Document Design

In her book Technical Writing, theorist Diana Reep discusses the importance of document design in conveying information to readers.

A writers job is now not only to write, but to use design techniques to enhance the readers' experience and increase the usefulness of the document.

According to Reep, design considerations such as graphic elements, written cues, white spaces, and typographic devices can help to enhance a document in the following ways:

1. Guide readers through the document by directing them to individual topics and increasing their ability to absorb and remember important, highlighted information.
2. Increase readers interest in the document by using graphics and formatting devices to hold the readers attention rather than unbroken blocks of text.
3. Reflect an image you want your readers to have eg. conservative business may want a solid, no-nonsense traditional image but an artistic company may want a more trendy or dramatic look.

Design Principles

Reep says that the most important design principle writers or document designers must consider are:

• Balance

Visual "weight" of the page needs to be balanced i.e. big weighs more than small, dark weighs more than light, colour weighs more than black and white, unusual shapes weigh more than simple circles or squares.

• Proportion

Refers to size and placement of text, graphics and formatting elements. Each design feature should be the size that is helpful to the readers and appropriate to the subject. 

• Sequence 

The arrangement of design features should be seen in the best order for readers use of the document. Readers usually begin at the top left of the document and end at the bottom right corner. Between these two points readers tend to scan up and down, left and right and notice features with the most "weight" first.

• Consistency 

Similar features should be presented in a similar style consistently throughout the document i.e. margins, typeface, indentations.

Formatting Elements 

Formatting elements such as headings, headers and footers, jumplines, logos and icons help readers find important information.

• White Space

Areas of a document with no text or graphics are referred to as "white space" and can be used to help readers process the text of a document efficiently. White space allows the reader to rest their eyes and directs them to important information. It is used to create balance and proportion to documents. To create white space, document designers most often use margins, heading areas, columns, and indentations.

• Colour 

Use of colour can be aesthetically appealing to readers and enhance the useability of a document by distinguishing certain parts of a text or document, drawing the readers eye to specific parts. 

• Style

The style of a document creates an image of the writer or the company it is published for. Document designers should consider the image they are trying to convey and how appropriate the style of the document is e.g. pale or muted shades create a conservative image and brighter colours create a more playful, artistic style. 

• Typographic Devices

 Typefaces, bold type, lists, and boxes highlight specific sections or details of a document in order to direct a readers attention or help them to remember important information. 

Diana Reeps guidelines for document design help writers to create the most effective document by appropriately laying out text, graphics, and formatting elements in order to help guide the reader through the document. Not only do these guidelines help to make the document more appealing visually for the reader, they also allow the reader to make the most of the document by pinpointing information and remembering important aspects of the document.