Key question
What makes a good publication, and who are you designing it for?
Editorial design is the creation and layout of publications: magazines, newspapers, books, reports, and digital articles. It arranges text and imagery so that content becomes clear, readable, and distinctive. The design is always in service of the content and the readership.
Learning objective: You can distinguish between publication formats, describe the roles in editorial and art direction, and choose a format suited to the content and readership.
Form follows content and readership.
1.1 / Formats and Media
Every medium has its own logic.
Editorial design covers a wide variety of media. You'll encounter four main families particularly often:
01
Newspaper
Up to date and quickly produced, with numerous columns and a strict system for every day.
02
Magazine
Published periodically and relies on imagery, regular features and a recognisable look and feel.
03
Book & Report
Long texts or figures, calm pages, focus on readability and orientation.
04
Digital
Articles, newsletters and apps with layouts that adapt to any screen width.
Today, many titles are published in both print and digital formats. The core principle remains the same: a system of grids, typography, and hierarchy that is populated afresh with each issue. In editorial design, you are therefore designing a repeatable system rather than individual pages.
You are designing a system, not just a page.
1.2 / Roles and Readership
Great publications are created as a team.
Many roles collaborate within an editorial team: the editor-in-chief is responsible for the content, while the art direction oversees the visual appearance. Layout, picture editing, proofreading and production work together to realise the issue. In smaller teams, one person often takes on multiple roles.
All decisions are guided by the readership: who reads, where, for how long, and with what prior knowledge? A commuter on a tram reads differently from a collector who keeps every issue.
01
Art Direction
Develops the visual concept and ensures that every edition aligns with it.
02
Collaboration
Copy, imagery, and layout are developed in parallel and require clear coordination.
03
Readership
Who is reading, where, and for how long: this determines the format, font, and page layout.
Design for the people who read.
1.3 / Scan or read
How it is read determines the form.
Not every publication is read in the same way. Willberg and Forssman distinguish between different ways of reading: a novel is read linearly, a newspaper is skimmed for information, and a reference book is consulted for specific details. Those who scan need strong entry points; those who read linearly need calm, uncluttered pages of text.
Format, scope and frequency of publication stem from content, readership and reading habits. A city magazine like «Quer» combines both: quick bites for skimming and long-form features to immerse yourself in.
Reading direction first, then the layout.
Exercise
Compare publications
Task: Analyse three different publications and deduce the requirements for "Quer" from them.
STEP 1
Select a newspaper, a magazine and a digital publication.
STEP 2
Note down the format, length, frequency of publication and the presumed readership.
STEP 3
Highlight sections for scanning and sections for linear reading.
STEP 4
Formulate three requirements for the format and design of 'Quer'.
Evaluation: Which design elements support scanning, and which support reading?