Lesson Nine
Designing Documents; Using Graphics
Dr. Nancy Hoagland

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

  1. identify five goals of document design
  2. identify and apply four basic principles of design in relation to page design
  3. identify and apply the techniques of chunking, queuing, and filtering to page design
  4. identify and apply elements for designing the document as a whole
  5. identify and apply elements of page design
  6. identify and apply elements of design for print documents that can be applied to the design of Web pages
  7. identify the six characteristics of an effective graphic
  8. identify and apply guidelines for integrating graphics and text
  9. explain when and how to cite the use of a graphic
  10. select appropriate graphics for illustrating 1) numerical information, 2) logical relationships, 3) process descriptions and procedures, and 4) visual and spatial characteristics
  11. design appropriate graphics for the report of your class project
  12. identify and apply guidelines for creating graphics for a multicultural audience.

 

(Transcript)

||  Readings/Tasks  ||
|| Focus Questions  || Lecture || 

  Interview with
Allen Brizee,
Technical Writer, Teacher, and Independent Contractor

"Document Design"
video

 

Readings/Tasks

Readings:

  • Read Markel, Chapter 13 Designing the Document, pp. 287-315.
  • Read Markel, Chapter 14 Creating Graphics, pp. 318-367.
  • Read Course Guide, Unit 7 Designing Documents and Using Graphics, pp. 7-1 - 7-30.

Tasks:

  • Make 4 conference posts under the conference topic for Lesson 9: Designing Documents; Using Graphics:
    • Applying Elements of Document Design
    • Evaluating the Design of a Web Site
    • Has the Internet Changed the Design of More Traditional Documents?
    • Planning Graphics for Your Report
  • Respond to at least one other student's post by sharing your own insights and experience.

 

Focus Questions

  1. What are the goals of document design in technical writing?
  2. What are four basic design principles that can be applied to the design of technical documents?
  3. What are the techniques of chunking, queuing, and filtering? How can the use of these techniques improve the readability of a technical document?
  4. What are the basic elements to keep in mind when designing the document as a whole?
  5. What are the basic elements to keep in mind when designing the individual pages of a document?
  6. How do the principles of design apply to Web pages as well as traditional documents presented in hard copy?
  7. What are the characteristics of an effective graphic?
  8. What are guidelines for integrating graphics and text?
  9. When and how should the use of a graphic be cited?
  10. What are appropriate graphics for illustrating 1) numerical information, 2) logical relationships, 3) process descriptions and procedures, and 4) visual and spatial characteristics?
  11. What are some guidelines for creating graphics for a multicultural audience?

Lecture Notes

NOTE: Lecture notes are intended as a guide to each week's reading assignment from Markel's Technical Communication, 7th ed.. In the notes, I will identify the topics that I consider important in a reading assignment. I will also try to relate the reading assignment to the writing assignments for the course. Questions on the final exam will be based on the objectives, focus questions, lectures notes, and assigned reading for each lesson.

Introduction

In Lesson Nine, you are introduced to two important elements of technical writing: page design and the use of graphics. I think that these two chapters are two of the most useful and important chapters in our textbook. The purpose of this lesson is to provide information about page design and graphics, so that you can use the information as you prepare your analytical report of your class project. The lecture notes below give only an outline of the concepts in these chapters. Read the chapter carefully for a wealth of information on these two important topics. NOTE: The rough draft of the report of your class project should be ready by next week (January 2-8) so that you can participate in a Study Group Activity to Review Rough Drafts of the Analytical Report. This Study Group Activity counts as 10% extra credit on the Class Participation Grade.


Chapter 13 Designing the Document

Goals of Document Design

When a page or document is well designed, it is attractive and easy to read. Moreover, it is efficient, requiring relatively little effort from the user to achieve maximum benefits from reading or using it. Markel begins by stating five goals of document design:

Basic Principles of Design

Markel continues by explaining four principles of design at the heart of effective page design:

Design of the Document as a Whole

Markel points out that the first step in designing a document is to think about the needs of your audience and to identify the resources available for producing the document, for example, the "time, money, and equipment" (294).

Once you have identified the needs of your audience and your available resources, Markel advises that you should consider the design of the document as a whole, focusing on "size, paper, bindings, and accessing tools" 292). Here are some suggestions he gives for each of these elements.

Principles of Learning Theory as Related to Page Design

Markel discusses three important principles of how to arrange information visually on the page to help users locate, understand, and remember information. These three principles are chunking, queuing, and filtering (298-299).

