Better Posters: Using “Two wides and a tall”

I’m red-faced. I’ve perpetuated a myth.

Since most people fashion their posters in blocks, I’ve said and written that people should avoid the “two wides and a tall” layout.

Poster layout with two wide blocks stanked on top of each other on the left and one tall block on the right.

The conventional argument against it is that English readers are taught to read left to right, and from top to bottom. But the “two wides and a tall” layout, the argument goes,

Poster layout with two wide blocks stanked on top of each other on the left and one tall block on the right. The upper left block contains "Which way do I go?" with arrows pointing to the remaining two blocks.

Neil Cohn tested this. His research showed that when readers come across this layout, the vast majority (over 90%!) of people read down. And this is with no other cues, just panel placement.

So if you do use this layout (which I still dislike for a number of other reasons), there is a clear message: expect your readers to read down and block it out accordingly.

Poster layout with two wide blocks stanked on top of each other on the left and one tall block on the right. The upper left block contains. "Go down, not right."

External links

Dispelling myths about comics page layout

18 March 2021

Using “Two wides and a tall”

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