format for ease of access importance design principles design elements

Format for Ease of Access

• Importance

• Design Principles

• Design Elements

Importance

• First impression is purely visual

• Sloppy format alienates reader

Good Page Design

• Helps reader understand your information

• Helps reader locate information

• Helps reader notice important content

Basic Design Principles

• Placement• Proximity• Alignment• Contrast• Repetition

Content Placement

• Bottom of page – might not be seen or read.

• Eye level – Approximately 1/3 from the top and 2/3 from the bottom – gets more attention.

• Bulleted lists – get more attention.– The first few points in the list get more attention.

Certain parts of the page are more important than others

Placement is one way to accent results within a section

Section Heading

The beginning of a sectionreceives emphasis, as does thebeginning of a paragraph.

Table ITime-Flight Results

TimeHeight

A 10 cm 1 ms

B 11 cm 2 ms

No.Illustration

Beginningof section

End ofparagraph

The end of a section receivesemphasis, as does the end of aparagraph.

End ofsection

Repetition

• Same grid pattern throughout

• Same type treatment (font, size, color, etc.) for headings, subheadings, and text

Use repetition to unify your communication visually

Repetition Use consistent headings and subheadings

Proximity

Use white space to place related items close to one another

GroupedNot Grouped

Martina Aleverez

AAA Consultants, Inc

4357 Evington Street

Montclair, NJ 50517

(416) 232-9999

Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc

4357 Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517

(416) 232-9999

Proximity

White space gives shape to document and orients the user

spaceformargins

space forillustrations

space forheadings

Alignment

Arbitrary placement of text causes confusion for the reader

Alignment RelationshipArbitrary Placement

Martina Aleverez

AAA Consultants, Inc

4357 Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517

(416) 232-9999

Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc

4357 Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517

(416) 232-9999

Alignment

Grid lines can be used to create the page layout

Contrast

Use contrast to establish hierarchy and focus

Contrast EmphasisNo Contrast

Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc

4357 Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517

(416) 232-9999

Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc

4357 Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517

(416) 232-9999

CAUTION: Don’t overdo graphic contrast !

Contrast

Use lists for easy reading

• Advice or examples• Conclusions/recommendations• Criteria for evaluation• Errors to avoid

• Material for a procedures• Equipment in a procedure• Parts of a mechanism• Steps in a sequence

Items you might list:

Contrast

Select type that is easy to read

Arialabcdefghijklmnopqrstuwxyz1234567890

Times New Romanabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890

Serif Sans Serif

Avoid all Caps

TYPE IS TO READ

Type is to read

48 point

36 point

24 point

18 point

14 point

12 point

10 point

8 point

posters

presentation slides

titles

text

footnotes

Design Elements

• Text

• Headings / Subheadings

• Graphics

• White space / grid

• Headers and footers

• Physical features