1. Always throw excess white space to the outside areas of the layout. Trapping white space within the interior of the layout, without leaving a proper "escape route", can draw the reader's eye to the wrong place at the wrong time, and you'll lose his attention.

Good!

2. Each element within the layout should be aligned with AT LEAST one other element. This creates harmony and balance and makes the ad easier to read.

Wrong!

3. Don't place illustrative materials so that they face out of the page. If the finger or face of an illustration points out of the layout, that's where the reader's eye is going to go. He may wind up looking at an adjoining ad, which YOUR illustration is pointing to, and ignore yours.

Wrong!

4. Keep typefaces to a minimum. A good rule is to use no more than three different typefaces in the same ad layout. Novelty fonts should be used sparingly and used for a purpose. See example.

5. Repetition helps to achieve reader movement from one element to the other. A circle, oval, triangle, etc. can be used several times in the layout to direct the reader's eye. The repeated element need not be the same size each time it is used. It can be smaller or larger, reversed, placed diagonally or printed in a different color.

6. Each ad needs a "door" into the ad. Use a dominant element in the layout to attract and direct the reader's attention throughout the remainder of the layout. Color, texture screens, tint screens, reverses and geometric shapes can be used to achieve dominance. Once you have the reader’s attention, arrange the elements to create a "flow" through the rest of the ad. This is sometimes called rhythm.

7. Create unity within the ad layout by overlapping elements when possible. Overlapping has the effect of making several individual units appear to be one, and creates a feeling of unity within the layout. See example.

8. Direct the eye through the layout, systematically, with White or Black space. The eye is always drawn to the area of greatest contrast in the layout. See example.