In the world of publishing, the document masthead is the banner or name of a company, newspaper or magazine, together with its publication details in large type anchored to the top of the front page. This can be created in Indesign as we demonstrate in our Adobe Indesign training courses.
The publication’s title should be short and to the point, reflecting the purpose of the document. Often we use a bold typeface, the size of which may vary. A subhead is often added to the masthead which contains additional relevant material complimentary to the main title.
The masthead usually anchors the front page and is of a wide horizontal format. If creating from scratch it’s best to experiment with various fonts, often using two different fonts for design interest. Sometimes a combination of serif and sans-serif fonts are used. Variations in leading (line-spacing) and kerning (space between letters) are also worth considering, as well as upper and lower case fonts and all-caps.
Clip art, logos and photographs are also sometimes used, complimentary to the purpose of the document. This is often vector artwork created in Adobe Illustrator. In the above example a subtle gradient of dark blue to white adds depth to the logo and font. The masthead is saved within an Indesign template document, together with character and paragraph styles, page numbering and contact details. When a new document is required all we need to do is open the template and insert this month’s images and text. The use of templates creates design consistency within a company’s branding guidelines.
More tips and techniques can be found at Adobe user groups which meet regularly in most capital cities, and are free forums for designers to discuss topics and the latest Indesign features. See also many examples of our own clients’ work on our Facebook page.
Other related Indesign Blog Posts:

• Indesign images and text
  
• Indesign workflow
• Indesign templates
• Indesign page numbers
• Indesign add hyperlink