1 ) An iterative method of laying out elements in a defined space, wherein the layout includes content data and design data, said content data including alphanumeric and/or graphical elements, and said design data including a rule or rules associated with a particular alphanumeric element or graphical element, said rule defining a scoring system which defines a score dependent on a degree of conformance to said rule, the method including the steps of: (a) arranging geometrically the alphanumeric and/or graphical elements included in the content data; (b) scoring the resulting layout according to the rule or rules included in the design data; (c) storing said score; and (d) repeating the above steps (a) to (c) for a plurality of iterative alphanumeric and/or graphical layouts.