Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Chapter 8 Layout and Design

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Layout ‣ The process and result of arranging all of the elements of a document—including medium, typography, spacing, graphics, and all other visual elements—that give the document its shape and look

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Design ‣ The process and result of composing the visual form of a document

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Effective Documents ‣ Allow readers to skim the document, jump from place to place within it, and refer back to information they need with minimal effort and time ‣ Must be carefully designed and organized because of the type of information they often contain

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Principles of Document Architecture ‣ How text and images can be positioned and designed for readability ‣ Refers to making visual-rhetorical choices about the placement and layout of information on a page ‣ Is influenced by aesthetic and functional choices ‣ Cannot mask poorly written or inaccurate information

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Balance ‣ Refers to how elements are arranged and aligned to create a unified whole ‣ Places more important elements in the optical center of a page ‣ Is symmetrical when it has equal weight on both sides of the document ‣ Is asymmetrical when it uses “heavier,” more visually striking elements, which are offset by other less striking elements

Connection ‣ Connect related items together by placing them in close proximity ‣ Allows readers to easily interpret a relationship between elements Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Duplication ‣ Suggests that elements of the same type, importance, or magnitude should use the same basic format, layout, and design ‣ Coordinates elements of equal importance for consistency and clarity

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Variation ‣ Shows contrasts or differences between elements ‣ Shows a hierarchy of different elements ‣ Focuses a reader’s attention on a particular point ‣ Signals a change or break in the topic

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Flow ‣ Refers to the movement of the reader’s eye from one part of a document to another ‣ Provides a clear and logical sense of movement from one section, idea, or image to the next ‣ Makes ample use of white space and avoids the overuse of borders and horizontal lines

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Elements of Document Architecture ‣ Space — consider the size of the document ‣ Time — consider the amount available ‣ Money — consider your budget ‣ Equipment — consider available tools ‣ Collaborators — consider their strengths and preferences ‣ Readers — consider their needs

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Physical Properties The materials you need for document layout and design freeimages.co.uk

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Paper ‣ Paper Size — influenced by the type of document and genre ‣ Page count — determined by economics and psychology ‣ Paper Quality — suggests the importance of the document, but also influenced by economics

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Binding ‣ Plastic grip ‣ Three-ring or loose-leaf ‣ Comb or spiral ‣ Saddle ‣ Perfect

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Typography The arrangement, style, appearance, and printing of text on a page freeimages.co.uk

Font Style ‣ Considers mood ‣ formal to informal, professional to creative ‣ Considers legibility ‣ serif or sans-serif Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Font Size ‣ Should be large enough to be readable, but not so large that it wastes space or appears awkward ‣ Depends on whether the document is read on paper or on a monitor ‣ Usually ranges from 10 to 14 points in paper documents ‣ Emphasizes some sections of text and provides contrasts when varied

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Emphasizing Devices ‣ Boldface emphasizes through contrast — useful for headings, captions, or logos ‣ Italicized text attracts the eye — useful for in- sentence emphasis ‣ Colored text emphasizes — useful for alerting readers to cautions or warnings ‣ CAPITALIZED text lends extreme emphasis — useful for importance or urgency

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Titles and Headings ‣ Play an important role in layout and design ‣ Forecast and introduce the subjects that follow ‣ Let readers know what to expect ‣ Let readers know if the information in the document or section applies to them ‣ Allow readers to easily find, reread, or refer to specific sections in the document

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Titles ‣ Are the first — and most important — descriptive label readers will see ‣ Should be displayed clearly and prominently ‣ Appear on either a separate cover page or on the first page of text ‣ Should be placed on the top 1/3 of the page ‣ Are usually centered

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Headings ‣ Divide information into comprehensible sections within a larger document ‣ Allow readers to understand the structure, order, and hierarchy of your document by quickly skimming through it ‣ Are typically written as short phrases ‣ Should be parallel and consistent

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Captions ‣ Identify or describe information in visuals ‣ Follow the same principles of brevity, specificity, and length as headings ‣ Are usually centered directly below the graphic to which they refer

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Headers and Footers ‣ Are found at the top and bottom edges of documents ‣ Enable readers to easily find, reread, or refer to specific sections in a document ‣ Provide referencing information to readers ‣ Can also contain design features, like graphics

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Lists ‣ Emphasize words, phrases, or groups of items ‣ Help summarize or review information ‣ Use an ordered format (numbered) when sequence is important ‣ Use an unordered format (bulleted) when items are of equal value ‣ Maintain consistency in length and style through each item

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Line Length, Spacing, and Justification ‣ Line length refers to the number of characters on a line ‣ Line spacing refers to the amount of whitespace separating lines of text or a line of text and a visual ‣ Line justification refers to how the words are aligned along the margins of the page

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. White Space ‣ Is the empty area around the content ‣ Keeps related items together ‣ Isolates and emphasizes important elements ‣ Provides “breathing room” between blocks of information ‣ Can increase the effectiveness of design elements