Design
When you are tasked with a writing assignment, the genre or form of the final product often is specified (e.g., write a report, a memo, etc.). Knowing the genre conventions gives you a basic set of ideas for what the document should look like, but many decisions remain as you work to design a document that is visually appealing and easy to read. A document’s overall appearance affects the reader’s attitude toward the document and determines whether the reader can find and engage with information simply and efficiently.
Document design is the “nuts and bolts” of professional writing. No matter how brilliant or important the content, if it is not formatted in a way that enhances readability, it will likely not receive the attention it deserves. This chapter provides information on how technical writers use formatting features to optimize readability.
Answering the Design Question
Design incorporates two major concerns:
- Format of the page
- Incorporation of graphics or visuals
This section specifically addresses the design of the page and the arrangement of words on the page. Business and technical documents need to be designed well because documents must compete for your reader’s attention in the workplace.
Some, perhaps all, of your readers are only looking at your document because they are required to do so as part of their jobs. These readers will scan your document or only read sections relevant to their purposes. Good design ensures that the document is easy to read, and a document that is easy to read contributes to the document’s overall effectiveness.
The design of your document will be based on your audience and purpose. Once you’ve determined these two factors, you can use the following general guidelines to design your document. You should make decisions about document design in the planning stages, before you begin to write, because what you write will be informed by the format used to present your words to your audience. You will need to make choices regarding the following design elements:
- Shaping the appearance of the page
- Styling words through typographic elements
- Crafting access to information
- Adding other design features
See Chapter 8 for a more robust discussion of information design, document design, visual design and integrating design in professional documents.
Document Design Versus Visual Design
As you’ve seen, the way a document is shaped, styled, and designed for audience accessibility all directly relate to how rhetorically effective or persuasive that document will be. In the next chapter, you will be exploring elements of visual design and principles for creating and incorporating visual supplements (like tables, graphs, charts, etc.) in these documents to further increase their appeal. It’s important to remember, however, that the medium of professional and technical documentation is a visual one—even if it’s just words on a page— and that the small choices you make about margins, font, and white space can make a big impact on how well your work is received.
