Document design — the right design is the key to success

Do you know a person’s reading speed increases with the increased text size? Your documenting design should contain at least a 12-point font size for better readability.

Document designs with a clear and easy-to-read font go a long way in attracting people. Use san serif font families like Helvetica and Verdana. Both the right font style and size will make your written communication easier to understand.

Be it a brochure, a simple document or letter, people scan through it to grasp the most important information. So it’s useful to lay emphasis on important text, pointers or headings.

Here is a quick guide to follow —

·         Don’t use BLOCK CAPITALS

·         Avoid Underlining

·         Avoid Italics

Instead, you can use bold and bigger font sizes for emphasis.

In a study conducted by D. - Y.M. Lin in 2004, it’s been revealed that using white spaces in left and right margins plus in between the paragraphs boosted understanding by 20 percent in older audiences.

So, adding white space (empty space) between page elements such as images or margins also works for easy readability and comprehension.

To make your information easier to be grasped by the users, use a consistent layout for every section of your document. Make proper use of recurring details such as logos, headings, and page numbers in every section. Use bullet points and introductory paragraphs for clarity.

Adding an image should either accompany the main body of text, or it should have a caption describing its importance. Readers, who have learning difficulties, find images and graphics easy to comprehend.

Make sure the graphs or images you use are relevant to your content.