Before&After

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Fun with

words and
pictures
Wired magazines table
of contents is a toy box of
visual techniques.
Continued

Continued

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Fun with words and pictures

Wired magazines table of contents is a toy box of visual techniques
that you can use on all kinds of projects.

Our busy, sound-bite world puts a

premium on being brief, visually
and verbally. Few examples of brevity are better than magazines tables
of ontents. Part talk show, part road
c
map, a contents page rolls a magazines voice, typography, graphics, olors and
c
other elements into a compact menu of titles and
micro-trailers that convey a lot in tiny spaces.
Take Wired magazine, which is famous for its
tight, high-energy integration of words and images. Its contents page is a party mix of numerals,
illustrations, lists, bars and visual spritesa toy
box of visual techniques that can be applied to all
kinds of small-space projects. Lets scoop up the
lively stuff that makes it work.

Unusual is that its

mainly visual, not verbal,
Wireds contents page
makes the reader work
for its information, like
following a treasure map
or solving a puzzle. This
task is made entertaining by a smorgasbord of
visual techniques that
are wry, cool, funky,
surprisingeverything
but obvious; letting the
reader figure it out is
key to its engagement.

2 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

3 of 11

i U X

Reconfigure the images

Every image has an expressive core. To reveal it, big graphics are not simply
shrunk but reconfigured by masking, re-cropping, rearranging and so on.

Un-crop
The Nikon is lifted from
a page of cameras, then
un-cropped, so it now
looks at you like a big,
robotic eye.

Mask
The red diving helmet is
extracted from its background, which simplifies it,
essential for small graphics.

Super-crop
Full-size Jeff Bezos is just
right for the editorial layout
but radically cropped for
the contents page, which
fits and focuses attention
at the same time.

Downsize
Pieces are cut from a
much bigger collage and

rearranged for the tiny

space, which is oh-somore effective than merely
r
esizing the large original.

3 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

4 of 11

i U X

Basic styles

Words (or numerals) and images tightly interact. There are a dozen or so basic
configurations. Each configuration conveys some kind of meaning.

Box

Silhouette

Next to

Behind

Big

Breakouts

Medium

See through

Small

Illustration

Images
Cropping conveys meaninga standard box
is formal and restrained, a silhouette is open
and free, and a breakout conveys motion.
Illustration is iconic, artificial.

On top

Sizes
Size in real life conveys two thingshow big or
small an object is, and how near or far away it is.
Same-size elements are flat and static. Mix sizes
l
iberally to convey depth, motion, activity.

4 of 11

Relationships
Numerals can be placed next to, on top of,
behind and beside the image, and can look
like stickers, peekaboos, labels and physical
objects depending on which one you use.

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

5 of 11

i U X

Basic typography

Small spaces require super-tight writing and typography. A word or two in three or
four styles and sizes combine in each message. Each level signals a difference.

Short copy, multiple styles Quick! How do you jam

a section head, page number, six sub-section heads and
six headlines into one, easy-to-read square inch of space?
By using four, carefully crafted levels of type, like this:
Section head
Big, bold, serif, upperand lowercase

Page number
A light version of the
section-head typeface,
for continuity, colored
gray to avoid looking
like spots; matches
s
ection-head x height
For maximum clarity in the tiny
space, cinema-style typesetting
separates numbers from text
flush down the middle.

Sub-sections and headlines

Light and bold versions of one
sans-serif typeface; one uppercase, one lower. Note sizes (right).

5 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

6 of 11

i U X

Basic layout

A strong, repetitive structure is a must. Put words on one side, images on the
other, which keeps the look consistent no matter whats on the page.

Logo

Text

Image

Footer
Flirty
Like sloshing party
beverages, the images
splash over everywherehere, across
text column and footer
but the page structure
remains in place, which
is why it looks right even
with ifferent images.
d

A place for
e
verything
The page is divided
into two main zones
text column on the left,
images on the right
then two small ones
logo at the top, heavy
footer at the bottom.

6 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

7 of 11

i U X

Techniques . . .

Standing by
Superhero by number looks
surprisingly dimensional.
Crunching a number
The Mars Rover rolling along

Transparent
Page number through the
windshield is faded slightly to
mimic the glare of real glass.

Platform
An 84 as a three-deck
performance stage

Unexpected viewpoint
Is that a tugboat or a camera?
Hard to tell at a glance, which
creates the double-take.

Teensy
Just ordinary page numbers,
useful for contrast

Snapshot
Ordinary, rectangular mug,
a counterpoint to all the
e
xuberance

Crash landing
Jet sprawled over the footer,
number behind

7 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

8 of 11

i U X

Techniques . . .

Off the edge

Playful drawing bleeds to the
edge, lengthening the page.

Pen and ink

Medical-illustration style is classy;
extinct rhino is menacing from
ground level. (Below) 8s can be confused with 3s; pay attention.

