{"id":50,"date":"2019-05-31T23:14:17","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T03:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/chapter\/document-design-basics\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T08:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T12:07:59","slug":"document-design-basics","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/chapter\/document-design-basics\/","title":{"raw":"Document Design Basics","rendered":"Document Design Basics"},"content":{"raw":"<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300\">Designing Reader-Centered Pages and Documents<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">You build your communications out of\u00a0<em>visual<\/em>\u00a0elements: the dark marks of your words, sentences, and paragraphs against the light background of the page, as well as your drawings and graphs and tables. Your readers\u00a0<em>see<\/em>\u00a0the visual design of these elements before they read and understand your message. And what they see has a powerful effect on the success of your communications, on its usability and persuasiveness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Here are ways that good design enhances usability.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n \t<li>Good design helps readers understand your information.<\/li>\n \t<li>Good page design helps readers locate information quickly.<\/li>\n \t<li>Good design helps readers notice highly important content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Here are some ways good design affects readers' attitudes, thereby increasing a communication's persuasiveness.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n \t<li>Good design encourages readers to feel good about the communication itself.<\/li>\n \t<li>Good design encourages readers to feel good about the communication\u2019s subject matter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300\">A Reader-Centered Approach to Design<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Because page design can have such a significant impact on your communication\u2019s usability and persuasiveness, you should approach design in the same reader-centered manner that you use when drafting text and graphics. Think continuously about your readers, including who they are, what they want from your communication, and the context in which they will be reading.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong>Design Elements of a Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">It is helpful to think about the building blocks of a page design in the way that professional graphic designers do. When they look at a page, they see six basic elements:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n \t<li><strong>Text<\/strong>: Paragraphs and sentences.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Headings and titles<\/strong>: Labels for sections of your communication.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: Drawings, tables, photographs, and so on \u2014 including their captions.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>White space<\/strong>: Blank areas.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Headers and footers<\/strong>: The items, such as page numbers, that occur at the top or bottom of each page in a multipage document.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Physical features<\/strong>: These include paper, which may take many shapes and sizes, and bindings, which come in many forms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">In <strong>Figure 4.1<\/strong>\u00a0below, notice how your eye is drawn to the blue header and the boxed elements. In these spaces, you can highlight the important parts of your message:<\/p>\n&nbsp;\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_1277\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"611\"]<img class=\" wp-image-1277\" src=\"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/05\/Document-design-e1594937899515.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"430\"> Figure 4.1[\/caption]\n<h2><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>Document Formatting<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Most academic and workplace documents are created using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/products\/office\">Microsoft Office products<\/a> (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) or <span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff\" href=\"https:\/\/gsuite.google.com\/\">Google Docs (G-Suite)<\/a><\/span>. These are generally considered industry standards, so it is important that you learn to use them effectively to create professional workplace documents.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong>Table 4.1<\/strong>\u00a0provides some general specifications for many types of technical writing documents:<\/p>\n&nbsp;\n<table class=\"shaded aligncenter\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 85%\" border=\"0\"><caption>TABLE 4.1 Document Formatting<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>MARGINS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Use 1\" margins <\/strong>on all sides (use 2\" when binding)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 30px\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 30px\"><strong>Justify your left margin<\/strong> only; don't fully justify your paragraphs, as this can result in odd spacing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>FONTS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Headings<\/strong>:\u00a0<em>Sans serif<\/em>, such as Arial or Calibri<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Body text<\/strong>:\u00a0<em>Serif <\/em>font, such as Times New Roman or Cambria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>FONT SIZE<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Headings<\/strong>: 12-20 point\u00a0<em>sans serif\u00a0<\/em>font<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Body text<\/strong>: 11-12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 30px\"><strong>SPACING<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 30px\"><strong>Single-spacing<\/strong> is used for most letters, memos, and emails; 1.5 or double spacing to allow for comments.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>LENGTH<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Paragraphs<\/strong> tend to be no longer than 10 lines<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Sentences <\/strong>are usually 15-20 words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<pre>*This page borrows from the following source: \n\"Page Design.