Layout should begin with an imposition (mock up) of your document, which is to a printed publication what a storyboard is to a film. It is an overview of the sequence of pages in your document and will help you to divide your publication into major sections. At this point, you should also consider practical issues such as mailing requirements. Consider the following:

• Is the overall weight of the piece a consideration—i.e., will it cost more to mail if you use a heavier paper or add pages?
• Will you need to include an indicia for mailing?
• Will the position of any design elements interfere with processing by postal equipment? The U.S. Postal Service has specific guidelines for pieces that will be mailed; be sure that you are familiar with them.

Once you have an imposition, you can begin your layout. You should begin by importing your copy into one of the Graphic Identity System templates and paginating it according to your imposition. All templates have built in style sheets for chapter/section titles, heads, lists, and various other types of information. In addition, all the templates contain model pages that show how to use the style sheets. Familiarize yourself with the use of the style sheets, and then go through your document and apply these styles, as appropriate.

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