The sheet rhythm is a term often used by sheet makers. It’s about the variety that readers experience when they leaf through a magazine. That variation can be about the balance between image and text and the balance in long and short articles. But there’s more. A page rhythm is mainly about structure and reading experience. A well-made magazine has a strong and recognizable magazine rhythm. You can read how to create or improve such a sheet rhythm in this article.
Many magazine makers work with a plank. That is an overview of all articles that need to be created. This is the place where the sheet rhythm is also determined. Often a shelf is an overview of empty boxes (for example in an Excel document) that is gradually filled during the production of a magazine.
Working with fixed sections
Fortunately, there are few editors who start from scratch when creating an edition. Most magazines work with a magazine formula or content strategy that predetermines which articles should be created, divided into fixed sections (these are often also called formats). Sections have specific characteristics that say something about the ratio of image and text, about the length, about the depth and about the reading experience. They are, as it were, the building blocks of the magazine. Placed in the correct order, they largely determine the sheet rhythm.
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Page rhythm: balance between reading, watching and zapping
But before you ‘capture’ an entire magazine into fixed sections or formats, it is good to look at the structure and reading expectations. A good sheet rhythm starts with a solid foundation. The sections will follow later, based on the choices made. You can determine the structure of each magazine by looking at four different reading experiences: watching, reading, zapping and the features. These experiences help the reader navigate their way through the magazine and provide direction on how to use the magazine.
- To look
These are pages in which the image dominates and text is only used as a caption. On these pages the reader understands that she/he can feast her eyes. Think of photo reports, fashion shoots, cartoons, illustrations or data visualizations. - Read
These are pages in which text dominates and images are completely absent, or are only used as small insets. Here the reader knows that she/he must come into a contemplative reading concentration to ‘consume’ the page. Keep these pages gray and quiet so as not to disrupt concentration too much. Think of: columns, interviews, background articles, analyzes and research and explainers. - Zapping
Zapp pages are composed pages with separate elements that invite the reader to zapp past different blocks and frames. The reader’s eyes can go hunting. Think of short news, new products, bullets, boxes, facts and figures, did you know or shopping pages with all kinds of products. These composite pages are perfect for a magazine rhythm because they can be planned as a single page or spread between longer articles. - Features
Each magazine has (depending on the size) a minimum of two and a maximum of six features. Features are long productions that combine all the elements mentioned above. So: watch, read and zap. In a feature you combine text, images and separate elements such as frames, bullets and insets. Features are the supporting stories of a magazine, which are often also on the cover. Features are long: at least four pages and can go up to 16 pages. Think: reports, background articles, insiders and research.
Leaf rhythm: first apply structure
You can create a magazine rhythm by arranging sections of a magazine based on the above reading experiences. A magazine section always contains at least 8 pages. In the example below, see the breakdown for a magazine with a size of 68 pages (8 sections of 8 pages + 4 pages for the cover). The features are spread throughout the magazine: in the front, in the middle and at the back (so that the magazine does not fizzle out). Throughout all the sections you will see a good variety between watching, reading and zapping.
Provide variety
The blocks based on reading experience are good foundations for further thinking about fixed sections or formats. You can see examples of this in the overview above. Moreover, you see that there is a good variation between short articles and long ones, neatly divided into these different sections or formats.
Looking for a new section or new fixed format? Read the how-to: sections and formats
You can also create variety by looking at other elements. For example, alternation between light and dark design. Between light-hearted topics and heavy topics. Or you alternate in perspective on successive articles: the person is central, the location is central, the development is central, the product is central.
Even more tips
A magazine rhythm helps magazine readers navigate through a magazine. To help readers with this, it is advisable to keep the layout of a magazine the same for each edition, if possible. Fixed anchor points are especially important, such as popular columnists and features. Always give them a permanent place in the magazine. This is especially important if you have a high frequency.
An important pitfall of magazine makers is to place the best articles at the front of the magazine. That turns out wrong. You disrupt the balance in the magazine and the readers get a magazine with a messy and worthless ending. And that is grating. Research shows that approximately 40% of readers do not read a magazine from front to back, but from back to front. So for this group, such a magazine does not have a convincing beginning. Magazine readers almost never read a magazine in one go, but pick it up several times. So make sure that no matter where the magazine is opened, the content is always varied and of high added value.
