Document Design

One of my favorite topics to talk about is document design. I am a commercial photography minor and have studied elements of design for many years. I like to approach document design the same way that I would an art piece, with the principals of art and design: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity/variety—but with a twist.

Balance

It's important to ensure that your document is balanced, meaning that it should have neither too much nor too little information, images, context, color, font variation, formatting, and etc. A document should only include information and images that are relevant to its purpose and topic, as well as minimal font variation—perhaps one for headings and one for text.

Emphasis

In the context of writing, emphasis is equivalent to formatting. It can be difficult to separate your text. By using different text styles, heading hierarchies, font sizes, and lists, you not only make it easier for your reader to find the most important parts of your text but you also improve the readability of your text.

Movement, Pattern, and Rhythm

Movement, pattern, and rhythm can all be used to lead your reader through the information in your document. Much like emphasis, you can use different formatting methods to create movement from one paragraph to the next.

Pattern and rhythm are similar in that they both make your text interesting—not that the others don't. However, I like to think of them in terms of document structure. Columns can be a good way to structure your document because they are consistent and add a sense of stability to a documents format.

Unity/Variety

This is probably my favorite principal. It is important to to ensure that your document is unified in all regards—voice, style, format, and etc. For example, lists should always be parallel, meaning that they are always consistent. This means that the list on page 3 and the list on page 9 should should not have different types of bullets or different tenses. Using different types of bullets for sub-bullets can add variety while remaining non-distracting.

As technical communicators, we should always keep in mind the importance of a well-designed document. A successful document is accessible, usable, and readable by a variety of audiences and a document's design plays a large role in ensuring so.