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Writer's pictureMatthew Irungu

The Foundations of a Good Newsletter

Updated: Apr 4, 2022

I've begun to start focusing on designing a newsletter that is centered around Netflix. In this blog, I'll be writing about the necessary elements of a newsletter and some things to keep in mind when designing one.


Grids: a necessary foundation


The most foundational element of a newsletter is the utilization of grids. Since newsletters are a mix of text and images, grids are crucial for a structured layout presence, page to page consistency and the overall success of a design.


FREE to use Newsletter image, via Unsplash,com

Grids are a sort of guide for the placement of the information that is to be used, helping to let a reader navigate a document's design easier, while also providing efficiency and harmony. There are many different kinds of grids including two-column, three-column, four or more columned and asymmetrical.



The background of the image to the right is a good representation of a multi-columned grid style.


All kinds of grids can help bring variety, but two-columned grids are more simplistic. Grids with more columns provide more flexibility and usefulness of a higher amount of elements (text, graphics, images, etc.)


It's important to not feel confined by certain grids, and it's recommended to use a mixed variety of grid structures in a document or to "break out of the grid." By doing so, the design of a newsletter can be more interesting and have more appeal throughout it. This can be rotating layout objects, using diagonal lines or positioning elements outside of the normal grid structure.


Important graphic elements


Some important graphic elements of a newsletter include images and white space. It's important to have strong images in a newsletter to increase the appeal and add variety. In addition, white space is important because it helps improve the readability of the newsletter and can also help bring out the dominance of images if necessary.


The importance of sketching before using software


InDesign is a very, very powerful software tool. With that being said, even something like InDesign isn't a tool where someone can easily throw down ideas and design inspirations. Sketching a design beforehand allows you to produce what you want to design much easier.


When you have that piece of paper of edits, especially with something as complex as a newsletter, the software design process is a lot smoother because there's something to look back on. Below is my sketched layout for my Netflix newsletter. The first page and last page are a bit botched because I was a little confused toward the end on where to fit the articles but the bulk of the newsletter is the general idea I'm going for. Also, I think I used too many pages so I'm going to condense the articles more later.


Page 1



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1 Comment


Luke Amen
Luke Amen
Apr 05, 2022

Matthew,

I thought your designs in your sketches were extremely detailed and really helpful when I put thought into my design. I like the way you laid out each of the elements and formatting.

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