1. Document Design BasicsENG 112Prof. Holly Johnson

2. Some documents work better than others at holding ourattention and conveying information.By understanding the basic principles of documentdesign and layout, we can create more successful documents. 3. The Basic Principles ofDocument Design 4. 1. Visual information helps us remember text info better. 5. 2. We remember images of humans better than objects. 6. 3. We tend to remember things that are funny or sexy better than things that are not (but there are times where humor and sex are not appropriate). 7. 4. The human eye is easily overloaded and distracted. Our eyes wear out looking at too much contrast, but our eyes are also attracted to contrast.Blue and red are particularlyBlue and red are particularly exhausting on the eye, but all textexhausting on the eye, but all text with no visuals is somewhat tiringwith no visuals is somewhat tiring to to read. Think about it. Text isread. Think about it. Text is usually usually black on white paper whichblack on white paper which is the is the highest contrast there is.highest contrast there is. OneOne reason we double spacereason we double space writtenwritten work is to reduce eyework is to reduce eye fatigue. Thefatigue. The blank lines provideblank lines provide some rest fromsome rest from the constantthe constant contrast. Lots ofcontrast. Lots of technicaltechnical documents also includedocuments also include visuals,visuals, graphs, logos, charts, orgraphs, logos, charts, or images toimages to help break up the dense help break up the dense space.space. We CAN read things that areWe CAN read things that arebland, but we dont usually enjoy it. bland, but we dont usually enjoy it. 8. 5. Text that is baddly spelled, uses pour punctuation and bad grammer not, only makes the writer looks, like a boob but can confuse meaning and be extremely distrac ting ass well. 9. Is your restaurant too cheap to use anapostrophe? 10. We can fix that! 11. Applying the Basic Principles 12. To apply the principles effectively, you must firstknow a little bit about color and contrast. 13. The strongest color contrasts are the ones that areopposites on the color wheel: yellow/violet, green/red,blue/orange, and of course black and white. 14. In general, its best to avoid the harshest contrastsand use warm colors with warm colors, cool colorswith cool colors, and use slight contrast for accents. 15. We tend to feel soothed andcalmed by cool colors.Colors have an affect on us! We tend to feel excited andinvigorated by warm colors. 16. We also have particular associations with certain colors. Ever seen a pink Ford pick-up truck? Probably not. 17. Why are hospital rooms depressing? This room is functional, but the light is glaring, theshades of wood are conflicting, the only color is thecurtain and its high contrast mint and pink, the walls arestark white, there are no calming colors and no accents. 18. In addition to choosing colors carefully, we mustalso think about choosing shapes carefully. Shapes effect us too. We are attracted to symmetry. 19. When things are asymmetrical there is a contrast, and our eye is attracted to contrast. Too much contrast, however, is unappealing. 20. Symmetrical shapes are reassuring. Asymmetricalshapes draw our eye more, however. 21. Round objects (like cool colors) tend to sooth the eye,whereas spiky objects (like warm colors) stimulate us. 22. When analyzing or designing a document ask yourself: Q: What information am I trying to convey? Q: Can I use visuals to help me convey it? Q: Can I use visuals of people? Q: Do I want to use humor or sex appeal? Q: What colors are best for this project? Q: What shapes would be best for this project? Q: Where do I want the readers eye to focus most? 23. In the next three slides you will see the homepageof several websites.Which one has the best design and layout? Which has the worst?Based on the principles weve just learned, see ifyou can articulate precisely what makes one page work better than the others. 24. Now that youve learned thebasic principles of gooddocument design, youre readyto begin applying them to yourown document design project! 25. END