In many visual seminars at Poynter, we talk about design rules that don't make sense. These myths are picked up along the way, like rotten fruit, as people move from paper to paper. Once a seed takes root, it can be very difficult to get rid of it.
These myths can be funny and frustrating. Funny because someone actually believes that readers notice that two headlines are butting up against each other. Frustrating because time is wasted by worrying about things that don't matter when crafting better content is more important.
Here are a few popular myths you may have encountered.
Myth 1: Photos facing/looking/pointing off the page make readers leave the page
What?! This one is a doozie. Yes, there is a nice, natural flow to a page that occurs when the subject of an image connects with the headline or first line of text. For instance, if during the state of the union address the president is photographed pointing in a certain direction you may have the opportunity to connect that hand movement to the headline.
However, when the same picture, in the same layout, is pointing off the right side of the page, it doesn't mean the reader is going to go drifting over the edge and forget what they were doing.
Myth 2: Interrupting reader flow drives readers away
This myth implies that a reader will stop reading by any interruption in the text. Pull a great quote out to add depth and context, and -- poof! -- readers will be gone. Add a chart or map and the reader will take off to do the dishes.
Of course, there are bad interruptions that can and do occur. If you're unsure of how a story is flowing, get a second opinion (actually, get a second look on everything). An all or nothing approach can limit good storytelling.
Myth 3: The grid limits what you can do with a page design
I've written about
the grid a lot. The grid is the foundation of design. It doesn't limit but adds flexibility while maintaining consistency.
The grid is far more than just five or six columns on a page. It's vertical and horizontal. It can be based on a six column grid, but be broken down to 18 columns that can determine the size of mug shots or any number of navigational elements.
By far, my favorite aspect of the grid is the horizontal grid or baseline grid. Once it's created, everything locks to it. Photos, bylines, body copy, headlines and captions all line up and lock to the baseline grid.
I create the baseline grid by using the leading or line spacing measure of the body copy. For instance, if I'm using 9.5 point type on 11 point leading I'll make the baseline increment 11 point. To add even more flexibility I set the baseline at half of the leading measure, or 5.5 point. The half increment will give larger sized subheads, or elements other than body copy, more room to breathe and still allow everything to line up. Download this handy tipsheet: 
Creating a Grid
The grid removes all the guess work and fudging and creates a cleaner, more consistent publication.
Myth 4: Cutlines/Captions don't matter
As I went around the building at Poynter polling people on design myths, this one surprised me. I guess it's a design myth to a certain degree because placement is so important. But far more important is the content of the cutline. Don't just tell the reader what's in the picture, give them some meat that will get them reading the story.
We know from Poynter's EyeTRAC research on newspaper reading from the early 90s that the eye goes to the image on the page first. In contrast, Poynter's recent eyetracking studies of online reading found text to be the initial draw. Either way, a good cutline is essential.
Myth 4: Reversed text is always a bad idea
White text on a black background can be a touchy subject in many newsrooms. If you've had one too many printing disasters, it might be banned outright. Depends on your press quality.
Reversed text can be an effective storytelling tool, but only when the content calls for it. As a general guideline, the text should be slightly bigger and bolder. But don't try to set an entire story in reverse because that is harder to read.
With the right story, reversed text can add elegance and drama.
Myth 5: Justified type is better than rag right
When the text of a story aligns flush on the right and left it's called justified. When it aligns to the left margin or column it is called left alignment, flush left or rag right, because the right side follows the natural word flow rather than being forced to align on the left and right sides.
Somewhere along the way, the myth developed that justified type conveys more of a hard news feel -- and that and rag right is more featurey. Readers don't make any differentiation between the two. Some reasearch has shown that rag right is easier to read because justified text can create large spaces and more hyphenation. Either way, the achieve the best reader experience, it's important to have someone with a skilled eye tweaking the size, letter and word spacing, and acceptable hyphenation.
Myth 6: If you place a dollar on top of the text of a story and you see text all around it then there's just too much gray (text).
I don't remember where I heard this one, but I distinctly recall seeing someone lay down a dollar and tell me, "There's too much gray. Drop a quote or something in there." I thought it was a pretty odd, generalized statement to make. A more effective point may have been to ask, "How can we make this more readable?"
Since too much gray implies that there's too much text, why not add subheads that give more information and add additional entry points? Gray can be beautiful and effective. Go spend that dollar on a soda instead.
Got myths? Send them in and let's start debunking them. After all, someone else is probably suffering from them, too.
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