The objective of the article is to compare within the cross-cultural perspective layouts' design in Russian and Polish journalism. The research question can be formed as 'Having no linguistic and cultural competences can one read and understand a graphic communication properly?' Two possible answer can be put now: the first totally positive, because layouts seem to be inter-culturally dependent (given the impact of the hugest media public houses and their globally orientated policy), the second answer positive - one can understand and comprehend visual language but cultural differentiations always make it impossible in every detailed.