded together; but on the other hand, they should not be separated by uniform spaces. Here we have a second substitute for the ordinary grammatical marks of division. It is not uncommon to see a title-page without a single dividing rule—and the dividing rule is only a mark of punctuation, somewhat more emphatic than the ordinary period—yet by the mere device of wider space between the lines, the page is clearly portioned off into two or three sections. Still, no division of this kind, however decided it may be, will excuse the absence of the period.

Where the page is surrounded by a rule or border, the blank space above the first line should equal the principal whites in the body. This is frequently overlooked, and a page otherwise well-arranged is spoiled by the deficiency of space at the head. This rule applies equally to newspaper advertisements, where in fact it should especially be observed. Its neglect often brings the lines of separate announcements into closer juxtaposition than those of the advertisement itself. Thus:

In this instance, while the advertisement in the second column occupies precisely the same space as in the first, and the lines are closer together, the display is far more effective.