Design slipups: avoid these 10 desktop publishing mistakes and look like a pro - Technology Tutorial

Home Office Computing, Sept, 1995 by Roger C. Parker

You wouldn't show up for an important client presentation wearing scuffed sneakers and gym sweats, so don't make the mistake of sending out sloppy, underdressed documents. Anyone can afford good desktop publishing tools, but it's how you use them that will set you apart. A well-designed document can quickly and easily convince prospects of your professionalism, attention to detail, and ability to get the job done.

Design integrity is something that should permeate and unify all aspects of your business. There's no such thing as an unimportant letter or memo. You defeat the purpose of a "perfect" brochure if it's accompanied by an amateurish cover letter.

The widespread use of desktop publishing and word processing programs has made prospective clients more critical than ever. Many people notice design errors that were once overlooked, and such mistakes can quickly undermine your image. But you can't pick up a set of design skills at Egghead or CompUSA - even though you can get the tools there. If you want to look like a pro, use the following tips to avoid 10 all-too-common design slipups.

1. Use uppercase with care.

Often your attempts to add emphasis backfire and simply make your messages harder to read. Using uppercase text is an example. Long blocks of words set entirely in capital letters take up more space and are harder to read than text set in a combination of upper-and lowercase letters.

All-uppercase text is also less attractive because most capital letters were designed to be used in conjunction with their lowercase brethren. Instead, use italics or boldface for emphasis - but use them sparingly.

2. Avoid underlining.

Underlined text virtually shouts "Amateur!" to your readers. Underlined headlines and subheads, especially those set in italics or, worse, bold italics, are noticeably harder to read than plain old Roman (upright) text. This is because the underlining interferes with letters that have descenders (such as g, p, and y). Instead of underlining, use bold, italics, or small caps for emphasis. Better yet, resist the temptation to use design tools as a weak substitute for clear writing. Like good food, strong writing doesn't need artificial flavoring.

3. Remove excess space.

When design books talk about adding white space, they're not referring to the kind that causes unsightly gaps between words and lines. First, never press the space bar twice after a period. This practice creates noticeable gaps between sentences.

Next, choose one - and only one - way to indicate new paragraphs. If you choose first-line indents, don't indent the first lines following a headline or subhead, which is generally enough to indicate the "newness" of the paragraph.

Finally, modify tabs and indents. Replace the unnaturally deep default setting (one-half inch in most word processors) with a smaller one, or use your word processor's first-line indent feature. As a rule of thumb, a first-line indent should be only as wide as one or two em spaces (the width of a capital "M").

4. Hypenate by hand.

Most word processors don't hyphenate automatically. But when words at the ends of flush-left/ragged-right lines are not hyphenated, the right side is likely to be too ragged. Failure to hyphenate words at the end of justified lines results in lines that are both too tightly or too loosely spaced.

Three things to keep in mind before you go hyphen happy: Don't have more than three lines in a row that end in hyphens; always check your dictionary for their proper placement; and when you edit text and the words move, look for stray hyphens with an eagle eye.

5. Choose the best text

Alignment.

If your columns are narrow, avoid justified text. Your software justifies text by increasing or decreasing the spaces between words so that the last letters of each line align. Because narrow columns of justified text contain fewer words per line, they're likely to be awkwardly spaced, and hyphenating won't help much. Instead, choose a flush-left/ragged-right layout if your design calls for more than three columns on a page.

6. Use white space wisely.

Avoid pressing the Enter key twice at the end of each paragraph, centering the subhead, then pressing the Enter key twice more. This creates floating subheads - those without a logical relationship to the paragraph above or below them.

It's better to use white space to create a barrier between the preceding text and the new topic introduced by the subhead. The proximity between the subhead and the paragraph that follows will make its connection obvious. To emphasize the subhead, set it flush left by "framing" it with white space to the right. This will also help the reader make the transition to the first line of the paragraph that follows.

Furthermore, place horizontal rules above, rather than below, subheads. Horizontal rules create divisions, and it doesn't make sense to place a barrier between a subhead and the text it introduces.

7. Break for the border.

A deep left-hand indent can make even the most text-heavy document easier to read by providing white space that contrasts with the grayness of the text. The resulting margin also provides space in which you can hang headlines or place margin notes.