Document Design

Creating a Good Document Design

"Document Design usually refers to the physical appearance of a document," (Reep 1997) Readers are usually captivated by the visual presentation of the text while printed words are used to support the message as well. To produce an effective document, the visual and text support each other well. Design exist to organize information and capture the attention of the readers. It helps to move your attention into certain important areas of the visual presentation. It establish tone and create a sense of the culture of an organisation.

"What is a good document?"

A good document is when readers understand what is the message lies behind a picture, advertisement, and so on. By following certain elements in document design such as balance, proportion, sequence and consistency, one could come up with a visual presentation which brings the actual meaning of the message.

In Newspaper, we tend to see a lot of text and visual comes together to create better understanding of the topic given. By knowing the salience, which is the elements of layout attract the reader's attention in different degrees (arrangement of background, size, tone, color, headings and so on). By framing each using white lines or shapes shows that they need to be read separately or independently.

Good document design enables people to use the text in ways that meet their interest and needs (Shriver 1997). A good document design comes with a clear visual and text that allows the readers to interpret the message correctly.




References

Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T. 1998. "Front pages: The Critical analysis of newspaper layout," Approaches to Media Discourse, p.188-190

Reep, Diana C.2006 "Chp 4:Princples of Document Design." in Technical Writing, 6th ed., Pearson Edu, Inc., New York, p.173-190

Schriver, A. K 1997, "Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers." Wiley Computer Pub., New York.