Page Design

Overall design issues u Know audience expectations u Know client expectations u Maintain a consistent look and feel u Consider how each page will look before starting the work. –Each page must be part of a whole –Prevents having the 1 page that looks awkward

Design points u Audience needs come first –What are audience goals and information needs u Obvious organization -- lead the reader –Informative headings –Enough white space to show structure u Design to draw reader in –How does it look at 10 feet?

Fonts

Serif and sans serif fonts u Serifs are the tails on the letters u Serif leads the eye from letter to letter u At large font sizes, the serifs get too big

Sans serif fonts Note varying line weights on Optima

Serif fonts

Display fonts

Font tone u Each font carries a visual tone that affects how the reader reacts to the text u Can be

Type anatomy u Points u x height u Body size u Baseline

Align with tabs, not spaces

Heading Design

Font choices  Normally sans serif –The sans serif is visually distinct from the serif body font. This allows the eye to more easily distinguish a heading from the body text. –At larger sizes, the serifs become too large and are distracting for the reader.

Font size  Use a different font size for each heading  Avoid all caps or underlines  What is the most important attribute for distinquishing a heading?

White space  Any space that does not contain text  White space breaks up the page  Large blocks of dense looking text turn off the reader  Too much white space makes the page look disjoint

Heading white space  Sets off the heading from the text  Ensure the heading is visually tied to the proper text elements

Use unbalanced white space  Put more white space above the heading than below it. Gives a visual connection with the text.  Make the white space part of the paragraph formatting. Do not use returns. –Format-Paragraph-Spacing –Allows partial line spacings. Better control.

Balanced vs unbalanced

Flush left text and heading

Indenting heading

Different formatting

Paragraph formatting

Technical paragraph formatting

Line spacing u Also called Leading u Double or 1.5 is usually too much u Can be set in small increments u Some fonts look better with slightly more leading u Small changes can have large effect on document length

Line spacing examples 12 pt 15 pt 18 pt

Line spacing 12 pt 10 pt 8 pt

Text justification u Four options – Justified left, ragged right – Full justified – Ragged left, justified right – Centered

Left justified, ragged right u Easiest to read u Broken right edge helps eye remain oriented u Gives overall page a distinct shape for later recall

Full justified u Both left and right hand sides are justified u Not as easy to read u Page lacks distinct shape u Most publishers use this u Word processors are bad at good justification

Ragged left, justified right u Hard for eye to find new line u Only use for special effects u Never use for large text blocks

Centered u Hard to read u Eye can’t find new line u Use for special effect u Each line should stand alone

Line length u Best line is about 2 alphabets long – Actual length varies depending on the font u Too short, the eye is always doing a “fly back” u Too long, the eye gets lost on the “fly back” u Longer lines require more line spacing

Line length and paragraph width u If the material will be scanned for specific information, indent the text from the headings. u Longer page count = $$

Line length and paragraph width u If the text will be read in long blocks, align the text with the headings. u Saves page count

Hanging indents u First line flush and rest are indented u Useful for definition lists u Tips for the word processor – Set tab properly – Define hanging indent. – Never try to use hard returns and spaces.

Setting the hanging indent

Setting line spacing

Examples for analysis

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