© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 15 Designing Pages and Documents Technical Communication, 9/e John M. Lannon PowerPoint prepared by Jimidene Murphy

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Page Design Page design is critical because  Technical documents are designed differently than other documents  Technical documents rarely get readers’ undivided attention  People read work-related documents only because they have to  More and more documents compete for readers’ attention

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Shaping the Page  Use the correct paper and ink  Use high-quality type or print  Use consistent page numbers, headers, and footers  Use grids when possible  Use adequate white space

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Shaping the Page  Provide ample margins  Keep line length reasonable  Keep line spacing consistent  Tailor each paragraph to its purpose  Make lists for easy reading

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Styling Words and Letters  Use standard type sizes  Select appropriate fonts  Usually, sans-serif fonts are good for titles, headings, subheadings, and presentation slides. Serif fonts are good for body text.  Avoid sentences in all caps  Highlight as necessary  Highlighting includes boldface, italics, SMALL CAPS, and underlining.

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Use Headings for Access and Orientation Good headings have the following characteristics: Appropriate phrasing Specific and comprehensive wording Grammatical consistency Visual consistency Appropriate layout

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 A Good Format for Headings

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Designing Attractive Web Pages  Keep sentences and paragraphs short and concise  Use sans serif type  Include main point close to the top of each screen  Organize pages and links logically  Make sure reader can follow links

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 9 Any Questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at