Layout is the face of a newspaper, which embodies the image of its products. It shows the spirit and character of the newspaper to the public to a great extent and is a means to help and attract readers to read. In a sense, "the competition of newspapers is also the competition of layout advantages". An excellent layout editor should not only have a lot of knowledge of journalism and linguistics. But also needs certain artistic aesthetic knowledge and modeling ability, so people think that an excellent newspaper layout editor must have a variety of talents. This is why foreign newspapers are willing to spend twice as much money as literary editors to hire an excellent page editor.

First, there are several misunderstandings in the current newspaper layout design.

First, lack of news. With the accelerated pace of modern life, newspapers in China have entered the era of reading pictures from the era of reading articles. Photos attract readers' attention in the "five steps and three secrets" by virtue of bright colors and extremely nervous expression techniques. However, some newspapers sacrifice the gold content of news information for layout design. First of all, there are too many pictures, which occupy the space of news reports, but some pictures are not of great news value.

Second, there is a lack of guidance. The "layout language" such as the size of the title font, the depth of the font color, and the collocation of photos and content also convey the editor's thoughts to some extent. However, some newspapers do not hesitate to stimulate readers' senses by means of variegated colors, strange pictures and exaggerated headlines, and become vulgar and kitsch, which is divorced from the propaganda, education and guidance functions of newspapers. A large number of colors such as red, yellow, green and blue are used to achieve the "eye-catching" effect. Some people put several colors on one title, which makes readers puzzled and can't tell what feelings this newspaper is expressing. Some photos were originally sad scenes, but some newspapers used such strong colors as orange and green, which could not show the proper position of the media.

Third, lack of artistry. A successful layout can not only accurately and dynamically express the content, but also allow readers to enjoy the beauty while reading the news. The existence of symbols, pictures, colors, lines, shading and other elements in the layout is not isolated, nor is it simple superposition, arrangement and layout, but the effect of 1+ 1 >:2 is achieved through mutual optimization and combination. Create "overall beauty" with ingenious combination of parts, seek "unified beauty" in flexible changes, and achieve "harmonious beauty" through orderly arrangement. A truly artistic layout should be able to integrate these three beauties. However, at present, some newspapers have gone into the misunderstanding of lacking artistry while pursuing sensory stimulation and being unconventional. In order to emphasize "visual bombing", almost all the titles on a page are oversized and bold, and the titles are too big, the words are boundless and the lines are extremely thick. It seems that the whole page is "all important" It produces a turbid and chaotic visual effect. Some newspapers use thick and thin lines, curves and straight lines when using lace and flower corners, dislocating and breaking at will, and ignoring the contrast effect between colors when using mesh as the title. Some tones are similar to the title color, which is difficult to distinguish, causing visual fatigue and not allowing readers to feel a little beautiful enjoyment.

Fourth, lack of style and personality. As long as a newspaper has its own personality, it can attract readers and become a "leader" in the newspaper. However, the expression of the newspaper's internal personality can only be reflected by the external form of the layout. However, in the powerful wave of page innovation, some newspapers lost their way and went to the misunderstanding of lacking style and personality. At present, China's newspaper industry "follows the trend" in layout design, especially some popular newspapers, driven by economic interests, blindly imitate "popular layout" in layout style and lack accurate positioning. The thick eyebrows of Beijing Youth Daily once became one side of thousands of newspapers, and the "small jasper" of Xinmin Evening News became the style pursued by newspapers. The success of Nanfang Daily's slimming has driven the newspaper to lose weight, and the popularity of boutique shopping guides has also driven the newspaper to take full-color photos of superstars as the front page. Some newspapers have uncoordinated layout styles and lack unified positioning.

We must attach great importance to the four misunderstandings mentioned above in layout design. Layout represents the image of a newspaper, and its importance is self-evident. Layout design should keep pace with the times and advocate reform and innovation. Only by adhering to the correct direction and rational thinking can the layout design of newspapers in the new era get out of the misunderstanding and mature, and make the layout truly become a platform for transmitting information, communicating with readers and providing readers with enjoyment.

Some people say: "The competition of newspapers is also the competition of layout advantages." The author believes that to design and beautify the layout, we should do the following:

Explain the title. Headlines are the packaging of news, and making headlines is a compulsory course for every editor. Boring headlines will make readers disgusted and bored. The editor contributed a lot to the meticulous production of a title that attracted readers of Yangcheng Evening News. Many readers regard reading the headlines of Yangcheng Evening News as a kind of enjoyment.

Eyes cleverly choose pictures. Photos create an atmosphere for layout news, induce us to read a report that may be ignored, or stimulate our vision and attract us to buy a newspaper. In newspapers, photos have become a means to break the monotonous layout and a stepping stone to help readers turn from one report to another.

Writing highlights "two innovations". Highlighting news is the first factor to catch readers, and highlighting fresh content can make readers stop. In addition, well-designed channels, good reporting methods and accurate news breakthroughs are all indispensable parts of a good layout.

Suitable for "cosmetic box". Such as fonts, lines, gray screens, mastheads, inscriptions and blanks, which are silent languages. Layout editors not only beautify the layout, but also use them to communicate with readers. They are just like the makeup artist's rouge, eye shadow, false eyelashes, eyeliner, lipstick and colorless lipstick, all of which will "add icing on the cake" and make the layout more dazzling.