This article proposes a heuristic that teachers and students can use together to create a vocabulary for discussing the aesthetic aspects of color and typography in document design work. By using this framework, teachers and students can generate a collection of shared "visual topoi" or commonplaces for describing the aesthetic value of…

Many books, designers, and design educators talk about visual design principles such as balance, contrast, and alignment, but with little consistency. This study uses empirical methods to explore the lore surrounding design principles. The study took the form of two stages: a quantitative literature review to determine what design principles are…

Examines the effects on mail survey response rates of variations in questionnaire color and format. States that a follow-up mail survey to a corporate incentive program was sent to more than 3,500 participants. Concludes that a user-friendly format as well as color variation was of value in increasing survey response rates. Discusses implications.…

Describes a format for writing clinical investigator's brochures for the Food and Drug Administration summarizing information about a drug that is about to enter clinical trials. (SR)

States that document designers presenting procedural instructions can choose several formats: prose, table, logical tree, or flow chart. Suggests that instructions should allow users to reach the outcome without losing time. Discusses two formal methods that help determine which order is most efficient--that based on the selection principle, or…

Typeface personality impacts the rhetorical effect of students' documents, yet it receives little attention in textbooks. Technical writing students should stand the definition of "appropriate" in relation to typeface selection, the difference between type's functional and semantic properties, the difference between type family and personality,…

Describes a technical publications course in which students learning how to use desktop programs also gain an understanding of the principles of design and layout by using mechanical paste-up techniques. (NH)

Proposes a system for document organization based on cueing and page formatting techniques, in which the logical and systematic use of cueing and formatting creates a visual hierarchy organizing and signalling information for the reader. Maintains that proper application produces increased reading speeds, ease of access, and comprehension. (SR)