Elements of Page Design

Markel has a useful discussion of some of the basics of page design. Here are some points that I think are important.

Page layout to determine the use of white space - Markel recommends doing a pencil sketch of the layout of a page to plan where to place graphics and the use of white. White space is space on the page that is blank. White space is used to organization information for the reader. For example, if a picture goes with a paragraph of text, you place the picture near the text and then leave a blank space around the text and the picture to show that the two are related. One big problem with a poorly designed page is often not leaving enough white space, so that the reader has to work too hard to get meaning.

Multicolumn layout for on the job documents - Markel points out that a multicolumn layout is useful because the lines of text are shorter and therefore easier to read, more words can be fitted on a page, and you can use columns as part of the layout to position graphics and text to more effectively show relationships.

Typefaces - Markel advises not using too many typefaces as mere decoration in a single document. There are some uses, however, that improve the design of a document. He says to use serif typefaces (with serifs or little extensions on the letters) such as Times Roman for extended passages of text. Supposedly the little extensions connect letters and make the text easier to read. He says to use sans-serif typefaces ( without the serifs or little extensions on the letters) such as Arial for titles and heading to give your document a clean, modern, "high-tech look" (304). He points out that different typefaces are an important way to help readers filter information and locate warnings, notes, and special text.

Type case - Markel advises using both uppercase and lowercase letters in your text. He points out that text written in all uppercase letters should be used sparingly because it is more difficult to read and understand than text written in both lowercase and uppercase. Apparently the reader uses the shape of letters in text written in lowercase to read text more quickly.

Type sizes - Markel advises using 10-, 11-, or 12-point type for the body of a text. He says to try for a 2- to 4-point difference between the headings and the body.

Line length - Markel recommends a line length of 50-60 characters for a standard 8.5 X 11-inch page.

Line Spacing - Markel states line spacing depends on the kind of document you are writing. In general use single spacing for memos and letters (with a blank space between paragraphs). He says that reports and proposals are often double-spaced, but we should notice that the examples of proposals and reports in the textbook are single-spaced. NOTE: You may decide whether to use single-spacing or double-spacing. If you double-space a document, do not leave an extra blank space between paragraphs. Instead indent the first line of a paragraph to signal the beginning of a new paragraph. Also, you should use line spacing to keep related text together visually for the reader. Too much blank space can be confusing, just as too little blank space can slow the reader.

Justification - Text produced on a word processor should be justified on the left with a ragged right margin. Text that is professionally type set can more easily be fully justified on both the left and right. Many experts feel that a ragged right margin aids readability because the reader uses varying line lengths to locate information in the text.

Design of Titles and Headings

Markel has these observations about the design of titles and headings.

Title - On a cover page, use boldfaced 18- to 24-point type centered horizontally..

Headings - Use boldface and at least a 20% variation in type size. As suggested above, you could use a sans-serif typeface such as Arial for title and headings. Do not use underlining or Italic type for higher-level headings because they will be more difficult to read. A lower-level heading is often indented to the right to distinguish it from a higher-level heading. Use additional line spacing for a higher-level heading to indicate its high level of importance.

Other Design Features for Technical Documents

Markel identifies five additional features of document design that have become important elements: rules, boxes, screens, marginal glosses and pull quotes (310). Here are the highlights of his review of these features.

Rules - Horizontal or vertical lines placed on a page to separate and group information.

Boxes - Rules added on all four sides of text or a graphic or even the whole page. Boxes can also separate and group information.

Screens - A background shading of 5-10% behind text or graphics to add emphasis and to separate and group information.

Marginal glosses - A brief comment such as a summary placed in the margin of a document.

Pull quotes - A brief quotation related to a major point of a document that is displayed in larger type in a prominent location.

See Designing Documents with a Word Processor for an excellent but brief tutorial on document design from TechComm Web. The subject is how to achieve interesting, effective designs for your pages using the basic features of your word processor

If you would like help in analyzing the layout and design of an executive summary , see the Interactive Sample documents for Chapter 13 from TechComm Web.

See Designing for the Web: A Tutorial by Mike Markel for information on how to apply the principles of document design to Web pages. View his section on Designing Effective Sites and Pages for more information on the layout and design of Web pages.

