Transcript Chapter 5

Chapter 13
Designing Pages and Documents
Technical Communication, 12th Edition
John M. Lannon
Laura Gurak
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Page Design
Page design is critical because
Technical documents rarely get readers’
undivided attention.
People read work-related documents
only because they have to.
Readers are attracted by documents that
appear inviting and accessible.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Design Skills Needed
 Desktop publishing
 Electronic publishing
 Using style sheets and style guides
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Shaping the Page
 Use the right paper and ink.
 Use consistent page numbers, headers, and
footers.
 Use a grid.
 Use adequate white space.
 Provide ample and appropriate margins.
 Keep line length reasonable.
 Keep line spacing consistent.
 Tailor each paragraph to its purpose.
 Make lists for easy reading.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Using Typography Effectively
Select appropriate fonts.
Use type sizes that are easy to read.
Use full caps sparingly.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Highlighting for Emphasis
Highlighting options include:
Fonts
Type sizes
White space
Other graphic devices
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Use Headings for Access
and Orientation
Good headings have the following characteristics:
Appropriate
phrasing
Specific and
comprehensive
wording
Grammatical
consistency
Visual consistency
Appropriate layout
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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A Good Format
for Headings
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Audience
Considerations
 If users will use your document for reference only
 If users will follow a sequence of steps
 If users will need to evaluate something
 If users will need a warning
 If users have asked for a one-page report
 If users will face complex information
 If users will be from a wide range of cultures
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Designing Web Pages
 Provide margins so that text won’t drift off the
edge of the screen.
 Links can provide visual cues and guide
readers to new information.
 Regular word-processing software offers
features that let you save documents as Web
pages. This works well for simple Web pages;
use Web design tools for more sophisticated
projects.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Other types of OnScreen Documents
These days, you can’t predict the types of
media that will be used to deliver your
documents. Some popular types
include:
Online help
Adobe Acrobat and PDF Files
CDs and other Media
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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Any Questions?
For additional help reviewing this chapter, please
visit the Companion Website for your text at
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/lannon.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers.
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