Two-page spread layout

Two-Page Spread Article

This is an article I wrote that I will be using in my two-page spread:

The invention of headphones

In the modern, technological society that everyone lives in, people are surrounded by visual and auditory stimuli. People can watch videos on their little smartphone screens while they’re on the bus, or at home on the couch at their own leisure and convenience.

But what about sound? How can one listen to all of this digital content at their own convenience without turning the world into a continuous cacophony of commotion? Well, that’s what the invention of headphones was for: to allow people to easily get clear, understandable, and private audio from their devices, without disturbing the people around them.

This has made headphones, and their close relatives the earbuds, some of the most widely used accessories for mobile devices worldwide.

The risks of headphones

However, there is a major problem with these devices: the volume. While the wide range of volumes that these devices can produce is very useful, the upper end of this range can go beyond what human hearing has ever needed to withstand before.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), headphones can produce noise up to 102 decibels, which is about 20 decibels higher than even relatively loud talking.

However, don’t be deceived, 20 decibels may not seem like much, but since decibels measure sound exponentially, 20 more decibels actually means 100x louder sound.

To make things worse, headphones are putting that sound right up next to your ears! This can be especially bad if exposed to for long periods of time. 

The damage it can do

If you listen to headphones that are too loud, too close to your ears, or for too long, it can cause irreversible damage to your ears and may lead to permanent hearing loss.

The amount of time that it can be safe to listen to certain volumes can be seen in the diagram below. However, it should be noted that this is just an estimate and you should always play it safe. 

(the next page will have an infographic on it)

 

Two-Page Spread Layout

Below are 3 ideas that I had for the layout of my magazine's two-page spread. Since these are just layouts, they are not final and are missing pictures and other elements.

Layout 1 - passage 3 paired with infographic

This layout has the first two passages on the first page which are on separate sides of the page (to space out the text) and are each paired up with an image.

The other page has the third passage, also paired up with an image, and with the infographic, which paragraphs 3 references, below paragraph 2.

Layout 2 - infographic alone on right page

This layout has all of the passages on the first page. The first passage is paired with its image vertically and the other two passages do not have an image.

The other page has just the infographic, so the infographic is stretched a bit to make up for the extra space

Layout 3 - infographic on left page

This layout has the infographic on the first page, but because of the title of the passage no other content can be added to that page

The other page has all of the passages on it. They are formated similar to layout 1, where each passage is paired with an image in a staggered fashion.

(In my opinion, this layout has a bit too much empty space on the left page and is a bit too cramped on the right page)