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design guide

all you need to know about designing for the DI, and then some

design guide spring 2023 created in two days, for some reason. a summary of design tools in relation to the brand of the DI. designed and written by julia eversmann, managing editor for visuals from 20222023. disclaimer: i am a designer, not a writer. good luck.

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Contents foreword 9 brand and visual style

rules of typesetting 23 graphic design basics 33 applying design tools to our brand

Foreword This booklet is full of brand guidelines, rules, and suggestions. Read through them, practice them, and do your own research. If there comes a time when significant change is needed for the sake of our brand, make the changes. Newsrooms are constantly transforming, so the things outlined here may not be relevant years down the road. The general rules of typesetting will always be helpful, but you do not necessarily have to adhere to every single rule. If you go outside of the box, just make sure you can justify it and that it is benefitting your design overall.

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brand & visual style 11

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BR AND & VI SUAL ST Y LE

Logo The typeface used in the logo is Giza, which is based on an old metal typeface (a great homage to traditional print)! This should be a secondary choice to the wordmark. The words “The Daily Illini” convey more to a new reader than “The DI.”

C: 0

R: 242

M: 74

G: 103

Y: 99

B: 35

Hex: #f26723

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When using the logo, always keep it in the usual DI orange. Rarely use color variations as this is one of the primary elements of communicating our brand. If placing the logo on an image, graphic, or any other background that isn’t black or white, make sure you’re giving the logo enough contrast from the background. Experiment with the placement, drop shadows. Changing the color of the logo itself is a last resort, it is recommended to stay within the brand’s colors.

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Wordmark This is used in every aspect of our brand: on our website, in advertisements, etc. It is a slightly modified version of the modern, serif font, Bodoni. If you ever need to recreate this, use Bodoni Std Book, tracking at -20, optical kerning. Modifications include a clipped top of the “A”, and a clipped bottom of the “N”.

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New readers are most llikely not going to recognize our logo until they become more familar with us. I recommend involving the wordmark more heavily to extend our audience outreach. Always make sure there is adequate spacing around the workmark wherever it is used. If it is too close to other elements, such as other text, it may get lost. Making sure there is enough negative space around the wordmark at all times ensures it will always stand out.

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Lettermark The lettermark is preferred when something does not allow for the wordmark or the logo. Both the logo and the wordmark should be prioritized over using the lettermark as it is the least associated with our brand.

Bodoni Std Book Tracking: -20

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Brandmark The brandmark should be used in partnership with other Illini Media entities as a secondary identifier. Again, it is highly recommended to avoid using this in place of the logo or wordmark as it is unfamilar to new readers.

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BR AND & VI SUAL ST Y LE

Typography Our headlines on socials, print, and web are Gibson. It’s low contrast, making it suitable for any medium you throw it at. There are a variety of different weights to use. It is provided through Adobe fonts, which is free for us, and helps maintain consistent typeface usage across our website, socials, and print. Regardless of how the DI changes in the coming years, this font should not be changed. It is fully integrated into our brand, and connects every aspect of the DI. We need to maintain consistency for our audience! Every font has its faults, and can always benefit from

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a typographer’s touch. With Gibson, you might notice some awkward spacing in between individual letters. This can be manually adjusted using kerning. The kerning icon is shown below in the example. Place your cursor in between the two letters you want to move apart, and increase the kerning value. Paying attention to small details can make all the difference, especially in display type or headlines!

ORANGE In bolder weights, the letterforms of Gibson may overlap in some places.

Before

After

rules of typesetting 23

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R U LES O F T Y PESET T I NG

Introduction Typesetting is an extremely important skill for any designer at the DI. We are presenting the voices of our talented journalists, and we need to make sure their stories are as readable as possible. Readability is different from legibility: it’s not enough to just throw words on a page, it’s about presenting the text in a way that is as easy as possible for a reader to navigate. Our job is to design for the text, not the other way around. The content itself will always be the priority. If your design isn’t working for the text, change the design.

RUL ES OF T Y P ESET T I N G

Display type This is type that is used at larger sizes to grab people’s attention. Headlines, titles, pullquotes, and any other form of header fall into this category. You have more room to experiment here than with body type. High contrast fonts will be legible at larger sizes, and stylized fonts can even serve to grab your viewer’s attention. Light and thin weights should only be used when you are working with display type. This is not to say that you can’t stick with a simple, low contrast font for your display type! Every design calls for something different.