Comparison of Designing a Web Page to Designing a Page in a Print Document

Designing a Web page is different from designing a page in a printed document for several reasons. One difference is that the Web designer does not have absolute control over how a Web page will appear. Some aspects of appearance such as the use of graphics or the size of type depend on the features of the browser an individual is using. Another reason is that the designer has to take into consideration download time and the navigational paths a user will need to use the site.

However, as Markel points out, many of "the principles of good Web page design are very similar to the principles of good page design for printed documents. For instance, you should start with a page grid, use white space liberally, and use typography effectively (555).

 

Chapter 14 Creating Graphics

Importance of Graphics in Technical Communication

Markel begins by giving five reasons why graphics are important in technical communication. He says graphics can

Markel stresses the benefits of graphics as "almost indispensable in demonstrating logical and numerical relationships, able to "communicate spatial information more effectively than words," able to "communicate steps in a process more effectively than words alone," and "can save space" (320).

Characteristics of an Effective Graphic

Markel presents six characteristics of an effective graphic. Effective graphics have a purpose, are honest, are simple and uncluttered, present a manageable amount of information, meet the reader's format expectations, and are labeled clearly (321).

To label a graphic clearly, you should give the graphic a title that appears at the top of the graphic, you should put labels on the items depicted on the graphic, and you should include a caption below the graphic that gives the graphic a number and a title with an explanation of what is important about the graphic. I once worked with an editor who insisted on writing informative captions for all graphics in a report. He saw the captions as a prime way of conveying his message to the reader.

In addition, an effective graphic is integrated with the text. Here are five guidelines for integrating the graphic into the text of the body of the document (321-322).

  1. "Place the graphic in an appropriate location"--as near where it is discussed in the text as possible. If the graphic includes supplementary information, place it in an appendix, but be sure to direct the reader to the appendix at the appropriate location in the text.
  2. "Introduce the graphic in the text" by telling the reader to refer to the graphic by number and title.
  3. "Explain the graphic in the text" by telling the reader the purpose for the graphic and the main points to be gleaned from the graphic.
  4. "Make the graphic clearly visible" by the use of white space, rules, or putting it in box with borders.
  5. "Make the graphic accessible" by including a list of illustrations in the front matter of the document.

As with other elements of document design, you must consider the needs of your audience as well as your resources before planning graphics for your document.

Citing a Graphic in a Technical Document

Another important aspect of using graphics is the need to cite the use of a graphic that you did not create yourself. Markel says you do not need to cite the use if your organization owns the copyright to the graphic, you are a student using the graphic in a document that will not be published, or the graphic is in the public domain such as those produced by US Government agencies (326). In all other cases, you need to cite the use of a graphic and that includes graphics that you find on the Web. Remember that the copyright law applies to the use of graphics. Under the fair use doctrine, I think you can use these graphics in a school paper, but I think you should cite their use. In the workplace, you should ask permission of the owner to use the graphic as well as cite its use.

Warning: Markel says that a student does not need to cite the use of a graphic in a school paper. I disagree with Markel. I think that you need to cite a graphic in a college paper if you did not produce the graphic yourself. The way to cite a graphic is to include the following source statement at the end of the caption placed under the graphic: Source: Anderson Machine Tools: "Reconfiguration Project: Progress Report."


Use of Color

Markel has sections in this chapter on using color effectively in graphics (327-330). Please see the textbook for the best introduction to this topic.

Choosing the Appropriate Graphic

Markel devotes most of the chapter to choosing the appropriate kind of graphic for a technical document. He includes guidelines and illustrations for the most popular types of graphics (330-357). Please refer to the textbook for an excellent discussion of this topic that is too detailed and would require to much space to summarize adequately in these lecture notes.

Effective Graphics for a Multicultural Audience

Markel includes a list of six guidelines for choosing graphics for an audience whose native language is different from yours (354-355).

If you would like help in analyzing a typical bar chart, see the Interactive Sample documents for Chapter 14 from TechComm Web.


REMINDER: For next week (January 2-8), there is a Study Group Activity to Review Rough Drafts of the Analytical Report. You will need to have begun the rough draft of the report of your class project to participate fully in this activity. This Study Group Activity counts as 10% extra credit on the Group Participation Grade.


For more information about document design and the use of graphics, see Module 3: Designing Documents and Creating Graphics, Instructions, and Technical Descriptions.

Material for this course was originally written and developed by Michelle Didier, Edward Harris, James Gillin, Pat Kirby, Marj Crane,Danielle Bujosa, Andrew Joyce, Ed Brandmark, Traicy Garey, and Sharon Biederman.

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