Well, this is a little embarrassing. I need to get in a better habit of writing twice a week. Fact is, I didn’t do two last week, so this week you lovely people will get three. So here’s the first.

In my design development class, we are assigned to draw a magazine layout on paper. No computer or program. Just straight up pencil and paper. It was nice for a change to put something down instead of staring at a bright computer screen. It reminded me of my senior year at Concordia College. I was working on my senior thesis, which was designing the set for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It was quite a challenge but in the end I finished it. While I was working on it, I had to draw out design plans, much like I am doing now with a magazine layout. To be honest, this was perhaps the most relaxing part of the whole design process. A layout plan is made after aesthetic decisions are made. There’s no more need to pick out a color or decide where the window or text box will go.

Instead, all the measurements need to be made. Angles need to be precise. The idea is that you could give the plan to anyone and they could still build the layout. This is especially relevant when it comes to theatre. While I did help build the set, our Technical Director was in charge. Even though he had to tell his workers what to build, I had to tell him how to build it. That is why layout are so handy, even if you yourself are the one building it. It is much easier being able to visually see what needs to be built than to be verbally told. You can look at the details and figure out how it is suppose to be put all together.

A layout is only as useful as the person making it wants it to be though. If the designer doesn’t put in the necessary information, it’s useless. A person making an outline has to learn how to have an eye for detail. There are so many little things that can be easily missed. That’s why I like making layout on pencil and paper. I can move the paper around and look at different angles to make sure I didn’t miss anything. That’s what I find relaxing. I don’t need to make any decisions. I just have to make sure everything is accounted for.