1. Designing User-Friendly Documents
Chapter 8
Designing User-Friendly Documents
Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace
Laura J. Gurak
John M. Lannon

2. Characteristics of Well-Designed Documents
Well-designed documents should:
Be inviting and accessible
Flow well as a single, cohesive unit
Provide a visual hierarchy
Address a diversity of readers

3. Specific Design Elements
Designing for Consistency and Cohesiveness includes:
Grid Patterns
Margins
Paragraphs
Justification
White Space
Line Spacing and Indentation
Font Style
Font Size

4. Designing for Navigation and Emphasis
Headings
Color, Shading, Boldface, Italics, and Underlining
Bulleted and Numbered Lists
Running Headers and Footers
Tables of Contents and Indexes

5. Use Headings for Access and Orientation
Good headings have the following characteristics:
Appropriate phrasing
Specific and comprehensive wording
Grammatical consistency
Visual consistency
Appropriate layout

6. A Good Format for Headings

7. Any Questions?
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