TOPIC 5.3 DESIGNING DOCUMENTS, SLIDES AND SCREENS WHAT KNOWLEDGE WILL WE LEARN? WHY IS DESIGN IMPORTANT? HOW DO I BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT GOOD DESIGN? • How Do I Design Documents? • How Do I Design Emails? WHAT SKILLS WILL WE LEARN? • How Do I Design Presentation Slides? • How Do I Design Web Pages? • How Do I Design Social Media Pages? • How Do I Know if My Design Works? • When Should I Think About Design? WHY IS DESIGN IMPORTANT? Design is essential to make meaning for readers. Readers “see” design and layout first. Effective design puts ideas together visually, making the content and organization more obvious and easier to understand. WHY IS DESIGN IMPORTANT? (CONT.) Good message design achieves these results: • Saves time and money • Builds goodwill • Reduces legal problems • Looks inviting, friendly, and easy-to-read • Encourages scanning • Makes content more obvious and easier to understand HOW DO I BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT GOOD DESIGN? Use PAIBOC analysis to create audiencefriendly design. When you are considering how best to shape your message, remember the principle of all good design: form follows function. To create visually attractive documents: HOW DO I DESIGN DOCUMENTS? • Use white space for separation and emphasis. • Use headings and sub-headings to group points. • Limit the use of words set in all capitals. • Use no more than two typefaces in a single document. • Choose margins based on the situation and your audience. HOW DO I DESIGN DOCUMENTS? (CONT.) Apply parallel structure to headings and lists: Use parallel structure (similar phrasing) for headings and lists. Parallelism means to begin each item on a list with the same part of speech (verb, adjective, etc.). This parallel structure meets the reader’s subconscious expectations, and meeting audience expectations is the most important aspect of business writing. HOW DO I DESIGN DOCUMENTS? (CONT.) White space can be created in several ways: • Use headings and subheadings. • Use a mix of paragraph lengths. • Use tabs or indent tools to vertically align text. • Use lists. • Use numbered lists when number or sequence is important. • Use bulleted lists when the number and sequence are not important. HOW DO I DESIGN EMAILS? Keep email design consistent, simple, and readable. You can customize your email design, adding colour, texture and graphics, and highlighting words; however, choose design elements that • invite reading, • reinforce the message content, and • conform to your organization’s standards. HOW DO I DESIGN PRESENTATION SLIDES? Keep slides simple, relevant, and interesting. • Create slides that reinforce or illustrate your key ideas. • Keep design consistent. • Customize your slides with the company logo as well as colours, charts, and scanned-in photos and drawings. • Emphasize visuals. • Use audience-relevant photos or illustrations to keep memorable images in your listeners’ minds. HOW DO I DESIGN PRESENTATION SLIDES? (CONT.) Use Keep Use Contrast Use Use no more than one slide per minute of your talk Keep text to an absolute minimum — three to five lines at most Use bullet-point phrases, action verbs, and concrete nouns. Contrast background and text. Use a big font. The best Web pages use design principles that facilitate immediate satisfaction, including easy navigation. To design readable Web pages HOW DO I DESIGN WEB PAGES? • Define the purpose of the page and identify your users • Use proven viewer patterns to decide what you will place where • Keep colours, font, and visuals consistent • Keep your pages “clean and clutter-free” • Use mobility editors to enable mobile access Design elements always depend on your purpose, audience and context. HOW DO I DESIGN SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES? • Choose a colour scheme that reflects your identity, content, or brand. • Choose fonts that reinforce your site’s identity. • Use photo filters…[to] reinforce your brand’s culture. • Create templates that convey specific content ideas, and use these consistently. Test it! When testing your design try to: HOW DO I KNOW IF MY DESIGN WORKS? • Watch someone as they use the document. • Ask the reader to “think aloud” while using the document. • Test out the document on people who may have trouble with it, i.e. young readers or those with little experience. Think about design at each stage of the writing process: WHEN SHOULD I THINK ABOUT DESIGN? • As you plan, apply PAIBOC. • As you write, incorporate lists and headings. • Use visuals to convey data clearly. • Get feedback from others. • As you revise, check your draft against the guidelines outlined in this module.
