repleo wrote:
I understand why we would want to choose between Portrait and Landscape format in photography to suit the composition, but why do we still use portrait for text documents? So much of our world is now viewed on 'landscape' screens - computers, TV's. monitors etc it makes no sense to produce documents in Portrait format. Tablets and phones are 'ambidextrous' but computer screens are not. Landscape is the norm in business for spreadsheets, Powerpoints, technical drawings, graphs etc which are often projected onto large monitors at meetings or Webex conference calls. With judicial use of columns, landscape documents can display more information and in easier to read format than portrait documents. Portrait documents displayed on screen have to be scrolled up and down or reduced to unreadable dimensions. It makes no sense.
I think it is time to abandon portrait format. What say you?
I understand why we would want to choose between P... (
show quote)
I used to work in the yearbook industry for companies that produced both yearbooks and portraits. When doing any sort of layout for print publication (or electronic documents that may be printed), editors want a VARIETY of shapes. There are many distinct layout styles — pinwheel, columnar, Mondrian, skyscraper... and MOST of them either can or must blend horizontals, verticals, and square compositions if they are to remain interesting.
In my photography, I probably record 90% of portraits as vertical compositions, and 90% of groups as horizontal compositions. The other 10% of each are exceptions that work. Pet portraits are every shape imaginable. For inanimate objects, I simply suit the shape to the subject. Yes, I record the occasional "landscape" as a vertical!
I have no problem with projecting a vertical in a slide show. I simply use the Ken Burns effect to zoom into or out of it. (I create all my school reunion slide shows as HD or 4K videos). I also have no problem using a vertical or square on a horizontal 16:9 layout, where the rest of the screen is used for data, charts, graphs, text, or colored/black/white/gray background.
MOST computers can rotate their monitor output 90° using the System Preferences or Control Panel monitor settings. Plenty of retail businesses mount monitors as 9:16, and project PowerPoints, Keynotes, and videos in that orientation.
Whatever medium you use, if you are the designer of the output format, you have to be aware of the display environment and:
• Select a monitor or projection screen large enough to be seen by everyone
• Compose slides, video, and other content for the people on the back row
MOST business presentations suck out loud. I can't tell you how many meetings I've been to where the speaker drones on and on, READING an outline from a PowerPoint slide, never showing a single photo or drawing or graph or chart. And if they DO present a table, graph, or chart, the headings and data are so small you can't even read it on the FRONT row. You would need a telescope to read it from the back row, even if the resolution and focus of the projector were good enough!
There is a great little book called
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo, that is a real eye-opener. Anyone using photographs, graphs, data, or text in a presentation would do well to read it. Say what you will about Jobs and Apple, the guy was THE master of presentations. His techniques were very deliberate and consistent... and highly effective.
Why do we still use "portrait format" (verticals)? Because there are more ways to use images than just as horizontals, even when using a horizontal presentation medium.