\" <em>Technical and Business<\/em> <em>Writing<\/em>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-epcc-technicalwriting\/chapter\/page-design\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\">Source link<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/pre>","rendered":"<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300\">Designing Reader-Centered Pages and Documents<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">You build your communications out of\u00a0<em>visual<\/em>\u00a0elements: the dark marks of your words, sentences, and paragraphs against the light background of the page, as well as your drawings and graphs and tables. Your readers\u00a0<em>see<\/em>\u00a0the visual design of these elements before they read and understand your message. And what they see has a powerful effect on the success of your communications, on its usability and persuasiveness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Here are ways that good design enhances usability.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Good design helps readers understand your information.<\/li>\n<li>Good page design helps readers locate information quickly.<\/li>\n<li>Good design helps readers notice highly important content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Here are some ways good design affects readers&#8217; attitudes, thereby increasing a communication&#8217;s persuasiveness.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Good design encourages readers to feel good about the communication itself.<\/li>\n<li>Good design encourages readers to feel good about the communication\u2019s subject matter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300\">A Reader-Centered Approach to Design<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Because page design can have such a significant impact on your communication\u2019s usability and persuasiveness, you should approach design in the same reader-centered manner that you use when drafting text and graphics. Think continuously about your readers, including who they are, what they want from your communication, and the context in which they will be reading.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong>Design Elements of a Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">It is helpful to think about the building blocks of a page design in the way that professional graphic designers do. When they look at a page, they see six basic elements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Text<\/strong>: Paragraphs and sentences.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Headings and titles<\/strong>: Labels for sections of your communication.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: Drawings, tables, photographs, and so on \u2014 including their captions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>White space<\/strong>: Blank areas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Headers and footers<\/strong>: The items, such as page numbers, that occur at the top or bottom of each page in a multipage document.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Physical features<\/strong>: These include paper, which may take many shapes and sizes, and bindings, which come in many forms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">In <strong>Figure 4.1<\/strong>\u00a0below, notice how your eye is drawn to the blue header and the boxed elements. In these spaces, you can highlight the important parts of your message:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1277\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1277\" style=\"width: 611px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1277\" src=\"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/05\/Document-design-e1594937899515.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"430\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1277\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 4.1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>Document Formatting<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Most academic and workplace documents are created using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/products\/office\">Microsoft Office products<\/a> (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) or <span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff\" href=\"https:\/\/gsuite.google.com\/\">Google Docs (G-Suite)<\/a><\/span>. These are generally considered industry standards, so it is important that you learn to use them effectively to create professional workplace documents.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong>Table 4.1<\/strong>\u00a0provides some general specifications for many types of technical writing documents:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table class=\"shaded aligncenter\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 85%\">\n<caption>TABLE 4.1 Document Formatting<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>MARGINS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Use 1&#8243; margins <\/strong>on all sides (use 2&#8243; when binding)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 30px\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 30px\"><strong>Justify your left margin<\/strong> only; don&#8217;t fully justify your paragraphs, as this can result in odd spacing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>FONTS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Headings<\/strong>:\u00a0<em>Sans serif<\/em>, such as Arial or Calibri<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Body text<\/strong>:\u00a0<em>Serif <\/em>font, such as Times New Roman or Cambria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>FONT SIZE<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Headings<\/strong>: 12-20 point\u00a0<em>sans serif\u00a0<\/em>font<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Body text<\/strong>: 11-12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 30px\"><strong>SPACING<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 30px\"><strong>Single-spacing<\/strong> is used for most letters, memos, and emails; 1.5 or double spacing to allow for comments.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>LENGTH<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Paragraphs<\/strong> tend to be no longer than 10 lines<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 0.96432%;height: 15px\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.09348%;height: 15px\"><strong>Sentences <\/strong>are usually 15-20 words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<pre>*This page borrows from the following source: \n\"Page Design.\" <em>Technical and Business<\/em> <em>Writing<\/em>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-epcc-technicalwriting\/chapter\/page-design\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\">Source link<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[49],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-50","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":43,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50\/revisions\/51"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/43"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/techwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}