Designing for multilingual publications

Some design choices aren’t a great fit if you’re producing content in multiple languages. Things that work well in one language may not be the best option for another, and may in fact hinder your translation efforts.

In this guide we’re focusing specifically on InDesign layouts, but the principles can easily be applied to other DTP programs.

Our guide (linked below) to creating translation-friendly InDesign layouts covers a whole host of issues you may come across:

Hyphenation

Each language has its own rules, and it’s easy to get it wrong. How can you avoid making errors in your translation design layout?

Text boxes

No designer likes to see overset text warnings when they’ve typeset a translated document, so how can you fix your layout to avoid this happening?

Columns

How can you use columns in your InDesign layouts to make sure that they’re compatible with languages that use lots of compound nouns and in turn enhance readability?

Styles

We explain how to use styles to help multilingual typesetting specialists to easily replicate the look and feel of your layout in languages that use a different writing system.

Nonbreaking spaces

Find out how nonbreaking spaces are your friend, and forced line breaks can make things difficult when translating InDesign layouts.

Text wrap

Not only a time-saver, but a great way to shape your content around images and awkward shapes.

Find/Change

You probably already use the Find/Change function, but our tips will help you to achieve a really polished InDesign layout.

GREP

Formatting changes made easy – find out how to help your translator if they’re using a CAT tool, and how to avoid problems for languages like Greek and Turkish.

Outlines

Making your text look beautiful with outlines might seem like a good thing – our guide tells you how not to do it.

Handover

Find out how to deliver your complete InDesign package to your translator so they can do the best job of translating it for you.

Our guide has ten actionable tips on creating translation-friendly InDesign layouts. Your designer can apply these principles to other layout applications, too. Click on the image below to download our free guide. No email address needed!

Enjoyed reading our guide? Contact us to find out how we can help you with your next multilingual DTP project.