Document Design in

Technical Writing
ENG 150
 Elements of Document Design
“When you are designing your document’s
layout, it is just as important to know your
audience as when you are planning your
document’s text”
– Consistent use of elements creates a sense of a
unified document.
– Headings and lists help readers note different
sections.
Source: Chapter 5, Page 118
 Document Design

http://flickr.com/photos/shaun_morrison/146
065326/
 Items to Consider for
Document Design
• Where will the document be used? Consider
materials used for specific situations (at a desk vs. on
a construction site, for example)

• How will the document be used? Will it be used as a

reference? Training manual?

• How do you want readers to perceive the document?

Complex? Friendly? Businesslike?
 Consistency is Key
Keeping a consistent design throughout a document
reinforces company brands and general aesthetics.
Consistency also helps readers when they review
your document, as it helps with organization.

Style guides and style sheets are a great way to help

with consistency across a document or documents.
 Style Sheet and Style Guides
• Include design elements such as headers, lists,
graphics.
• Include specific wording choices, such as how to
abbreviate certain titles.
• Include common grammar rules, especially if they
follow something specific such as use or lack of use
of the oxford comma.
• Include use of logos and other graphics to help
writers and designers maintain company branding.
 Style Sheet Example

http://billyblue.cuttscreative.com.au/2011/03/
26/style-guide-brand-manual/
 Document Structure
By using grids and whitespace, you can keep content
interesting and clear:

Grids
Think about a document in terms of sections, using placeholders to organize
text and graphics. (see figures on page 125 in chapter 5)

Check out this site with great examples:

http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/contents/grid/

White Space
“Experts have learned that readers are attracted to text when white space
surrounds it” (Chapter 5, page 125).

White space can be used in margins, hanging indents, line spacing, paragraph
length, and paragraph indenting among other textual spacing techniques
(Chapter 5, pages 126-127)
 Grid Example

http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/contents/gr
id/
 Content Structure
Two major elements:
Lists
Help you group information for easier reading, helps
emphasize important points, help organize
information chronologically.
Lists should be formatted and follow guidelines such as
keeping items within the list as short as possible and
keeping lists parallel in format.

(Source Chapter 5, pages 128-129)

 Content Structure
Headings
• Use at least one heading per page of a document
• Use substantive wording (Instead of “Costs” use “Production Costs of
the FastCopy800)
• Use parallel form in wording—headings of equal value and degree
should have the same grammatical form (Using the SmartArt
Tool, Adding New Slides, Arranging Slide Elements, are all parallel in
grammatical form)
• Establish a clear hierarchy with formatting/bolding (make sure readers
can tell a heading 1 from a heading 2
• User larger type-size for higher level headings; heading position to
show ranking (center a title, for example); and typographic elements
(bolding, italics, color, underline)
• Use decimal headings for longer, formal documents (view page 138 for
visual)

Source: Pages 135-138, Chapter 5

 Summary
• Document design helps audience understand
a document through visual elements.

• Grids and Whitespace help structure a

document in an easy to read manner.

• Lists and Headings help structure content and

can contain typographical techniques and
formatting to achieve style and organization.