Pleasures of Design

Margins

The margins of a page are the frame in which the text sits. Classical book margins, which have their origins in early manuscripts, have the widest margin at the bottom (foot) and the narrowest on the inside (back). This principle still holds good for many publications. If the foot margin is too shallow the text will look as through it i falling off the page. When the reader sees the two pages together (a spread) the total of the two back margins will be visually equal to the outside margin (foredge). For this reason, pages should always be planned as spreads.

Remember to allow enough space for repeat lines that appear at the top of every page (running heads), if they are needed, and page numbers (folios).

Classical book margins make for a very static layout so if a publication needs to be more adventurous then consider some other variations.

more ... Page layout – Part 2