Welcome to TechComm Fundamentals Bootcamp, Session 6 THE SESSION WILL START IN A FEW MINUTES. MUTE YOUR PHONE, PLEASE!

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1 Welcome to TechComm Fundamentals Bootcamp, Session 6 THE SESSION WILL START IN A FEW MINUTES. MUTE YOUR PHONE, PLEASE! If you do not have a mute button on your phone, use the green phone handset button on the top left of your screen. If you are listening to the audio via a phone line, turn your computer speakers down or OFF. 1 Homework Issues Confused analysis (for client) with deliverable (for user). One procedure, not the whole user guide! Using <product name> or Operating the Washer is the whole doc! must be a user goal (nobody wants to attach a whisk) Bad titles: weak: How to change a vacuum bag better: Changing the Vacuum Bag Avoid your : silly: Cleaning Your XYZ better: Cleaning XYZ Do not use prerequisites as a label! Do not use an ordered list for prereqs. 2 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 1

2 Homework Issues Use the product name. Missing or weak intros: motivation for doing the task (why) when do you need to do the task Step must be numbered and have a hanging indent. Lots of confusion with layered info: cannot have a single bullet nested ordered lists are problematic Don t be overly specific: 2 tbsp coffee with your left hand... 3 Homework Issues, cont. Follow rules for hazards: use a correct signal word, hanging indent, icon (optional) use a clear Do/Do not statement, active voice position correctly Follow rules for writing: present tense, short sentences, active voice no vague or ambiguous directions (gently, a little, about, after a while ) watch all the punctuation errors (wrong dashes) watch all the capitalization errors Use appropriate graphics: ditch the visual noise annotate 4 Questions? (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 2

3 Session 6: Design and Layout A good TC makes design choices that support the information. 5 Design is important! Overall document design must be appropriate for how and where the user uses it! Design should support the meaning of content through correct structure (remember GR#4?). Good design makes content more usable. PARCH: Proximity Alignment Repetition Contrast Hierarchies and dependencies 6 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 3

4 Proximity Things that are close together have an implied relationship. 7 Alignment Line up elements intentionally to make a clean, welldesigned page. vs. 8 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 4

5 Repetition Repeated visual patterns help users find and understand information Consider: repeated headings (Not Applicable, for example) colors placement on page icons 9 Contrast Contrast is necessary to focus the reader s attention on something. Consider: visually distinct headings vs. text callouts and annotations distinct spot color main text vs. layered info 10 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 5

6 Hierarchies Users subconsciously understand the relationship of elements based on the white space and indents. This is the parent information. This belongs to the parent. This belongs to the parent. This appears to be at a higher level than the original parent. 11 Design Elements Fonts White space Paragraphs Headings Headers and footers Page size and orientation Graphic elements 12 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 6

7 Fonts Font = type face + pt size + font characteristic: Times New Roman is a typeface Times New Roman 12 pt bold is a font Serif vs. sans serif typefaces: serif (TNR, Bookman, etc.): for body text in print sans serif (Arial, Lucinda, etc.): for headings and online material Variable-width vs. mono-spaced typefaces: variable (Comic, Georgia): normal text mono (Courier): code examples 13 Fonts, cont. Don t mix font languages (TrueType, PostScript, etc.) in a single document. Fonts with meaning: Kerning is how close letters sit to each other: 14 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 7

8 White Space Anything on the page without ink (or on the screen that is solid background). Powerful visual element. Need at least 40% to make things readable. Shows the relationship of elements on the page through: chunking nesting plumb lines leading line spacing 15 White Space: chunking Chunking is using vertical white space to show logical visual chunks of information. 16 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 8

9 White Space: nesting Nesting is the logical hierarchies of information. 17 White Space: nesting Illegal nesting is the illogical organization of information, such falsely breaking down a topic into a single subtopic. 18 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 9

10 White Space: plumb lines Plumb lines are the virtual vertical lines you can draw at every margin point. 19 White Space: miscellaneous Leading is the natural white space between singlespaced lines. Line spacing is the space between lines within a paragraph. Widows and orphans: widow: last line of paragraph pushed to next page orphan: page break occurring after first line of paragraph 20 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 10

11 Paragraphs Flush left, ragged right (never used filled and justified paragraphs). Single line spacing. White space between. the field s purpose and function. Each field must have full error correction messages, which clearly explain the entry error. No number codes should be used in place of explanatory text. the field s purpose and function. Each field must have full error correction messages, which clearly explain the No more than 12 elements should entry beerror. included No in number a single codes should be used in place of explanatory text. dialog box; no more than six elements should appear within a single grouping No more than 12 elements should be included in a single dialog box; no more than six elements should appear within a single grouping 21 Indents no indent (flush left) No more than 12 elements should be included in a single dialog box; no more than six elements should appear within a single grouping indent (don t use in TC docs) No more than 12 elements should be included in a single dialog box; no more than six elements should appear within a single grouping hanging indent (hazards, lists) 22 plumb line for first line plumb line for all others (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 11

12 Headings: White Space and Mating the field s purpose and function. Each field must have full error correction messages, which clearly explain the entry error. No number codes should be used in place of explanatory text. Dialog Box Grouping and Spacing No more than 12 elements should be included in a single dialog box; no more than six elements should appear within a single grouping the field s purpose and function. Each field must have full error correction messages, which clearly explain the entry error. No number codes should be used in place of explanatory text. Dialog Box Grouping and Spacing No more than 12 elements should be included in a single dialog box; no more than six elements should appear within a single grouping 23 Headings, misc. Never underline headings. (General rule: never use underlines for any DTP typesetting.) Never used numbered headings unless it is an internal document (spec, design doc, legal doc, etc.). Never center headings unless on a document cover. (General rule: never center any content.) Headings must always be at the plumb line of their content or outdented. 24 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 12

13 Headers and Footers You don t need both on a small page! Mandatory elements: page number book or product name Useful elements: current heading (style ref) chapter or topic Elements to eliminate: company name or logo same info mirrored 25 Page Size and Orientation Consider how and where the document will be used: next to the computer (hardcopy) on the screen next to an application (PDF or embedded Help) on the go (mobile device) in a harsh environment (dirt, dust, moisture, etc.) Consider the ultimate deliverables: binding type: perfect, spiral, stable, binder, fold binding position: side, top paper: opacity, weight, color, and finish Don t blindly produce a generic PDF! 26 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 13

14 Graphic Elements Consider how you can improve signposting: bleed tabs (for print) link icons user type icons product type icons Try spot color (if budget allows): PMS: Pantone Matching System corporate colors hot (warm) vs. cold (cool) colors Be creative if it helps communicate. General design tip: don t design for exceptions! 27 Session 6: Discussion & Homework Moodle discussion topics: What is one design concept that you learned? Why is design and layout something that TCs should do, not graphic artists? Homework: Redo your appliance procedure using these design principles. (Fix all the other problems, too.) Also find at least two examples of bad design. 28 (c) Leah Guren (Cow TC) for STC 14