Layout & Pre-press

02 / Grid & Type Area

02 / GRID & TYPE AREA

Key question

How do I lay out a page so that the content is well-supported?

The type area is the area that contains text and images. The margins around it are not empty; they give the page balance and structure. A grid further divides the type area into columns and rows.

Learning objective: You can construct a type area, create a column grid and set up master pages neatly.

White space is design.

2.1 / Type Area

Narrow inside, wide outside.

Classical type areas work with proportions: the inner margin is narrower than the outer margin, and the top margin is narrower than the bottom margin. This makes double-page spreads appear as a single unit.

Bund

Inside margin towards the binding. Allow slightly more for perfect binding.

Head and Foot

Less at the top, more at the bottom: the page appears balanced.

Division

Division into ninths or twelfths: the higher the number, the larger the type area.

In practice, the constructed type area is adjusted: to the binding, the content, and reading habits. The construction is a starting point, not a rule.

First proportion, then adaptation.

2.2 / Columns and baseline grid

Columns provide rhythm.

A column grid divides the type area into equal-width columns with fixed spacing. More columns mean more possibilities: six columns allow for layouts with one, two, three or six columns.

The baseline grid ensures that lines of text align at the same height across all pages and columns. It is derived from the line spacing of the body text.

One grid, many layouts.

Try it out

Type Area Calculator

Select the format, division, and columns. The tool calculates margins, the type area, and column width, and displays the double-page spread.

Page width (mm)

Page height (mm)

Division

Columns

Gutter (mm)

Margins (spread)

Gutter (inside)	16.4 mm
Head (top)	23.3 mm
Outside	32.9 mm
Foot (bottom)	46.7 mm
Type area	98.7 × 140 mm
Column width	47.3 mm

The division sets gutter and head at one part, outside and foot at two parts. The higher the division, the larger the type area. Binding often adds a little in the gutter.

2.3 / Master Pages and Layers

Whatever is repeated belongs on the master page.

Master pages contain everything that remains consistent across multiple pages: grids, page numbers, running headers, and guides. Any changes will then take effect everywhere at the same time.

Layers separate text, images and technical elements. For multilingual projects, each language is assigned its own text layer, whilst technical layers such as die-cut or fold lines are locked.

Set up once, accurate everywhere.

Try it out

Grid generator

Define the format, type area, columns, baseline grid, and modular rows. The tool displays a preview and generates an InDesign script that sets up the document with all grids, guides, and paragraph styles.

1 · Format

Width (mm)

Height (mm)

Pages

Bleed (mm)

Facing pages

2 · Type area

Enter margins freely.

Head (mm)

Foot (mm)

Inner (mm)

Outer (mm)

3 · Columns and baselines

Columns

Gutter (mm)

Type size (pt)

Leading (pt)

Module rows

Snap modules to baselines (foot margin is adjusted)Create paragraph styles (body, title, subhead, caption)

4 · Additional guides

Rule of thirdsGolden ratioCentre axes

Blue: type area and modules · Red: baselines · Magenta: guides · Pink: bleed

Type area

172 × 260.17 mm

Column width

25.33 mm

Lines per column

Module

25.33 × 39.69 mm

9 lines, gap 1 line

Margins

Head 15 · Foot 21.83
Inner 18 · Outer 20

How to use the script

In InDesign: Window → Utilities → Scripts.
In the panel, right-click the folder «User» → «Reveal in Finder» (Windows: «Reveal in Explorer»).
Put the .jsx file into the folder «Scripts Panel».
Double-click it in the Scripts panel. InDesign creates a new document with all grids.

The script changes no existing documents. It always creates a new one, with its own layer «Raster» for the guides.

Exercise

Develop a grid

Task: Develop the grid for the programme.

STEP 1

Construct the type area using the calculator.

STEP 2

Sets columns and baseline grid.

STEP 3

Sets up master pages and layers.

STEP 4

Design two double-page spreads with different content.

Evaluation: Where did the grid help, and where did you have to break it?

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