Engl317 project1 slidedoc1_format_documentdesignreadability

Format,
Document Design, &
Readability
1

2
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................3-6
About Workplace Genres ..............................................................................................7
About Using Templates....................................................................................................8-9
Standard Format and Document Design..................................................................10-11
Project 1 Memo Report Format....................................................................................12-14
Document Design and Visual Hierarchy....................................................................15-16
Crap Principles of Design................................................................................................18
Contrast......................................................................................................................19-27
Repetition...................................................................................................................28
Alignment...................................................................................................................29-30
Proximity .....................................................................................................................31
Style Guides........................................................................................................................32-34
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................35

INTRODUCTION
Don't take this wrong but, in the workplace, no
one will ever want to read what you write.
3
I don’t want to read that
report from you.

Workplace readers will NEED to read what you write to:
• Solve problems,
• Gain a better understanding of something,
• Make effective decisions,
• Plan work they and others will do, and
• Create a paper trail (record) for legal purposes if needed.
4
This helps me.
What a great
writer you are!

To help them out, your writing style needs READABILITY.
5

Readability simply means how easily a reader
can understand a text.
But, achieving a readable style is not only about
the words you write. It's also about how a
document (or web page) looks.
And, in technical writing, how a readable
document looks is a function of genre, format,
and document design.
6

In the workplace, Genres and how they should
look (Format) evolved, over time, in response to
common writing situations. Here are just a few
workplace genres
• Business Correspondence: letters, memos, emails, and
texts;
• Reports, Proposals, and White Papers: informal and
formal reports; technical white papers.
• Applications; cover letter, resume, e-portfolio.
• Multimedia: podcasts, slidecasts, screencasts.
7
GENRES

8
There's nothing wrong with using a genre
template, but you need to know the
rhetorical work that standard formatting
conventions do as well as the principles
of document design in order to choose
wisely.
Rhetorical work just means that you are
aware of how certain choices in format
and design assist readability while others
do not.
About using
TEMPLATES

9
Many template designers get this all wrong. For example, the
templates below violate many principles of effective document
design and standard formatting conventions.
The obnoxious size of the titles, saturation of the ink-level, and
the silly graphic elements all combine to cue a reader that you
don't know what you are doing if you use one of these.

10
Standard genre formats and principles of
document design do two types of rhetorical
work that you need to know about and apply in
the documents you produce for this course:
1. Standard Formats allow the reader to discern
at-a-glance what the document is – its genre
(and hence, what it’s for).
2. Document Design helps readers easily find
and revisit the information they need.

You need both because
workplace readers are busy,
and they do not read
linearly from start to finish,
like they would a book.
Instead, they look for the
information they need, and
read more like newspaper
readers do.
11

For project 1, you will need to apply standard
formatting conventions and principles of
document design to compose your memo
report (deliverable 1).
• A memo report is one of the most common workplace
genres and it is written to people within a business or
organization.
• The next slides explain how to format a memo report
using standard conventions and apply basic principles
of effective document design.
12

13
Memorandum
To: First and Last Name
From: First and Last Name
Date: Date Sent
Subject: What the Memo is About
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud
exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure
dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit
anim id est laborum.
Heading
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Leo integer malesuada nunc vel risus
commodo viverra maecenas.
• Eu mi bibendum neque egestas congue. Ornare massa eget egestas purus. Dolor
sed viverra ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum. Non tellus orci ac auctor augue mauris
augue neque.
• Molestie nunc non blandit massa enim nec dui nunc mattis. Nam libero justo
laoreet sit amet cursus sit. Semper viverra nam libero justo laoreet. Etiam non
quam lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem.
• Rhoncus dolor purus non enim praesent. In egestas erat imperdiet sed euismod.
Vestibulum lectus mauris ultrices eros in cursus turpis massa tincidunt. Aliquam
eleifend mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin aliquam. Pulvinar mattis nunc sed
blandit libero volutpat sed cras. In hac habitasse platea dictumst vestibulum
rhoncus est pellentesque.
Heading
Fermentum iaculis eu non diam. Elit ullamcorper dignissim cras tincidunt lobortis
feugiat vivamus at. Ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate eu scelerisque felis. Auctor
augue mauris augue neque gravida in. Arcu odio ut sem nulla pharetra diam sit amet. Ut
faucibus pulvinar elementum integer enim.
Dictum sit amet justo donec enim diam vulputate ut. Vitae congue eu consequat ac felis.
Pretium nibh ipsum consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam id. Porttitor eget dolor
morbi non arcu. Arcu non sodales neque sodales ut. In nulla posuere sollicitudin
aliquam ultrices sagittis. Augue lacus viverra vitae congue eu consequat ac felis donec.
Standard Format: Memo Report
The title “memo” or "memorandum" signals the
reader is getting an internal document.
The section below the title creates a record of
who received the document, who wrote it,
when, and why (conveyed by the subject line).
Another standard formatting
convention is to single-
space and left-justify text,
and add a line of white
space to separate
paragraphs.

