A basic layout of information comparing birds.

A Simple Spreadsheet

Here I have a very basic layout of information. It is a simple grid structure and is how my client wants this data to look. However I choose to structure the information in my layout program, it must print to look this way.

There are three main options available to assemble this particular layout. I can use a table, I can use text boxes, or I can use text characters.

The information is arranged using a table.

Tables

My personal preferred method for this type of layout is to use a table. Tables are available in nearly all layout and word processing programs, and are the most reliable way to structure tabular information—information in rows and columns.

The blue lines in the image to the left represemt the hidden table structure that is controlling my information. The design will print as my client requests, as in the first image above. I asked my layout program, in this case Adobe InDesign CS3, to center the information in each table cell both vertically and horizontally. I also asked that borders on the outside receive a stroke. I can just see the stroke underneath the blue lines.

The biggest upside to using this structure is the automatic alignment of the data. The table ensures that the text in each column is perfectly centered and the text in each row is aligned.

This method also allows for easy rearranging of rows and columns, and adding flourishes such as borders around the data is a straightforward process.

The biggest downside? If the client specifies new data that needs to go in the table, I could be in for more work than I bargained for. It all depends on how my client gets me her new information.

If she provides me with a word processor file that has a table with the same number of rows and columns, InDesign allows me to cut and paste the table directly into my layout. Then, all I need to do is reapply the text formatting. However, if she just shoots me an e-mail with the new text, I need to individually cut and paste the text into each cell, or completely rebuild the table.

The information is arranged using multiple text boxes.

Text Boxes

The next method for arranging this kind of data is to use individual text boxes for each bit of text. I can select, move, and align text boxes easily in InDesign using the Align and Transform palettes. I have finer control in aligning the text with text boxes than I do using a table.

Before using this method though, consider this: it is difficult to impossible to select all of the text at once and, in many programs, text boxes do not automatically expand to contain new text. This means the text editing potential of this method is severely lacking.

The editing upside to using text boxes is the ease of rearranging data. In my example to the left, I can make a safe guess that my client won't need to rearrange the data very often. However, another client might want a series of quotes in a similar layout. The quotes may be rearranged multiple times to find the optimum setup, and the text box method accounts for that possibility.

The information is arranged using text characters.

The information is arranged using text characters…poorly.

Text Characters

Using text characters to align information is perhaps the least reliable and the method most commonly used by amateur designers. But this method has its perks, and there are smart ways to go about building a character-based organization.

Take a look to the left. The light blue blips among the text are tab characters. It is the only character I have used to align the text. I entered a single tab character before each column of text, and set three center tabs (one for each column). The text as a whole has a standard left alignment.

By setting center tabs I let InDesign precisely align the text. The other alternative, using multiple tabs or multiple spaces, is clunky and inexact—two things I definitely don't want in my layout. When I see multiple spaces used to move text over to "what looks about right", my first thought is this designer is lazy and/or doesn't know any better. I can't fix the former, but I'm trying to address the latter.

The next setting I tweaked in this character-based layout is the space after. The space after setting is usually under the "paragraph" options in a program. It specifies in quantitative terms how much white space there is after each paragraph before I want the next paragraph to start. In this example I specified 0.365 inches.

The lazy alternative to this is using multiple hard returns, and is woefully imprecise. It may suffice to separate sections in a college term paper, but little else.

I did mention that this method has perks, though. For all its settings-tweaking glory, the biggest bonus to toughing it out with a text character-based structure is the ease of cutting and pasting the information. This may not seem like much, until working with a client who insists on repeatedly providing new text.

When my enthusiastic client sends over updated copy, all I need to do is cut and paste the entirety of the new text into my layout, and correct any missing or duplicate tab characters. The set tabs and the space after settings remain, preserving my formatting.

In Closing

If worked with intelligence, all three of these methods will produce a satisfactory layout for a client.

The average designer will create a layout that fits his or her client's immediate needs using the easiest method. The superb designer considers the long-term rework potential and the type of information in addition to client satisfaction when choosing a structure, knowing that time spent getting it right at the start pays off in time saved through the whole project.