Performing empirical studies on artifacts that are considered to be creative art is wrought with ideological controversy and practical challenges. Conceptions of artistic freedom seem to diametrically oppose the kind of regulation and systematization required for controlled empirical study. In this contribution, we explore how the apparently infinite freedom of page design, or mise-en-page, can be brought under analytic control by developing fine-grained and multiple-level systems of qualitative categorization open to empirical probing. We introduce this approach and suggest how it may be employed in some exploratory eye-tracking studies, raising questions for further research.