1. Designing Effective Documents
Prepared by Hannah Haas

2. Introduction
This presentation focuses on the design concerns in printed business documents, including reader’s assumptions; font selection; use of headings, white space, and bullets; and text alignment.

3. Effective documents highlight:
Structure
Hierarchy
Order

4. Effective documents also:
Help readers locate information
Give readers appropriate visual cues

5. Readers’ assume: Top = more important Centered = more important
Bold = more important
Same font size = as important
Same color=same type of information

6. Good fonts are: Easily readable Aesthetically pleasing
Appropriate for the audience

7. Which fonts are business- appropriate?

8. Use serif fonts for:
Body text
Documents more than two pages long

9. Use sans-serif fonts for:
Headings
Subheadings
Short documents (1-2 pages)

10. Which font set will work best for headings and body text?
Subheading
Body
Heading 2
Subheading 2
Body 2
Heading 3
Subheading 3
Body 3
Heading 4
Subheading 4
Body 4

11. How many fonts should you use in one document?

12. Use font style to highlight text:
Italics add emphasis, but slow readers (use sparingly)
Bold type shows importance
Capital letters show emphasis, but are hard to read (use sparingly)
Bulleted lists present key concepts quickly

13. Which styles of bullets are business-appropriate?
Bullet style 1
Bullet style 2
Bullet style 3
Bullet style 4
Bullet style 5

14. Use white space to: Frame information Break information into units
Signal section breaks

15. Which example has used white space appropriately?
Heading
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text

16. Example 2
Heading
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text

17. What happens when text gets separated?
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body t
Heading

18. Example 2 body text body text. Heading
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text

19. Use ragged right for: Long documents
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text

20. Use justification for:
Multiple-column documents
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body

21. What is wrong with this example of justified text?
Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text body text Body text body text body text body text body text b o d y

22. Conclusion
Keeping these tips in mind will help you design aesthetically pleasing documents that are easy to read and easy to re-read.