Key Terms and Issues in Document Design

Dr. Brian Gastle

Western Carolina University

Primary Goals of Good Document Design

• To help readers find information

• structure and hierarchy of the information.

• To help readers understand the information.

• To help readers remember the information.

Principles of Design

Proximity

Arrange Information Clearly on the Page

Alignment

Avoid Clutter

Strive for Page Balance

Repetition (Consistency)

Contrast

Technical Document Design Terms

Page Size Page Count Paper

Weight Coating “grade” (bond)

Bindings Loose Ring/Spiral Saddle/Staple Perfect/flat spine

Two Kinds of Space on Every Page

• White space (or negative space)

• Space for text and graphics

Purposes of Margins

• They limit the amount of information on the page, making it easier to read and use.

• They provide space for binding and allow readers to hold the page without covering up the text.

• They provide a neat frame around the type.

• They provide space for marginal glosses.

Three Principles Used in Designing Effective Pages

Chunking.

• Write shorter “chunks” of information.

Queuing. (AKA – subordination)

• Create visual distinctions (often indentation) to indicate levels of importance.

Filtering.

• Use visual patterns (text boxes, graphics, typography) to distinguish various types of information.

Page Design Theory and Techniques

Figure 13.1  Chunking  (text page 340)

Figure 13.2  Queuing  (text page 340)

Queuing

Visually distinguish between levels of importance in a document

Figure 13.3  Filtering  (text page 341)

Filtering

Visually distinguish between different types of information: warnings, help, etc.

Thumbnail Sketches and Grids

Thumbnail Sketches Hand drawn rough sketch of layout Still the best way to start

Grids More formal layout presentation Built into many publishing programs

Figure 13.4  Thumbnail Sketches  (text page 341)

Page Layout

Thumbnail Sketch – preliminary drawing of layout possibilities

Figure 13.5  Sample Grids Using Picas and Inches  (text page 342)

Page Grid

Map of the blank document page which charts where text, graphics, and white space will be located

Advantages of Multicolumn Design

• Text is easier to read because the lines are shorter.

• Columns allow you to fit more information on the page, because many graphics can fit in one column or extend across two or more columns.

• Columns let you use the principle of repetition to create a visual pattern, such as text in one column, accompanying graphic in an adjacent column.

Figure 13.6  Common Grids: Double-column grid and Two-page grid, with narrow outside columns for notes  (text page 343)

Figure 13.6  Common Grids: Three-panel brochure  (text page 343)

Figure 13.6  Common Grids: Two-page grid, with graphics on the left page and double-column text on the right page  (text page 343)

Other Terms

Typography Type Face (Ariel, Times, Courier) Type Family – variations on the Face (Ariel

Italic, Ariel Bold, Ariel Bold Italic Case Size

Figure 13.8  Typefaces  (text page 345)

Figure 13.9  Serif and Sans Serif Typefaces  (text page 346)

Figure 13.10  Helvetica Family of Type  (text page 346)

Figure 13.11  Individual Variations in Lowercase and Uppercase Type  (text page 347)

Aspects of White Space

• Line length

• Line spacing

• Justification

Figure 13.13  Line Spacing Used to Distinguish One Section from Another  (text page 349)

Left-justified text versus full-justified text (text page 350)

Rules

Boxes

Screen

Marginal Gloss

Boxes

Screen

Can be useful