Art Nouveau Page Layouts

The following are from a 1904 magazine called Blanco y negro published in Madrid.

DECORATIVE BORDERS

UNBOUND IMAGES

In the examples below, objects extend from a shape imposed onto spot illustrations.

ART NOUVEAU HEADERS

SYMMETRY

ASYMMETRY

Although Art Nouveau is known for its symmetry, some of the layouts contain surprising asymmetry.

A surprisingly narrow strip of image separates two columns of text.

Or, if not lack of symmetry, a slightly weird collection of shapes, reminiscent of a tangram puzzle.

A HAND DRAWN LOOK

FITTING MANY PICTURES ON A PAGE

The path on the picture at the top right has been carefully positioned to match the ‘path’ of the white line separating text from images, and images from each other.

NEGATIVE SPACE

Although the art nouveau style is highly decorative, there was still negative space.

TEXT WRAPPING AND PLACEMENT

When text wrapping wasn’t automatic, it looked like this.

But occasionally you got something like this — a feat of typesetting.

Sometimes a block of text would be imposed on top of a portion of art (or you’d get that impression, at least).

Simple double columns

ART NOUVEAU COMIC STRIP CONVENTION

Header image made with Midjourney AI.

CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

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