Visual Grammar: Design Foundations for Editors

Design awareness is increasingly important in the quick-publishing models embraced by web publishers and rapid-release book publishers. Freelance editors become more valuable to publishing production process when, in addition to knowing written rhetoric, they understand the basic grammar of document design. This booklet explains the four basic principles of design along with examples of what to do and instances where things go wrong. It also presents how each principle can serve a project's message, purpose, and audienceVisual Grammar: Design Foundations for Editors explains the four basic principles of design along with examples of what to do and instances where things go wrong. It also presents how each principle can serve a project's message, purpose, and audience. The booklet includes 20 images illustrating the concepts of size, vertical and horizontal alignment, curve alignment, fonts and font alignment, eyeline and eyesight, proximity unity and exclusion, and other graphic design fundamentals. The author presents the basics of graphic design, not just for book design but other graphic design skills for editors, including: How to design a lead magnet, how good page layout design assures a message is delivered the way it is intended.Each of the foundational principles of graphic design-contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity, and hierarchy-are rhetorical tools editors need to help organize, emphasize, and clarify texts in ways that are appropriate for a finalized, ready-to-publish work. An additional understanding of how to choose appropriate typefaces and how to typeset pages for optimal readability puts budding designers in a great position to create elegant and effective reader-ready documents.