Secondary Pages
Another convention is to use
the page header in all
pages after the first one to
help a reader know which
document they are reading
and which page they are
on.
Page numbers are typically
omitted on the first page.
14

The central principle of effective
document design is to use visual hierarchy.
Visual hierarchy refers to how text and
images are arranged on a page that
implies how they are related.
15
DOCUMENT DESIGN

16
Poor Visual Hierarchy
Notice how the elements are
"scattered" on this page.
There are no visual cues to
help a reader see how the
titles, images, and text are
related.

17
Effective Visual Hierarchy
Notice how this page provides visual
cues through the use of white space
and alignment to help a reader
understand how elements are elated
to one another.
Effective visual hierarchy is achieved
by using the CRAP PRINCIPLES of
document design.
Yes, they really
are called that.

• Contrast,
• Repetition
• Alignment.
• Proximity
18
CRAP PRINCIPLES

CONTRAST
19
Contrast allows readers to see
at-a-glance key sections of a
document and how they are
related.
Writers create contrast using:
• Heading levels,
• Bolding,
• Color,
• Font style and size,
• White (negative) space.

Heading
Levels
20
Headings help readers easily navigate
through content to find and revisit
information they need.
Heading levels also show at-a-glance
how some information is subordinate to
other information on a page.
Most of the time, three - four levels will be
all you need, so don't get carried away,
particularly if you indent the levels.

Numbering heading levels in a long report is a
standard convention that assists readability.
21

22
Memorandum
Date: Date Sent
Heading
augue neque.
Heading
Using bold type and varying
font size in headings helps
readers see where major
sections and subsections begin
and end.
Bold Type
and Font
Size

Font Style
and Color
23
Often writers also use a different font
style and color for headings. If you
use color, choose only ONE for
headings.
Learning how to use the Styles feature in
Word can make this easy to do.

White Space
24
White space is any section of
a document that is unused, including
the amount of space around an
object.
Creating contrast with white
space helps separate paragraphs of
text, graphics, and other portions of
a document's layout.
It's important though not to use too
much or too little white space.

Too Much White Space
25
Memorandum
Date: Date Sent
Heading
Memorandum
Date: Date Sent
Heading
augue neque.
Heading
Dicum sit amet justo donec enim diam vulputate ut. Vitae congue eu consequat ac felis.
Too Little White Space

Just Right
26
Memorandum
Date: Date Sent
Heading
augue neque.
Heading

It’s Not Hard to Use Headings
But, if you aren’t used to writing
them, it may feel odd to add
headings at first.
You may feel like your writing
“doesn’t flow” as in an essay but
it shouldn’t.
Remember the purpose of
headings, and it will help you
write them.
27

The second crap principle is the
consistent repetition of an element.
It is widely used in multi-page documents,
websites, and infographics. Repetition
creates a cohesive and consistent design.
28
REPETITION

The third crap principle is about
how the text and other elements
are aligned in a document or web
page.
The goal in alignment is to use it to
reveal the hierarchy of text and
elements.
29
ALIGNMENT

Memorandum
Date: Date Sent
Heading
augue neque.
Heading
Aligning text in a memo's
heading makes it easier to read.
30
Aligning text that is
subordinate to another
section helps readers see
how the information is
related.

Proximity is the last crap principle and
it means grouping elements together
to help readers see the relationship
between those elements.
31
PROXIMITY
Memorandum
Date: Date Sent
Heading
augue neque.
Heading
Bullet points are a standard
convention writer's use to
group elements.

Many businesses and organizations use style guides
and create their own genre templates to achieve a
consistent look and feel that supports the brand
identity.
Style guides specify use of standard visual
formatting conventions such as font style, size of
heading levels, and use of other elements such as
logos.
32
STYLE GUIDES

Example 1:
Idaho Transportation Department
33
The ITD style guide is 95 pages and
explains the formatting guidelines
that writers should use when
preparing research reports.
These guidelines include font-style,
size of heading levels, line-spacing,
layout of pages etc.

Example 2:
University of Idaho
34
The University of Idaho's Brand
Resource center explains UI policy
for use of university logos, colors,
typography, etc.

In the workplace, follow your employer's style
guide for specific style choices needed to
support the business or organization's brand.
In this course, project assignment sheets will
specify the audience, purpose, and which
genre format to use and guide you in the use
of standard formatting conventions.
Apply principles of document design in all
genre formats required in this course.
35
CONCLUSION

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