the rhetorical situation  audience  purpose  context design principles  contrast  repetition  alignment  proximity

document design  is writing information—books, pamphlets, posters, web pages, reports, and more—that integrate words and images in productive, appropriate ways  is bringing together words, graphics, typography—and more design features—to instruct, inform, or persuade  should help people learn and understand, use and apply something, make decisions, and get a job done  should enable people to use a document in ways that serve their interests and needs

goals of document/page design (Markel)  to make a good impression on readers  to help readers understand the structure and hierarchy of information  to help readers find the information they need  to help readers understand the information

 be driven by readers’/viewers’/users’ needs  be a guide; it should enhance, entice, and lead, not distract  be deliberate—that is, elements should be selected, structured, and emphasized carefully document design should

 margins  blank space  paragraph spacing  paragraph length  line spacing  line length  justification  type sizes and typefaces (fonts)  type features (e.g., bold, italics, strikethrough)  letter case  highlighting  color  graphics, images, icons, symbols  tables, charts, diagrams  columns  headings  headers and footers  page numbers document design includes

usable documents  usable means more than just “ease of use”  usable means thinking about how and why people use a document  usable means evaluation, assessment, and redevelopment  usable means user-centered practices and user-centered design

when document design fails

 informal evaluations: reviewed by two other members of the canvassing board of which the designer was a member; both experienced in conducting elections, not experienced in design  formal review: by Democratic and Republican National Committees for review; don’t know how many individuals of each group reviewed ballot

“Design for the greater good is that which is usually overlooked: airport signage, stamps, passports, the driver’s license. It’s time for our government to act publicly, fervently and adamantly in advocating the essential and necessary nature of design. Design should be valued and recognized for the power it holds.” (JP Williams)

CRAP  contrast  repetition  alignment  proximity

contrast  contrast aids in the organization of information and creates organizational hierarchy  contrast can add clarity  contrast can make the page/screen look more interesting

 if two items are different, make them really different; avoid doing wimpy contrast—make contrast strong

repetition  repetition unifies elements throughout a document  repetition adds visual interest  repetition develops organization and creates consistency

 repeat some aspect of a design (e.g., horizontal rule, a certain type of bullet, a type of font) throughout an entire page or site  avoid repeating an element so much that it becomes annoying or overwhelming

alignment  alignment unifies and organizes the page  alignment helps create visual connections

 nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily  avoid using more than two text alignments on a page  balance image and text alignment carefully  center alignment and full alignment are more difficult to read than right alignment

proximity  proximity helps to organize elements, imply relationships  proximity helps with use of blank space  proximity reduces clutter

 create visual relationships with elements that belong together  avoid too many separate elements on one page  don’t stick things in the corners and in the middle of the page