This document summarizes best practices for visual design of handouts. It discusses using fonts and typefaces that are familiar and legible to students, setting larger text sizes, using typography to signal different sections, increasing line spacing and white space, organizing pages with lines and shapes, and only including graphics that serve an instructional purpose.

1. Visual design best practices
for handouts
Cameron Romney
Center for Foreign Language Education
Momoyama Gakuin University
(St. Andrew’s University)
March 23, 2013

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• Typography
• Page Layout
• Graphics: Illustrations/Photographs, etc.

3. Connect
Theory and Practice
with
‘Best Practices’

4. Do you know anything about typography/
page layout/graphics?
Do you think it (they) are important?
Why or why not?

5. “Unfortunately, most of the materials made at
home, no matter how good in content, are
atrocious in terms of layout. In my experiences
with both publishers and students, I have come
to the conclusion that
layout is just as important as...no, even
more important than...content”
Curtis Kelly, 1998

6. Visual design effects
on readers
• Motivation
Smiley (2004); Misanchuk (1992); Bell & Sullivan (1981)
• Comprehension
Gasser, Boeke, Haffernan, & Tan (2005); Romney (2004); Smiley (2004); Walker (2001), Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997); Garofalo
(1988), Lewis & Walker (1989)
• Recall
Gasser, Boeke, Haffernan, & Tan (2005); Smiley (2004); Lewis & Walker (1989)
• Efficiency/Speed
Smiley (2004); Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997)

7. “...more easily perceiving ... text on a
page ... less attentional resources are
required for the process of reading. More
attentional resources can then be
devoted to attending to the message in
the text, which results in deeper
processing and an easier recall of the
information presented.” (p. 185)
Gasser, Boek, Haffernan & Tan (2005)

8. Typeface
i.e. font

9. Common Problems
for
L2 Learners

10. Legibility

12. LC l and UC I

13. LC d, b, q and p

14. Lowercase i and j

15. Lowercase c and o

16. Lowercase f and t

17. Double story minuscules
Images from Wikipedia

18. Best Practice #1
Use the font students
are FAMILIAR with

19. “people most easily read material
printed in the typefaces with
which they are most familiar.” (p. 32)
Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997)

20. Copyright page

21. Identifont & WhatTheFont
www.identifont.com http://new.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont
(includes an iPhone app)

22. Best Practice #1 (version two)
Use a font with good
LEGIBILITY

23. Recommended
Typefaces
Serif Sans Serif
• Georgia • Verdana
• (Bembo) Schoolbook • Helvetica Textbook

24. Georgia
Image from Identifont

25. Bembo Schoolbook
Image from Identifont

26. Verdana
Image from Identifont

27. Helvetica Textbook
Image from Identifont

28. Best Practice #2
set the typeface at a
LARGER size

29. • Less skilled readers benefit from larger text
Carter, Day & Meggs (2006); Petterson (1989)
• 9-12 pt is standard for adults
Carter, Day & Meggs (2006)
• 18 pt for 1st grade, 14 pt for 3rd grade, 11 pt
for 6th grade
Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997)

30. Best Practice #3
Use typography to
signal different sections

31. Example

32. Tip
Don’t forget the
PRINTING & COPYNG

34. Page Layout

35. Best Practice #4
Use INCREASED
line spacing
and
white space

36. Theory (line spacing)
“...the reader has an effortless
return path to the left edge ... for
the next line.” (p. 115)
White (2002)

38. Theory (white space)
“Space attracts readers by
making the page look accessible,
unthreatening, and manageable”
White (2002)

40. Best Practice #5
Use lines & shapes to
ORGANIZE the page

41. Theory
“...directing the readers eye
around the page, drawing attention
to specific parts... breaking copy
into sections” (p.86)
Dabner (2004)

45. Graphics

46. Best Practice #6
Only use graphics with
INSTRUCTIONAL
purpose

47. “The fear of ‘wasted space’ drives
design novices to fill in any empty
space with unnecessary clip
art.” (p. 37)
White (2002)

48. Theory
Graphics can be a distraction
Evans, Watson and Willows (1987); Peeck (1987)
Clark & Lyons (2011); Romney & Bell (2011)

49. “If instructional facilitation is not
highly probable, then ... graphics
should not be used in instructional
material.” (p. 239)
Misanchuk (1992)

50. Putting it all together
A Before and After

53. Thank You
romney.cameron@gmail.com
LinkedIn
Twitter: @CameronRomney
CameronRomney.com