standard-4-3-layout-skill

Standard 4:3 Layout Skill

This skill is the layout source of truth for standard-4-3 pages, usually 1600x1200.

A 4:3 page is a square-ish presentation canvas. It supports readable talk-track slides, balanced data + insight pairs, compact matrices, and diagrams with generous margins. Its best layouts use depth through hierarchy, not by spreading many columns across the width.

Deep details live in the references:

• references/catalog.md - named 4:3 presentation patterns and 1600x1200 zone skeletons.
• references/checklist.md - P0/P1/P2 structural self-check for delivery.

Preflight

Before writing HTML, decide:

1. Message - the one sentence this slide should make the audience remember.
2. Primary object - chart, table, matrix, diagram, hero number, conclusion block, image, or comparison.
3. Reading path - title/claim -> primary object -> interpretation/action.
4. Density - low for cover/quote/hero number, medium for most slides, high only for compact tables or matrices.
5. Pattern - use a structure from references/catalog.md as a starting point when it helps the reading path; it is not a closed template menu, and a fresh composition is welcome when it serves the page thesis.
6. Budget - estimate width and height together; 4:3 failures are often width pressure, not only height pressure.

Use the canvas dimensions from the prompt. If custom dimensions are supplied, preserve the same square-ish relationships.

Canvas Grammar

• Favor one-column, two-zone, 2x2, or center + rail structures.
• Two real content columns are usually enough. Three columns work only for short metric chips or labels.
• Keep side margins and gutters generous enough for projection readability.
• Use row-based tables and grouped insight rows when information has several dimensions.
• Use grid/flex document flow for text-bearing modules. Independent text/content modules occupy their own cells and must not overlap or escape the canvas. Absolute positioning is only for background accents, connector lines, non-text decoration, and intentional image/video background composition; text or transparent panels may intentionally sit over media.
• Independent content modules must retain an actual nonzero gap. Compact spacing is valid when it suits the composition.
• Body copy, ordinary labels, and card descriptions default to at least 24px (Tailwind text-2xl or text-[24px]). Only a genuinely high-density bounded module may use 21px after restructuring; mark it data-ppt-density="high" and compensate its grid/flex footprint if it is scaled. Headings are at least 32px (text-3xl or larger) with no upper cap; auxiliary source/footer text is at least 16px. These floors preserve the same displayed 18px / 16px / 24px / 12px semantic minimums on this 1200px-high canvas.

Pattern Quick Lookup

Use references/catalog.md for the full structure recipe before writing a new or heavily repaired page.

Height And Width Budget

Calculate before writing:

1. Canvas: usually 1600px wide x 1200px tall.
2. Outer padding: commonly 64-112px total per axis.
3. Title/subtitle: usually 80-140px after wrapping.
4. Gaps between zones.
5. Footer/source/reserve: 40-72px when present.
6. Remaining area is the body slot.

Then budget width: subtract horizontal padding and gaps, then check whether each column, chart label, table cell, or matrix quadrant has enough readable width.

For charts, reserve a specific frame height and keep the @ppt-chart-height=N marker aligned with the h-[Npx] class. In a two-zone layout, columns share width, not height; each column still uses the same vertical body slot.

Repair And Self-check

• If the page feels cramped, reduce real content columns or convert to rows / 2x2.
• If hierarchy is flat, promote one object to primary and compress the rest into rails, chips, or rows.
• If a table is clipped, keep only key columns or turn dimensions into grouped insight rows.
• If a timeline or process lacks space, use stacked phases or compact sequence bands.
• If a support zone is mostly empty, shrink it or give the primary object more space.
• Before delivery, run references/checklist.md.