Format for Ease of Access

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Format for Ease of Access

• Importance
• Design Principles
• Design Elements

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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

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Basic Design Principles

• Placement
• Proximity
• Alignment
• Contrast
• Repetition

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Content Placement
Certain parts of the page are more important than
others

• 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.

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Placement is one way to accent results within a
section
Section Heading
Beginning of section
The beginning of a section receives emphasis, as
does the beginning of a paragraph.
End of paragraph
Table I Time-Flight Results
Time
Height
No.
Illustration
A 10 cm 1 ms
B 11 cm 2 ms
End of section
The end of a section receives emphasis, as does
the end of a paragraph.
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Repetition
Use repetition to unify your communication
visually

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

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Repetition
Use consistent headings and subheadings
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Proximity
Use white space to place related items close to
one another
Grouped
Not Grouped
Martina Aleverez AAA Consultants, Inc 4357
Evington Street Montclair, NJ 50517 [phone]
Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc 4357
Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517(416) 232-9999
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Proximity
White space gives shape to document and orients
the user
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space for headings
space for margins
space for illustrations
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Alignment
Arbitrary placement of text causes confusion for
the reader
Alignment ? Relationship
Arbitrary Placement
Martina Aleverez AAA Consultants, Inc 4357
Evington Street Montclair, NJ 50517 [phone]
Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc 4357
Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517(416) 232-9999
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Alignment
Grid lines can be used to create the page layout
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(No Transcript)
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Contrast
Use contrast to establish hierarchy and focus
Contrast ? Emphasis
No Contrast
Martina Aleverez AAA Consultants, Inc 4357
Evington Street Montclair, NJ 50517 [phone]
Martina AleverezAAA Consultants, Inc 4357
Evington StreetMontclair, NJ 50517(416) 232-9999
CAUTION Dont overdo graphic contrast !
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Contrast
Use lists for easy reading
Items you might list

• 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

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Contrast
Select type that is easy to read
Serif
Sans Serif
Arial abcdefghijklmnopqr stuwxyz1234567890
Times New Roman abcdefghijklmnopqr stuvwxyz1234567
890
Avoid all Caps
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48 point 36 point 24 point 18 point 14
point 12 point 10 point 8 point
posters
presentation slides
titles
text
footnotes
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Design Elements

• Text
• Headings / Subheadings
• Graphics
• White space / grid
• Headers and footers
• Physical features