Tips for Creating Effective Page Designs
White Space
Use plenty of white space in creating your pages. This gives readers a chance to rest and makes pages seem less imposing:
no white space white space
[preferred]
Justification of Margins
Use a left justified font. This helps readers remember their position on the page as they read. The ragged right edge guides the eye as it works its way down the page:
full justified left justified
[preferred]
Font Type and Size
The text you are reading is written in the font New Century Schoolbook. One of the most commonly used font types is Times New Roman (sometimes called Times or Times Roman). These are fonts which use serifs. Serifs are the small tails you see at the edge of letters. Serif fonts are the most widely used font types for reading materials, especially in books and magazines.
An 11 or 12 point font is the most readable font size. The text you are reading is in 12 point which is large and easy to see. Avoid using 10 point or smaller font sizes. Use sizes larger than 12 for headings.
Headings
Use sans serif fonts (straight letters having no tails at the edges) for headings to distinguish headings from text. The headings here are done using the font Arial. One of the most commonly used fonts for headings is Helvetica, shown in the examples below. Along with using a sans serif font for headings, it is also useful to vary the size of your heading font. This allows you to show relationships among information:
Pancakes (18 pt.; Helvetica; bold)
————–
———–
————
—–
Ingredients (14 pt.; Helvetica; bold)
————–
———–
————
Directions (12 pt.; Helvetica; bold)
- ————–
- ———–
- —–
Bullets vs. Numbers
Use bullets when the order of items in a list doesn’t matter. Use numbers for lists when the sequence of items is important:
You’ll need these ingredients: [bullets–for a list of items]
- 6 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 2 cups water
vs.
To make the pancakes, do the following: [numbers–for a sequence of steps]
- Beat the eggs.
- Add flour.
- Stir until well mixed.
- Add oil, water, and baking powder.
- Finish stirring.
- Fry at medium heat.
Capitals
AS READERS, WE ARE USED TO READING MOST TEXT IN LOWER CASE WITH CAPITAL LETTERS USED ONLY FOR PROPER NOUNS AND AT THE START OF SENTENCES. BECAUSE OF THIS CONVENTION, IT IS QUITE HARD FOR THE EYES TO ADJUST TO READING LOTS OF CAPITAL LETTERS TOGETHER. A SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPITALS ISN’T TOO BAD, BUT IF THE TITLE IS LONG, IT CAN BE QUITE HARD TO READ. TO AVOID SLOWING YOUR READERS DOWN, DON’T USE ALL CAPITALS.
ALL CAPITALS
vs.
All capitals [preferred]
Cross References
Save update writing headaches by using general cross references. Pagination in long documents always changes before the final printing, so using specific page numbers in your text means searching over and over to fix all the references as they change and re-change. To avoid this problem, use phrases like “earlier in the chapter” or “later in the manual.” While not quite as helpful for readers, they save lots of work and still help readers know where to start looking for the needed information. More specific cross references should be included in the index:
See page 1-12 for another example.
vs.
See earlier in this chapter for another example. [preferred]