Layout arranges text and images on a page or screen. It determines where the eye goes first, how information is grouped, and how much breathing room the content gets. A newspaper front page, a website homepage, a book spread, a poster: each has a layout, whether the maker thought about it or not. Good layout makes the content easy to find and understand. Bad layout makes the viewer work.

Designers use grids, margins, columns, and alignment to structure layout. Hierarchy decides what is biggest and most prominent. Proximity groups related items. White space separates and frames. The rules are not fixed. A magazine might use a strict grid for one article and a chaotic, expressive layout for another. A website might use a simple single-column layout on mobile and a multi-column layout on desktop. Layout is responsive to medium and message.

Elements of layout

• Grid and columns for structure.
• Margins and gutters for spacing.
• Hierarchy for order of importance.
• Alignment for visual connection.

Layout is not decoration. It is the skeleton that holds a design together and determines how the viewer moves through it.