Design


	The role of the designer The typesetter, or designer, formats the document so that the printer can use the file, so that it comes out in pages, numbered, with headings and titles and pictures in the right place. When we design, we look at a publication with a different eye: text is a shape. This means that designers won't look for spelling mistakes, missing text, incorrect contents, muddled grammar or illegal material. It is not their role to vet text, only to set it. Likewise, the editor is not responsible for how the text looks. Design and editing should be undertaken as separate tasks, even if performed by the same person.


	This page discusses: The role of the designer Can I go straight to the designer? Some of the designer's tasks But the document looks good on my computer… Don't forget about editing! The editor directs the designer


	Can I go straight to the designer? Most designers insist that their work come through an editor, rather than straight from the client. Un-edited text is full of mistakes, and the client always wants to change it after it has been laid out, which is expensive and time consuming.


	Price list and recent projects


	Don't forget about editing! Errors in manuscripts are more than simply spelling or grammar mistakes. When you have worked on a document for some time you may not notice that the figures in a column don't add up to 100, or that the caption you have chosen for a photo relates to something else. You may be "too close" to the document. Other mistakes are particular to the manuscript itself. For instance, why was the Khmer Rouge spelt with an "h" in the first chapter, but without in every other? What will happen when people start ringing the number you "made up"? The designer may make your document look good, but unless it is edited, you risk paying for an ineffective document.

Some of the designer's tasks

Laying out text - size of columns, white spaces and flow.

Setting up the look of tables, figures and other non-text items.

Page numbering, headers and footers.

Pagination (what appears on each page; what is carried over or moved).

Colours, fonts, headings.

Placement of pictures, photos and illustrations.

Handling of electronic files.

Liaison with the printer.

Many writers confuse these tasks, especially when the editor presents an "attractive" hard copy.


	You might like to go to the "Price list and recent projects" page to view examples of other projects edit or die has worked on recently.


	But the document looks good on my computer... Software packages like Word and WordPerfect are not design-friendly, even though they contain some design elements. While you may be able to generate an index or graph in a desktop software package, these items are not usually of sufficient quality for printing purposes. Documents laid out in word processing packages for home or office computers are often highly unstable. Settings, styles and fonts will change when another computer accesses the file. Other automatic functions, like tables, numbering, and so on will not hold when moved between users. Basically, they jump all over the page. Designers use sophisticated software and have techniques that avoid these problems, and they know what the printer can use.


	The editor directs the designer The editor's job is to instruct the designer on matters like heading gradings, the need for highlighting or special treatment, alignment or position of non-text items and other layout matters. The designer then interprets the instruction for "Heading A", or "highlighted column in table", for instance, and applies an integrated "look" to the whole document.


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