Editorial &
Publication Design
20 laws, rules & guidelines for print and digital media
20 laws shown
Typographic hierarchy
TypographyEstablish at least three clear levels with size, weight, or style. The reader’s eye must know instantly where to enter and where to go next.
Serif display at 48pt, sans medium at 18pt, serif regular at 10/14pt.
The measure rule
TypographyA comfortable line length is 45–75 characters including spaces. For multi-column text, shoot for 55–60.
At 10pt body text, a 64mm column width typically hits the sweet spot.
Leading as breath
TypographySet body leading at 120–145% of point size. Tight reads as dense and authoritative; loose reads as airy. Never go below 110% for text beyond three lines.
10pt body → 13pt leading is a reliable baseline for long-form editorial.
The two-typeface rule
TypographyLimit each publication to two type families. Introduce a third only for code or captions, never for decoration.
Freight Display + Graphik. Playfair + Roboto. One serif, one sans.
Tracking discipline
TypographyHeadlines tight (−10 to −30 units). Body at 0. Small caps and all-caps labels loose (+80 to +150). Reversed tracking destroys readability.
Kicker labels in all-caps at 8pt need +120 tracking minimum.
The baseline grid
Grid & layoutAll text should sit on a common baseline grid. Every leading value, cap height, and image bottom should snap to multiples of the body leading.
13pt body leading → set a 13pt baseline grid throughout the document.
Column modularity
Grid & layoutBuild on a modular column grid (6, 8, or 12 columns) with a fixed gutter. Text blocks, images, and captions should always span whole column units.
A 12-column grid lets you run 2, 3, 4, or 6 equal columns in one system.
Margin as frame
Grid & layoutMargins are the publication’s breathing room and binding protection. Inner margin smallest, bottom margin largest. Classic ratio: 1 : 1.5 : 2 : 2.5.
On A4: inner 15mm, top 20mm, outer 25mm, bottom 30mm.
Optical alignment
Grid & layoutMechanical alignment is not always visual alignment. Pointed glyphs and round forms must hang slightly outside the margin. Trust your eyes over your rulers.
A large “V” flush to the margin looks indented — move it left by ~3% of its width.
Proximity & separation
Space & rhythmSpace between elements communicates relationship. Captions hug images. Violating proximity forces the reader to consciously parse structure instead of absorbing it.
Headline → 4pt space → body. Previous section → 16pt space → headline.
White space as voice
Space & rhythmEmpty space is editorial content. Generous white space signals quality, authority, and confidence. Never fill space because you can; leave it if the content doesn’t justify filling it.
Luxury magazines: 30% fill. Tabloids: 85%. Both are deliberate editorial choices.
13pt
26pt
Vertical rhythm
Space & rhythmAll vertical spacing should be expressible as multiples of the body leading. A 13pt grid means spacing of 13, 26, 39, 52pt. Arbitrary spacing breaks the page’s beat.
Display heading margin-bottom: 26pt. Subhead margin-top: 39pt.
Entry points
Space & rhythmEvery spread needs at least three designed entry points — dominant headline, pullquote, and image caption — so the reader can jump in wherever the eye lands.
Pullquotes, drop caps, subheads, and bold stand-firsts all create entry points.
Colour economy
ColourA publication palette is: one neutral, one paper/ground colour, and one accent used sparingly and consistently. A second accent only if it encodes distinct meaning.
The Economist: black, white, red. One accent, instantly recognisable.
Contrast ratio law
ColourBody text must achieve a minimum 7:1 contrast ratio (WCAG AAA). Display text: 4.5:1. Never rely on colour alone to encode meaning — always pair with shape, weight, or position.
Black (#000) on white (#fff) = 21:1. Dark grey (#595959) on white = 7:1.
Section colour coding
ColourIf colour encodes section identity, it must appear consistently on the same element — a folio rule, a running head background, a rule weight. Legible from a spread thumbnail at arm’s length.
National Geographic: yellow border on every cover. Zero ambiguity at distance.
The dominant image rule
ImageEvery spread should have one image that is clearly dominant — at least twice the area of the next largest. A page of equal-sized images has no focal point and creates visual noise.
One full-column bleed + two quarter-column secondary images reads better than three equal thirds.
Axis of action
ImageSubjects in photographs have a natural direction — the gaze, the motion, the gesture. Always position them so they face into the page. A subject facing the gutter pulls attention away from the content.
A portrait on a right-hand page should face left, into the text.
Caption proximity
ImageA caption must be immediately adjacent to its image with no ambiguity. Captions beside require a strong visual alignment. A caption orphaned from its image is a credibility failure.
Caption baseline should sit no more than 6pt below the image bottom edge.
Resolution & reproduction
ImagePrint: 300 dpi at final reproduction size. Screen: 144 ppi for retina displays. Never scale a raster image up beyond its native resolution. Always verify at 100% before sign-off.
A 1000px image at 3 inches = 333 dpi. Fine. At 5 inches = 200 dpi. Soft.
