INTERESTING FACT: No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times.

Though a hot new web term, the phrase "above the fold" originally hails from the dusty old business of newspapers.

A paper's front page was folded in half before it was given to newsstands and to that kid who stood on the corner hollering, "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" So, only the top half was visible, and thus capable of enticing the stray eyes of passersby and interesting them enough to buy the paper.

Editors put the most important news on the front page, but they put the most enticing headlines and photos on the top half—above the fold.

The Concept

The phrase refers to the visible portion of a front or cover whose contents can only be partially seen without doing anything further.

The Fold in the Digital World

Well, since a webpage can scroll on and on past the first screen's worth of browser window, you have a new digital "fold." This phrase is most often applied to the homepage, the "front page" of a website.





Whether the site is a news site or a cellphone rhinestone sticker retailer, the concept still applies: the most important or enticing items should be kept in the first visible area. Designers, who tend to have the largest monitors, can sometimes forget how small a window through which the majority of people will be viewing their website designs.

Have you ever described a fold to a design or printing professional as a "wrap-arounder," "like a road map" or "a foldie-innie then outtie"?

Well, here are some of the most common folding styles for printed materials with most of their common and uncommon names.