Layout Vocab

BLEED (The "Run-Off" Area)

• • Definition: Extra background image that extends beyond the edge of the page.

  • Why we need it: The printer cuts the paper with a giant guillotine blade. It isn't perfect. If your photo stops exactly at the edge, you might get an ugly white sliver when they cut it.

  • The Rule: "If a photo touches the edge, it must go PAST the edge."
    
    

TRIM LINE (The Cut)

• • Definition: The actual physical edge of the page where the scissors cut.

  • Visual: In Adobe Express, this is the edge of your white canvas.
    
    

LIVE AREA / SAFE ZONE

• • Definition: The safe area inside the margins where important stuff (text, faces) lives.

  • The Rule: "Keep faces and names inside the Safe Zone. If they go outside, they might get chopped off."
    
    

SPREAD

• • Definition: Two pages that face each other (e.g., Page 2 and 3). We always design in spreads, not single pages, because that is how the reader sees the book.
    
    

GUTTER (The "No-Face" Zone)

• • Definition: The 1-inch strip right in the middle where the book folds and is glued together.

  • The Danger: If you put text here, it disappears into the crack. If you put a face here, they look like a cyclops.

  • The Rule: "Respect the Gutter. Keep it clear."