This article may be freely published in your print or online newsletter or on your website provided 1. You include
byline and resource box; 2. You print article in its entirety, unchanged; and 3. You notify author when and where it's printed with a courtesy copy or a link. Subject: Business, Writing, Marketing, Design Number of Words: 627 Website: http://www.write2thepointcom.comClarify Your Message Using Clean Design Elements -- (c)2002 By Linda Elizabeth Alexander
Increasingly, business people rely on desktop publishing. Gone are days when a male manager would dictate words to a female typist and expect her to turn them into an eye- pleasing document. Also, once complicated documents like brochures and flyers are now easy to create in programs such as Microsoft Publisher, and even MS Word.
But most business people have NOT been trained in graphic design. While such high skills take years to develop, business people still need a basic sense of good design. A good design doesn't just look pretty; it also supports and even enhances your message. So use following tips to make your message clear and easy for your readers to grasp.
1. Use plenty of white space.
You don't want your manager to skip over your progress report because she doesn't want to wade through dense text to find important information. Leave lots of white space for easy reading.
Balance between amount of text and white space around it is important. Do print enough content to be credible, however. Leaving too much white space, particularly in combination with a large font, can make your document look childish and makes you look amateur.
2. Remember Z-pattern.
Readers of languages that are read left to right read in a z-pattern. (Rreverse following information for languages that are read right to left.) Their eyes first focus on upper left hand corner of a page, so capture their attention there (think about where headlines are placed in newspapers and advertisements).