Wordy flag
No graphic? Craft your own. Colored words are pretty interesting.

Hot wings
Flying chicken parts
Double overlap
If one overlap is good, two may be
better. Garish magenta, out-of-register, comic-style art stands out.

8 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

9 of 11

i U X

Techniques . . .

Array of stylessleek, ratty,

dark, light, big, smallkeeps the
treasure hunt moving.

Sprites
Tiny, fully rendered drawings
dot the pages, stepping, crawling, flying (below). Fun.

Cutout photo
High-tech pliers step
off the page.
Boxed
Suck it up
Oversize Dyson Hoovers
the page number.
Map
Simple illustration
Complex illustration
Breakout
Icon

9 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

10 of 11

i U X

Article resources

Credits
Wired Magazine (www.wired.com)

10 of 11

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

11 of 11

Subscribe to Before & After

Subscribe to Before & After, and become a
more capable, confident designer for pennies
per article. To learn more, go to
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
E-mail this article
To pass along a free copy of this article to
others, click here.
Join our e-list
To be notified by e-mail of new articles as
they become available, go to
http://www.bamagazine.com/email

i U X

Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understandable, useful and even fun for everyone.
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
Before & After magazine
323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Fax 916-784-3995
E-mail [email protected]
www http://www.bamagazine.com
Copyright 2008 Before & After magazine
ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass along a free copy of this article to others
by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you
may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections
for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and
let us know. To link Before & After magazine to your
Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.
For all other permissions, please contact us.

11 of 11| Printing formats

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Before&After

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Before & After is made to fit your binder

Before & After articles are intended for permanent reference. All are titled and numbered.
For the current table of contents, click here. To save time and paper, a paper-saver format of this article,
suitable for one- or two-sided printing, is provided on the following pages.

For presentation format

Print: (Specify pages 111)

For paper-saver format

Print: (Specify pages 1318)

Print
Format: Landscape
Page Size: Fit to Page

Save
Presentation format or
Paper-saver format

Back| Paper-saver format

Before&After

Before&After

Fun with

BAmagazine.com

i U X

0672

0672

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Fun with words and pictures

Unusual is that its

mainly visual, not verbal,
Wireds contents page
makes the reader work
for its information, like
following a treasure map
or solving a puzzle. This
task is made entertaining by a smorgasbord of
visual techniques that
are wry, cool, funky,
surprisingeverything
but obvious; letting the
reader gure it out is
key to its engagement.

Fun with words and pictures

i U X

words and
pictures
BAmagazine.com

Wired magazines table

of contents is a toy box of
visual techniques.

Continued

Fun with words and pictures

2 of 11

Wired magazines table of contents is a toy box of visual techniques

that you can use on all kinds of projects.

1 of 6

Before&After | www.bamagazine.com

Our busy, sound-bite world puts a

premium on being brief, visually
and verbally. Few examples of brevity are better than magazines tables
of contents. Part talk show, part road
map, a contents page rolls a magazines voice, typography, graphics, colors and
other elements into a compact menu of titles and
micro-trailers that convey a lot in tiny spaces.
Take Wired magazine, which is famous for its
tight, high-energy integration of words and images. Its contents page is a party mix of numerals,
illustrations, lists, bars and visual spritesa toy
box of visual techniques that can be applied to all
kinds of small-space projects. Lets scoop up the
lively stuff that makes it work.

0672 Fun with words and pictures

Before&After
Fun with words and pictures

Recongure the images

3 of 11

4 of 11
3 of 11

Big

Medium

Small

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Mask
The red diving helmet is
extracted from its background, which simplies it,
essential for small graphics.

Super-crop
Full-size Jeff Bezos is just
right for the editorial layout
but radically cropped for
the contents page, which
ts and focuses attention
at the same time.

i U X
Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

Every image has an expressive core. To reveal it, big graphics are not simply
shrunk but recongured by masking, re-cropping, rearranging and so on.

Un-crop
The Nikon is lifted from
a page of cameras, then
un-cropped, so it now
looks at you like a big,
robotic eye.

Silhouette

Illustration

4 of 11

Sizes
Size in real life conveys two thingshow big or
small an object is, and how near or far away it is.
Same-size elements are at and static. Mix sizes
liberally to convey depth, motion, activity.

2 of 6

Before&After | www.bamagazine.com

Next to

See through

On top

0672

0672
FunFun with words and pictures0672
with words and pictures

Relationships
Numerals can be placed next to, on top of,
behind and beside the image, and can look
like stickers, peekaboos, labels and physical
objects depending on which one you use.

Behind

Words (or numerals) and images tightly interact. There are a dozen or so basic
congurations. Each conguration conveys some kind of meaning.

Basic styles

Fun with words and pictures

Downsize
Pieces are cut from a
much bigger collage and
rearranged for the tiny
space, which is oh-somore effective than merely
resizing the large original.

