Words can carry great conviction and induce many people to buy a product, but the task of creating a layout that will direct the attention of prospective buyers to the selling copy requires great ingenuity on the part of the visualizer, especially in the exacting, highly competitive market of today's magazines, newspapers and billboards.

Now, through this comprehensive study of layout in all its multiple phases, it is possible for students, whether beginners of professionals, to learn to design better, more compelling layouts.

A firm advocate of developing layout into a truly scientific profession, Mr. Chenault treats the subject so as to make it possible for anyone to learn well and quickly. He recognizes two separate steps in the creation of a layout. Fist, there must be an idea--a selling idea for the particular problem at hand; second, the visualizer must be so trained in design and reader psychology that he can put that idea into planned form that will attract the reader's eye.

By illustrating specific layout principles on nearly every page, the author has made it possible to comprehend each type of layout technique from poster and billboard to magazine, newspaper and direct mail. The chapters range from the basic principles of layout design to the functions of an agency art director, including valuable instruction in typography and lettering, continuity in style, bleed space, balance, unity, contrast and art work. Full-color illustrations appear throughout the chapter treating color process and color in layout.

The illustrations are designed by five of the most successful advertising men in America. Many of them ar the original layouts of famous advertisements, reproduced directly from the visualizer's drawing board. Together with the thorough yet concise text, they form a comprehensive exposition of the conception and technique of advertising layout.
--jacket