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THE USE OF AGENTS IN NEWSPAPER LAYOUT A MAJOR QUALIFYING PROJECT REPORT

Creating the layout of a newspaper page is a tedious and time consuming process that employs a set of rules and guidelines. A program which can create layout designs would be a valuable tool. This project analyzes current methods of creating layouts and builds a system using an agent-based approach. The resulting pages were evaluated by experts and laypeople according to aesthetics and adherence to guidelines. The system designed layouts that were used in Newspeak, the student newspaper of WPI. i Acknowledgments I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. David C. Brown, for all of his guidance and hard work. His encouragement and constant challenges inspired me and pushed me to extend my capabilities to their furthest. Dr. Brown always made time to answer my questions and kept me informed of new developments in the field. Thanks to Dan Grecu, who helped me with some of the concepts of agents, and who supplied me with lots of important papers to examine