Before&After

Box

Breakouts

Images
Cropping conveys meaninga standard box
is formal and restrained, a silhouette is open
and free, and a breakout conveys motion.
Illustration is iconic, articial.

0672 Fun with words and pictures

Before&After

Fun with words and pictures

Basic typography

5 of 11

5 of 11

6 of 11

BAmagazine.com

i U X

0672

Page number
A light version of the
section-head typeface,
for continuity, colored
gray to avoid looking
like spots; matches
section-head x height

i U X

0672
FunFun with words and pictures0672
with words and pictures

Flirty
Like sloshing party
beverages, the images
splash over everywherehere, across
text column and footer
but the page structure
remains in place, which
is why it looks right even
with different images.

Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

Sub-sections and headlines

Light and bold versions of one
sans-serif typeface; one uppercase, one lower. Note sizes (right).

Section head
Big, bold, serif, upperand lowercase

Short copy, multiple styles Quick! How do you jam

a section head, page number, six sub-section heads and
six headlines into one, easy-to-read square inch of space?
By using four, carefully crafted levels of type, like this:

Small spaces require super-tight writing and typography. A word or two in three or
four styles and sizes combine in each message. Each level signals a difference.

6 of 11

3 of 6

Before&After | www.bamagazine.com

A strong, repetitive structure is a must. Put words on one side, images on the
other, which keeps the look consistent no matter whats on the page.

Basic layout

Fun with words and pictures

For maximum clarity in the tiny

space, cinema-style typesetting
separates numbers from text
ush down the middle.

Image

Before&After

Logo

Text

Footer
A place for
everything
The page is divided
into two main zones
text column on the left,
images on the right
then two small ones
logo at the top, heavy
footer at the bottom.

0672 Fun with words and pictures

Before&After
Fun with words and pictures

Techniques . . .

Transparent
Page number through the
windshield is faded slightly to
mimic the glare of real glass.
Unexpected viewpoint
Is that a tugboat or a camera?
Hard to tell at a glance, which
creates the double-take.

Fun with words and pictures

Snapshot
Ordinary, rectangular mug,
a counterpoint to all the
exuberance

Before&After

Techniques . . .

Off the edge

Playful drawing bleeds to the
edge, lengthening the page.
Wordy ag
No graphic? Craft your own. Colored words are pretty interesting.

0672 Fun with words and pictures

7 of 11

8 of 11

4 of 6

Before&After | www.bamagazine.com

7 of 11

8 of 11

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Standing by
Superhero by number looks
surprisingly dimensional.
Crunching a number
The Mars Rover rolling along
Platform
An 84 as a three-deck
performance stage
Teensy
Just ordinary page numbers,
useful for contrast

Crash landing
Jet sprawled over the footer,
number behind

i U X
Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

Pen and ink

Medical-illustration style is classy;
extinct rhino is menacing from
ground level. (Below) 8s can be confused with 3s; pay attention.

Hot wings
Flying chicken parts
Double overlap
If one overlap is good, two may be
better. Garish magenta, out-of-register, comic-style art stands out.

0672

0672
FunFun with words and pictures0672
with words and pictures

Before&After
Fun with words and pictures

Techniques . . .

Fun with words and pictures

Sprites
Tiny, fully rendered drawings
dot the pages, stepping, crawling, ying (below). Fun.

Before&After

Article resources

0672 Fun with words and pictures

9 of 11

10 of 11
9 of 11

10 of 11

Wired Magazine (www.wired.com)

Credits

5 of 6

Before&After | www.bamagazine.com

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Array of stylessleek, ratty,

dark, light, big, smallkeeps the
treasure hunt moving.
Cutout photo
High-tech pliers step
off the page.
Boxed
Suck it up
Oversize Dyson Hoovers
the page number.
Map
Simple illustration
Complex illustration
Breakout
Icon

i U X
Fun with words and pictures

BAmagazine.com

0672

0672
FunFun with words and pictures0672
with words and pictures

Before&After
Fun with words and pictures

Subscribe to Before & After

11 of 11

Subscribe to Before & After, and become a

more capable, condent designer for pennies
per article. To learn more, go to
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
E-mail this article
To pass along a free copy of this article to
others, click here.
Join our e-list
To be notied by e-mail of new articles as
they become available, go to

11 of 11

6 of 6

BAmagazine.com

i U X

Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understandable, useful and even fun for everyone.
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
Before & After magazine
323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Fax 916-784-3995
E-mail [email protected]
www http://www.bamagazine.com
Copyright 2008 Before & After magazine
ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved

0672

Fun with words and pictures 0672

Fun with words and pictures

You may pass along a free copy of this article to others

by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you
may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections
for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and
let us know. To link Before & After magazine to your
Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.
For all other permissions, please contact us.

Printing formats

Before&After | www.bamagazine.com

http://www.bamagazine.com/email

0672 Fun with words and pictures