Serifs and sans serifs A serif font is a font with serifs (see example). A sans serif font is a font without serifs (“sans”). Serifs are typically seen as more traditional or formal, while sans serifs are considered as being more modern. For body text, serifs are generally considered as being more readable. Even if you’re a fan of sans

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serifs, consider sticking to a serif font in the body copy of your designs in the name of readability.

This is a serif. This is a sans serif.

ah Serifs are the small strokes at the end of larger strokes in a letterform. They are the “feet” of the letter!

RUL ES OF T Y P ESET T I N G

Type Pairing Whether it’s pairing display type, or display and body type, you should think carefully. Pairing two different typefaces is usually plenty, and pairing three is the absolute maximum. Too much variety can distract the viewer from what they should be looking at, and take away from the overall quality of your work. Type pairing can be a challenge, but it can make your design when done correctly. Google is your friend! If you have a font you know you want to use, look online for recommended font pairings that will make your design look coherent.

More rules This section is dedicated to small details that can really improve your work when you give it the attention it needs. Some of these might seem unnecessary or like they might not make much of a difference, but they add up! Practicing these can improve readability overall.

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ALWAYS ADD LETTERSPACING TO ALL CAPS: To improve readability, always add extra letterspacing to type set in all caps or small caps. This helps the reader to differentiate the letterforms more easily, and you’ll notice that it just looks better! You can do this by increasing the tracking (which has been done to this header).

DON’T SET BODIES OF TEXT IN ALL CAPS: Lowercase type is easier for the reader to follow because the letterforms are more distinct. Notice in all caps that every letter is the same height and width, meaning that your eyes have to do more work to figure out what letter you’re looking at.

NEVER CENTER MORE THAN THREE LINES: When we are reading line by line, the process is sped up when your eyes know where to go next. When text is centered, the reader then has to search for the beginning of each line, instead of knowing exactly where it begins. If you have more than three lines, stick with left-aligned text.

RUL ES OF T Y P ESET T I N G

ALL ABOUT LEADING: Leading is the space between lines of text. A good rule of thumb is to take the size of your type, and add 4 to that number. This booklet is set in size 12 pt type, and the leading is 16 pt. Always manually adjust the leading for display and body type.

NEVER (OR RARELY) LETTERSPACE LOWERCASE TYPE: The safe zone for adjusting letterspacing (tracking) of body text is between -10 and 10. In rare cases, to conserve space in print, this can be pushed to -20, but try your best to avoid this.

AVOID KNOCKED OUT TEXT IN PRINT (I’M CURRENTLY BREAKING THIS RULE): Knocked out text is the color of the paper, on a black or color background (it’s being “knocked out” from the background color). It should be avoided with body text, only use it for display or bolder weights. This is important for print, newsprint and ink can be unpredictable, intricate details could be muddled and lost. On high quality paper, you may have more luck with it printing well.

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ITALICIZE YOUR AMPERSANDS: A suggestion for typesetting is to use italicized ampersands as they are usually more stylized and interesting to look at! This will not look good in every scenario, but it’s a good tool to consider. Always look at the italic option to see what you’re working with, and use your design intuition to decide whether to utilize it!

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ALL ABOUT INDENTS: Do not, under any circumstance, use the “tab” key to indent your paragraphs. A good size indent falls in the range of 8 points to 1 pica.

HOW TO SEPARATE PARAGRAPHS: You have two options: indents, or line breaks. Never use both at the same time. If you use indents, you shouldn’t indent the first paragraph, but should indent every subsequent paragraph. It is used to guide the reader to the following chunk of text, so it is not necessary for the beginning paragraph. If you use linebreaks, simply separate every paragraph (again, do not use indents if you do this).

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LINE MEASURE Under the “Info,” tab on InDesign, you are able to see how many characters are in a selected line of text. The most readable line measure will fall in between 45-75 characters.

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GR APHI C DESI GN BASI CS

Design is communication Learning how to communicate through visual language is an extremely valuable skill. You will find visual communication is everywhere, all the time: in the advertisements you walk past, in the textbook you’re reading, in the posts you scroll past on social media. As designers in a newsroom, the importance of visual communication is elevated. We need to show the audience what the story is about before they read it, and interest them enough to read the rest. The following principles are in no way the only tools you should be using, but are a good foundation for building strong visual communication.

