Guidelines for designing documents and graphics in technical writing. Information is based on Technical Communication Strategies for Today 2nd Edition by Richard Johnson-Sheehan

1. z
Designing
Documents &
Using Graphics

2. z
z
Five Principles of
Design
Balance
Alignment
Grouping
Consistency
Contrast

3. z
Balance: Use Grids to Design Page Layouts
Whether one column or two, whether three columns or four, all of them are balanced!

4. z
Alignment: Use Vertical Alignment
Vertical alignment
includes paragraphs
and blocks of text.

5. zGroupings: Use Rules & Borders to Group Information
Groups can be set off with empty areas call white space or with borders.

6. z
Consistency: Headers & Footers, Headings, Fonts, & Lists
Examples of different
heading styles

7. zContrast: Use Color to Contrast & Increase Accessibilty
Make your primary object stand out from the background.

8. z
zz
Cross-Cultural Design: Meanings of Colors

9. z A graphic should tell a simple story
This graph tells the
story of childhood
obesity.

10. z
A graphic should reinforce the written text
These graphs support the discussion about school safety and
where adolescent violence is most likely to take place.

11. z
zz
A graphic
should be
ethical
Notice what number the
vertical axis starts counting
on. The results depicted on
the top graph look far more
impressive than the bottom
one.

12. z
A graphic should be labeled and placed properly
Both axes are labeled
and a key provided.

13. z
Choosing the Appropriate Graphic

14. z
Use cross-cultural and/or international symbols
Be mindful that a symbol from one culture may not mean
the same in another culture.

15. z
Technical Communication Strategies for Today
By Richard Johnson-Sheehan
Chapter 13:
Designing
Documents and
Interfaces
Chapter 14:
Creating and Using
Graphics