Module 4
Style Sheet
• A style sheet is a file or form that is used in word
processing and desktop publishing to define the layout
style of a document.
• A style sheet contains the specifications of a
document’s layout, such as the page size, margins,
fonts and font sizes.
• In modern word processors such as Microsoft Word, a
style sheet is known as a template
• The term style sheet was originally used in the print
publishing industry as a basis or template for creating
media.
• It was basically a sample sheet that showed how news
and magazine articles would be laid out on a page.
• This was carried over to desktop and online publishing
software where the style sheet functions very much in
the same way, except that, this time, instead of a visual
guide, it affects the actual document automatically.
• In digital desktop publishing and digital media, the style
sheet is an abstraction and acts as a tool for separating
presentation and content so that the person creating
the content does not have to worry about its
presentation, if the latter is done by a different person.
• This means that an expert on visual presentation can
work on the style sheet and another expert on content
creation can work on his/her side without worrying
about how the content looks.
• This is a common feature of desktop publishing
software like Adobe InDesign, PageMaker, etc., as well
as of word processing software like Microsoft Word.
Some formatting elements provided by style sheets
include:
• Typeface/font
• Emphasis (bold, italics, underline)
• Justification
• Tab stops and indentation
• Color
• Superscript and subscript
• Drop caps, letter cases and strikethroughs
Page Layout
• A layout is the play in placement of given text and suitable images on
a given surface area. Layouts can be classified in three categories:
• Text Dominant
• Image Dominant
• Image and Text
• Text Dominant: If there is too much or large text then it will have to
be text dominated. But from the layout point of view the headline
could be used in large display fonts occupying more area if that
creates the desired effect.
• Image Dominant: These layouts are seen regularly in our newspapers
and magazines, where a picture of a celebrity takes centre stage or
the product is shown in all its glory like in most automobile
advertisements.
• Image and Text: In these types of layouts, image and text are used in
equal measure, and given a balanced exposure.
Orientation of the Layout
• The paper or surface we use for artworks usually is rectangular in
shape.
• How you place it when you start working on it, taller side i.e.-vertical
or wider side i.e. horizontal is what is called orientation of layout.
• When one starts to work on a design, its important to decide which
option we want to use or better, which one will be more suitable to
the job we are about to execute.
• For example if it’s a letter, it is always in a vertical format as the line
length in a horizontal orientation will become too long to read and
comprehend.Besides business letters, certificates and other such
official documents are normally stored in files, so the vertical or
portrait style is preferred.
• The choice of format has to be made only on some occasions as
certain things already have a fixed format like:
Vertical: Newspapers, Magazines, Most Books, Journals
Horizontal: Hoardings, Banners and Sign Boards, Vehicle graphics.
Layout of a Newspaper
• Newspapers as you may have observed have a typical layout and the
pages are divided vertically into what is known as columns.
• The column size in different newspapers also vary, newspapers are
generally around eight columns of 4cms width each.
• The divisions are made by line spaces left blank between two sets of
texts, these are called gutters.
• These help to separate the news items as well as aid readability.
• If you closely notice the advertisements you will notice that, they also
confirm to the columns.
• The width is measured by columns, while the height is measured in
centimeters.
• These are important as they not only form the basis of the layout, but
also, help in calculating the cost-in terms of column/ centimeters.
• In some newspapers there are less number of columns whereas, the
width of each column may be more.
