{"id":69,"date":"2023-05-11T12:12:28","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T12:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-technicalwriting\/chapter\/unit-2-format-heading-subheadings-markers-and-white-space_lecture-2\/"},"modified":"2023-05-16T22:43:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T22:43:36","slug":"unit-2-format-heading-subheadings-markers-and-white-space_lecture-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-technicalwriting\/chapter\/unit-2-format-heading-subheadings-markers-and-white-space_lecture-2\/","title":{"raw":"Why It Matters: Document Design","rendered":"Why It Matters: Document Design"},"content":{"raw":"All documents have a purpose\u2014to persuade, to inform, to instruct, to entertain\u2014but the first and foremost purpose of any document is to be\u00a0read<\/em><\/strong>. Choosing effective document design enhances the\u00a0readability<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0usability<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0of your document so that the target audience is more likely to get the message you want them to receive, and your document is more likely to achieve your intended purpose.\r\n\r\nChoose document design elements that make your document \u201cuser friendly\u201d for the target audience. Keep in mind that people do not read technical writing for pleasure; they read it because they have to; it\u2019s part of their job. And since \u201ctime is money,\u201d the longer it takes to read the document, the higher the \u201ccost.\u201d Your job as the document designer is to make their reading process as easy, clear, useful and efficient as possible by using all the tools at your disposal.\r\n\r\nDesigning a document is like designing anything else:\u00a0 you must define your purpose (the goals and objectives you hope your document achieves, as well as the constraints \u2014 such as word count and format \u2014 that you must abide by), understand your audience (who will read this document and why), and choose design features that will best achieve your purpose and best suite the target audience. In essence, you must understand the\u00a0Rhetorical Situation<\/strong>\u00a0in which you find yourself:\u00a0Who is communicating with whom about\u00a0<\/em>what and why?<\/em>\u00a0What kind of document design and formatting can help you most effectively convey the desired message to that audience? You want to use the most effective rhetorical strategies at your disposal; document design is one of those strategies.\r\n\r\nWe'll discuss specific and detailed information on how and why technical writers use the following document design features:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Headings<\/strong>: headings and subheadings provide a clearly visible organization and structure that allows readers to read selectively and preview information. There are several guidelines for font style, size and colour to help design headings effectively.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Lists<\/strong>: lists provide a way to concisely and efficiently convey information and emphasize ideas. There are several kinds of lists, each used for specific purposes.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Figures and Tables<\/strong>: visual representations of data and concepts offer a reader a break from sentence and paragraphs, and provide additional ways to understand information.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Passive Space:<\/strong>\u00a0leaving blank spaces strategically on the page (around lists, figures, and headings, and between paragraphs) helps the reader to absorb the information in the \u201cactive\u201d space more effectively, and helps create a visually appealing look.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","rendered":"

    All documents have a purpose\u2014to persuade, to inform, to instruct, to entertain\u2014but the first and foremost purpose of any document is to be\u00a0read<\/em><\/strong>. Choosing effective document design enhances the\u00a0readability<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0usability<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0of your document so that the target audience is more likely to get the message you want them to receive, and your document is more likely to achieve your intended purpose.<\/p>\n

    Choose document design elements that make your document \u201cuser friendly\u201d for the target audience. Keep in mind that people do not read technical writing for pleasure; they read it because they have to; it\u2019s part of their job. And since \u201ctime is money,\u201d the longer it takes to read the document, the higher the \u201ccost.\u201d Your job as the document designer is to make their reading process as easy, clear, useful and efficient as possible by using all the tools at your disposal.<\/p>\n

    Designing a document is like designing anything else:\u00a0 you must define your purpose (the goals and objectives you hope your document achieves, as well as the constraints \u2014 such as word count and format \u2014 that you must abide by), understand your audience (who will read this document and why), and choose design features that will best achieve your purpose and best suite the target audience. In essence, you must understand the\u00a0Rhetorical Situation<\/strong>\u00a0in which you find yourself:\u00a0Who is communicating with whom about\u00a0<\/em>what and why?<\/em>\u00a0What kind of document design and formatting can help you most effectively convey the desired message to that audience? You want to use the most effective rhetorical strategies at your disposal; document design is one of those strategies.<\/p>\n

    We’ll discuss specific and detailed information on how and why technical writers use the following document design features:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Headings<\/strong>: headings and subheadings provide a clearly visible organization and structure that allows readers to read selectively and preview information. There are several guidelines for font style, size and colour to help design headings effectively.<\/li>\n
    2. Lists<\/strong>: lists provide a way to concisely and efficiently convey information and emphasize ideas. There are several kinds of lists, each used for specific purposes.<\/li>\n
    3. Figures and Tables<\/strong>: visual representations of data and concepts offer a reader a break from sentence and paragraphs, and provide additional ways to understand information.<\/li>\n
    4. Passive Space:<\/strong>\u00a0leaving blank spaces strategically on the page (around lists, figures, and headings, and between paragraphs) helps the reader to absorb the information in the \u201cactive\u201d space more effectively, and helps create a visually appealing look.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t

      Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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