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COMPOSITION: A strong composition will look balanced. Does your canvas feel too crowded? Too empty? Step back and look at it from afar. Recognizing the simple shapes that are making up your design can help you best organize it. If you want to ensure that you’re using consistent proportions and alignments, you can never go wrong with adhering to a grid. Is there an element that first catches the viewer’s eye? Use this element to guide the viewer where you want them to look next. It’s the point of entry into your design, and you get to lead the way from there. Negative space is your friend! Don’t feel like you have to fill every inch of available space. Negative space can put even more emphasis on the few elements that are present on your design.

HIERARCHY: Make sure your audience is seeing the most important elements first. Things like headlines or titles should be more heavily emphasized than subheads or body text. Add more emphasis by

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experimenting with color, larger sizes, bolder font weights, and more.

COLOR THEORY: Every color carries different symbolism and associations. Pay attention to the colors you’re using and how they communicate your message. Is your design more serious? Steer away from bright colors. Is it somber? Muted and cool tones will help convey this. Notice how our logo is a bright orange, but it is not fully saturated. There will rarely be a case where you need to use colors at full saturation, stick with tones that complement the visual elements you’re already working with. There will rarely be cases where you need to use a true black. Off black is almost always preferred. If you believe otherwise, break the rule, but make sure you have a reason to do so (maybe it complements some other aspect of your design). Understand color pairings. For some, this process is very intuitive. It’s still never a bad idea to refer to color pairings for inspiration or guidance (monochrome, complementary, analogous, etc. )

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CONTRAST: You can build this with color, texture, shape, type, etc. Contrast is great for bringing attention to different parts of your design, but be sure not to go overboard. Too much can make it hard on the eyes or confuse the viewer on where they are supposed to look. LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Do not use every element at your disposal. There are so many interesting tools out there, but make sure you aren’t overwhelming your design with so many elements that your message gets lost. Simplicity can be just as impactful.

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A PPLY I NG DESI GN TO O LS TO O U R BR AND

Online Maintain horizontal dimensions and consistent aspect ratios. Always upload visuals at high resolutions. This improves readability and makes the DI look professional. Keep an eye on leading of headlines. Refer back to the rules of typesetting. Make sure category labels have extra letterspacing applied (if they are in all caps, which they currently are). The chef (me) recommends keeping the body font

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on the site a serif. The current body text is a serif, Calluna. This is low contrast, which is important if someone is looking at our site on a low resolution screen. Thinner serifs may not translate as well or be as readable in this scenario. Additionally, studies show that serifs are most successful as body fonts for readability, with people being able to read faster and more easily than with a sans serif. That, and it doesn’t hurt to keep a bit of the traditionality associated with serif fonts, which is relevant to our brand as a newsroom that has been running since 1871.

Socials Ensure that posts are using a variety of different compositions (we have multiple template layouts on Adobe Express) and color palettes. Posts should be using color that coordinates with the graphic or photo it is using. If the photo is dark, don’t use an off-black background color. This will blend in too much with the photo! Use orange or off white to offer contrast. Keep an eye on spacing between the headline, byline, body text, any other type on the post. Is there enough space between the type, difference in

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weight between the type, difference in size? There should be levels of hierarchy so that the audience is able to easily make their way through the post while they’re quickly scrolling through their feeds.

Print Always work in a CMYK colorspace for visuals going in print, and always export these visuals at 300 ppi or higher. Only use lighter weight fonts for display type! They can become illegible at smaller sizes. They are meant to be used at larger sizes so that the intricate details translate. Don’t utilize high contrast fonts in print at smaller sizes! Just like light weight fonts, the intricate details of high contrast fonts can be lost in the printing process. A good example of this is the serif Bodoni, which does not work well as body copy because some of the thinner aspects of the letterforms are lost in the printing process. Only use knocked out text when the type is relatively bold or large, or when you are working with high-quality paper. Knocked out text is when the text is the color of the paper, on a black or color background (it’s being “knocked out” from the

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background color). Scenarios you might use this in our current print paper include infographics, labels, or the cover. Be conscious of the material you’re working with! Newsprint and ink can be tricky, and the color is usually going to print much darker than it appears on your screen. Lighten any visual elements that you believe might be at risky of printing awkwardly.

This book was designed, written, and edited by Julia Eversmann. The text face and headers are in Gibson, designed by Canada Type.