Document Design and Usability

Syllabus

Document design influences the initial reaction that readers exhibit when they first encounter an information domain. Although the information domain has a predetermined purpose, imposed by the authoring agent, that purpose resides in the text and any supporting visuals or access design. The task of a writer, an authoring agent, is to invite the reader into that information domain (or event). William Horton has called this process "seducing" the reader. I've often called it the "vampire" theory of text design; vampires have to be invited into your home before they can do any damage. Whatever view you accept, the point is that the reader does make an immediate, and subjective, decision about using an information product.

But, the characteristics that foster such a decision can be difficult to catalog. For example, it may simply be that the text is typographically dense, and somewhat forbidding. Another aspect of that density might be that the pages have been typeset with a heavy typeface or that there are no divisions between major (or minor) sections. Without belaboring the point, document design can be argued as a spectrum. One position, a relatively traditional one, maintains that the design of information should be opaque; that is, the reader should not be motivated to consider the intention of the design. In this view, type, and all of its mechanics, should be like a " crystal goblet ." After all, the primary purpose for an information product is to convey the authoring agents words; the "mechanics" of the document should be of no interest. Obviously, the opposite extreme, articulated most notably by David Carson, maintains that it is exactly the "mechanical" elements that should elicit our attention; they represent the "artistry" that supports the information.

I'd be unlikely to support either extreme, though I find them equally interesting. Instead, I want to suggest to you that a reader, or viewer, should be able to ascertain, at-a-glance, the structure of a text, or supporting non-textual element, and be able to use that perception as a basis for understanding the structural relationship inherent in the text. Understood in this manner such basic decisions as typographic variations for headers, folio lines, specialized notices, and the like assume much more importance in preparing an information product. For example, if you survey the textbooks on your desk you are likely to find that a specific pattern of typographic variation helps you understand the organization of the text.

Other design elements further these distinctions. Creating a page "grid" that positions textual and non-textual elements predictably on a page, or viewing surface, allows the reader to establish a reading "rhythm." Adding the use of color, even one color, provides additional clues about the relationship among various text elements; a green header might always introduce supplemental reading, for example. In designing this website, I deliberately elected to display all supporting material in new windows, added a pale yellow background (for contrast with black type), used rules to separate virtual "pages," and identified instructor added information with a specific typography. All of these decisions allow readers to find my remarks easily.

Like my description of the document design spectrum, I'm certain you can envision a considerable range of design strategies. However, I want to remind you that I said I embraced neither extreme. In fact, you will notice, throughout the term, that my own work can be described as "less is more." I seriously want to dissuade you from embracing what I call the "ransom note" school of design. The major premise of this school seems to be that if one is working at a computer that has 150 typefaces, then all of these variations belong in every document. Or, if a video (or any other bell and whistle) can be included in an information product, then you do so simply because you can. Both of these premises, and their ilk, do nothing to advance the usability of an information product.

Given that discussion, how can one "design" usable information products, especially with little experience? While my intent here is to make you aware of the range of design considerations that must go into the making of a usable document, I do not expect you to become "designers."

The starting point for basic design is the selection of an appropriate typeface. Typeface influences both appropriate line length and leading (the amount of spacing bbetween lines of type; an artifact of hot metal printing when lines of type were separated by strips of lead). For example, readability research seems to indicate the line length and leading characteristics found in the following tables.
 
Type Size and Line Length
  Line Width in Picas
 Type Size Minimum Optimum Maximum
10 15 20 25
11 16.5 22 27.5
13 19.5 26 33
Interaction of Type Size, Line Length, and Leading
 Type Size Line Length Leading
 9 14-30 1-4
10 14-31 1-4
11 16-34 0-2
12 17-33 1-4

However, these tables still obscure some interesting confounding variables. Without getting too technical, let's consider at least a few.

All typefaces of the same size are not the same size. Yep, that's what I said. Basically, when one says that they are using a specific typeface and size (say, for the sake of example, Times New Roman 10 point). The important factor here is the type size; ten points refers to the block of "metal" that each character "sits" on. Yes, even in this day of electronic that same "block of metal" is still there. (To prove it to yourself select a single character in a word processed document and notice that a darkened area appears around that character. That's the block of metal. If you're really proficient with your word processing software, you can alter the leading, as well as baseline positioning, and select the same character to see how that area changes.)

So, we have a block of metal, or an electronically defined space, that is ten points deep (or high). But, you can use the same typeface (Times New Roman, in our example) from different sources and they will all print, or display, slightly different. Some will appear, simply look, larger or smaller than others. I expect you have not thought too much about problems like this one. However, you could create a document in your office that you later send to a typesetter. If that typesetter has a different Times New Roman, then your carefully planned pages may look considerably different from what you intended.

The point to all of this discussion is that the tables are still only broad-brush strokes. I would suppose that accounts for the ranges you see in both tables. Do not let this, or other, confounding variables deter you from making useful typographic decisions.

Once you have selected a typeface (or faces) and decided on other typographic characteristics, you can begin to consider what kinds of typographic variables you might need. Most writers tend to forget about these until they need one. The most typical variables include:


Based on the kinds of decisions you have made about type, the "genre" of your document, and your expected audience, you can now consider the basic "grid" that will control the placement of items on your pages. While the idea of a grid may seem somewhat foreign, it provides everyone working on a document a measure that also control uniformity, especially for geographically distributed authoring groups.
 
  • What we see. . .
  • How designers control page elements. . .

An additional aspect of design is that you need to consider the audience and purpose for the document. An initiation to a child's party, for instance, would be colorful and playful, an invitation to a wedding highly stylistic, and an invitation to a formal event even more ornate. Those same kinds of decisions underlie all of our decisions about form and content. Tutorials, reference books, financial reports, proposals, each have their own design characteristics. You might want to review the genre definitions from last week, as well as the website materials available below.
 
 

  Websites

 
Design Principles

Selecting Compatible Typefaces

Rules for Choosing Type

TypeBooks is a leading online resource for publications concerning the letterform arts (typography and design issues.

Graphion Type Museum  [A vast resource, but server is not always working]

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Last Modified: 05/24/01