Design

Design Principles

Never use more than two fonts on a single document
      Using too many fonts makes a page look busy and distracts from the readability of the document. For a clean readable document, it’s best to use no more than two different fonts, and even then it’s best if they are very different font. This typically means using one serif font and one sans-serif font. You will note from reading books and journals, that the best fonts for reading body text are serif. The little embellishments on the tops and bottoms of serif fonts aid in quick and accurate visual recognition. San-serif can be used for headings and poster-type presentations. Not as well known is that it is easier to read san-serifs when reading body text on computer screens.

Never use all capital letters
      ALL CAPS ARE HARD TO READ. Caps take up more space and don’t give the visual clues with taller letters and tails. They also distract from identifying the beginning of sentences.

Use one space between sentences.
      Double-spacing is a feature of typewriters which used “monospace” type, meaning that every takes the same space. Most fonts in word processors are “proportional” type, meaning that some letters are wider than others. Because words using proportional type are set more tightly, a single space is adequate as a visual clue for identifying the beginning of a sentence.

Make good use of white space
      White space is the blank space on a page and this helps define the design of your page. White space can be used to emphasize key points, to organize information and to give the eye room to rest. It is best to concentrate white space around the edge rather than small chucnks in the middle of the page. If you leave a good amount of white space at the top of the page, your readers will forgive you for any number of other design errors.

Don’t leave widows on your page
      When you type a paragraph and the last word drops down to form a line of its own at the end, that word is called a “widow.” The last line should never be only one word. When this happens, one should edit the text or make other adjustments to the page format so that the lasts line is longer than 7 characters.

Don’t use underlines
      Underlining text makes it difficult to read because, in part, you lose the visual clues from letters with tails. If you wish to emphasize a word, use bold or italic to set it apart.

If items belong together intellectually…put them close together physically
      This is particularly important with subheadings in a simple, all text document. The subheadings should be closer to the paragraph they are defining than to the paragraph above. This allows for easier recognition of which text belongs together.

Make good use of contrast
      Don’t be a wimp. If two items are different, make them very different. To set you subheadings apart, don’t simply make them bold, make them very different. Try a different font, a larger size as well as a bold style. Contrast adds interest to your page. It makes a page look rewarding to read. Too little contrast results in a boring page.

Remember the concept of Effort and Reward
      The goal in designing a page is to make it east to read, and to make it look rewarding. Readers won’t bother if it looks high effort and they can’t see the value of reading it. Make the important ideas jump out at the readers. Let them see immediately what the value will be to them in reading your document. You can do this by following the above design principles.

• Title
• Subheadings
• Body text
• Visuals (photographs, clipart or drawings)