Research Guides: Undergraduate Thesis: Layout

Layout

InDesign

NewSchool recommends Adobe InDesign for designing your thesis book. Many free templates and tutorials are available online. Try starting with Blurb.com.

The Grid

The grid is your underlying structure which helps create visual hierarchy by sizing and positioning images and text to create a coherent design. The grid is the graphic expression of a set of assumptions about the permissible sizes and shapes of images and blocks of text. It enables you to achieve and sustain design consistency.

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Text

Your prime consideration for text should always be legibility. Text needs to be readable and perfectly clear. Don't allow it to compete with or obscure images; it should always work with them to explain and enhance them. Keep text clearly separate from images by spacing and/or maintaining a strong contrast between values of the images and values of the text blocks.

Familiarize yourself with type, it's legibility and emotional impact, by studying the typefaces used in books and magazines and on the web. Remember less is more--don't use more the three different fonts in any portfolio. Additionally, make sure all of the fonts are very different looking to create contrast.

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Images

Basics in Graphic Design

Remember, your thesis layout should follow graphic design standards. Here are recommended resources on design concepts including text, images, color, and white space.