Designing Effective Documents Prepared by Hannah Haas
Introduction This presentation focuses on the design concerns in printed business documents, including reader’s assumptions; font selection; use of headings, white space, and bullets; and text alignment.
Effective documents highlight: Structure Hierarchy Order
Effective documents also: Help readers locate information Give readers appropriate visual cues
Readers’ assume: Top = more important Centered = more important Bold = more important Same font size = as important Same color=same type of information
Good fonts are: Easily readable Aesthetically pleasing Appropriate for the audience
Which fonts are business- appropriate?
Use serif fonts for: Body text Documents more than two pages long
Use sans-serif fonts for: Headings Subheadings Short documents (1-2 pages)
Which font set will work best for headings and body text? Subheading Body Heading 2 Subheading 2 Body 2 Heading 3 Subheading 3 Body 3 Heading 4 Subheading 4 Body 4
How many fonts should you use in one document?
Use font style to highlight text: Italics add emphasis, but slow readers (use sparingly) Bold type shows importance Capital letters show emphasis, but are hard to read (use sparingly) Bulleted lists present key concepts quickly
Which styles of bullets are business-appropriate? Bullet style 1 Bullet style 2 Bullet style 3 Bullet style 4 Bullet style 5
Use white space to: Frame information Break information into units Signal section breaks
Which example has used white space appropriately? Heading Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text
Example 2 Heading Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text
What happens when text gets separated? Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body t Heading
Example 2 body text body text. Heading Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text
Use ragged right for: Long documents Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text
Use justification for: Multiple-column documents Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body
What is wrong with this example of justified text? Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text b o d y
Conclusion Keeping these tips in mind will help you design aesthetically pleasing documents that are easy to read and easy to re-read.