Best Layout and Graphics?

[Desdichado]

Except that layout is not nearly as important or noticable as number of wheels. Speaking as someone who works in the automobile industry, of course.

 

[Cergorach]

Except that layout is not nearly as important or noticable as number of wheels. Speaking as someone who works in the automobile industry, of course.

i think that just about every layout 'artiste' would disagree with you. layout is like the number of wheels on a car! A three wheeled trabant is a sturdy car, but a horror to the eyes!

 

[jmucchiello]

The margins - especially the bottom and left margins - are huge.

While I agree Monte's stuff is a bit dry, having large left and bottom margins has two purposes: The left margin (and right margin on the even pages) is so that if you print it back and front and get it bound, none of the text is caught in the crease. I printed Diamond Throne duplexed and it goes in a three ring binder like a dream. I intend to switch my margins from (the current) 0.75" on the sides to 1" and 0.5" duplexed on some future releases for the same reason.

The bottom margin is friendly to older printers that cannot address the bottom of the page (because the sheet feeders are no longer holding the page). Malhovic books have a lot of foot gutter but it does serve a purpose. I use 1" top and bottom margins myself. (0.7" after any header/footer text) and I've often wondered if it ever causes anyone any problems. They can always use shrink to fit, I suppose. And because some people have to shrink to fit, I use 9-point instead of 8-point fonts in the main text. I'm sure anyone printing on A4 paper has to shrink to fit.

 

[Desdichado]

Could be, but does Joe Blow Gamer care about layout artistes? I find the white space of the "Textbook" layout to be very clean and refreshing and easy on the eyes. And I still don't understand how a layout can be boring.

 

[Nellisir]

I'd have to vote AEG*, Bastion, Green Ronin, and WotC. I like the dense, solid feel their layouts tend to have, particularly AEG and WotC -- I feel like I'm getting my money's worth. GRR and Bastion both go a little overboard with boarders and header fonts.

One particular point of mine is justification. I like tight spacing and justified columns.

I DON't like Malhavoc for the exact reasons others have given above. The lack of justification, font spacing (kerf?), and generally nonexistent borders make me feel like I'm getting 48 pages of paper, but only 36 pages of text, stretched out to 48.

*I'm referring to recent AEG, particularly in the Swashbuckling Adventures and Rokugan lines.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Arnwyn]

And I still don't understand how a layout can be boring.

*shrug* Some people just don't "get it". Nothing wrong with that.

Just like the stylings of a car... some people like "the look" of certain cars, others don't.