©  2015  Brian  N.  Larson   Topic:  Interviewing  for  information   Page  1  

Topic:  Layout  and  design  This  topic  page  includes  introductory  information,  a  list  of  readings,  and  questions  to  guide  your  reading  and  prepare  you  for  class  discussion;  it  may  also  include  an  individual  or  group  assignment,  which  may  or  may  not  be  graded.  

Introduction  As  you  prepare  formal  reports  in  this  course,  you  should  consider  document  layout  and  design  as  an  important  element  of  your  communications.  As  you  assess  the  effectiveness  of  the  communications  and  communications  efforts  of  others  for  your  final  project,  layout  and  design  should  be  one  focus  of  your  analysis.      The  readings  in  this  topic  sheet  are  brief,  but  there  are  several  reading  questions  that  require  you  to  make  comparisons,  we  will  discuss  design  issues  in  class,  and  you  are  required  to  write  a  forum  post  with  a  brief  analysis  of  a  design.  

Readings  for  this  topic  Read  the  following  entries  in  Alred,  Brusaw  and  Oliu  (2015;  “ABO”):  

• “layout  and  design”    Read  Sevilla’s  “Page  Design:  Directing  the  Reader’s  Eye,”  available  on  T-­‐Square.  

Reading  questions  • Compare  and  contrast  the  design  principles  that  ABO  highlights  and  those  that  Sevilla  

highlights.  Are  these  lists  similar  or  quite  different  from  each  other?  Can  you  speculate  why?  

• Sevilla  lists  “emphasis”  as  her  first  principle.  Which  of  ABO’s  principles  most  closely  resembles  it  in  substance?  

• Consider  the  role  that  “repetition”  plays  in  ABO’s  and  Sevilla’s  treatment  of  layout  and  design.  Restate  in  your  own  words  what  the  value  of  repetition  is.  

• Make  sure  you  know  what  the  difference  between  left-­‐justified  and  full-­‐justified  text  margins  are.  Explain  in  your  own  words  the  key  benefits  of  each.  

• ABO  explains  the  difference  between  serif  and  sans-­‐serif  fonts.  Which  do  they  say  is  easier  to  read?  Which  do  they  say  is  preferable  for  headings  and  which  for  body  text?  

• ABO  talks  (p.  316)  about  ways  of  visualizing  page  layouts,  calling  them  “thumbnail  sketches,”  “mock-­‐ups,”  and  “dummies”;  Sevilla  refers  to  them  as  “grids”;  and  finally,  some  folks  call  them  “wireframes.”  Note  that  wireframing  a  document  that  will  be  printed  (if  at  all)  on  8.5x11  paper  is  profoundly  different  than  wireframing  a  website,  especially  one  with  “responsive  design.”  Check  out  the  approach  described  by  Balsamiq,  a  provider  of  software  tools  for  doing  website  and  mobile  app  wireframing:  http://support.balsamiq.com/customer/portal/articles/615901    

• ABO  talks  briefly  about  “white  space”  (p.  315).  It  seems  to  play  a  much  more  significant  role  in  Sevilla’s  treatment  of  design.  Can  you  speculate  why?  Do  the  ABO  book  and  the  Sevilla  articles  themselves  make  good  use  of  white  space?  

©  2015  Brian  N.  Larson   Topic:  Interviewing  for  information   Page  2  

• In  Microsoft  Word,  select  File/New  from  Template…  and  navigate  around  the  various  Word  templates.  Choose  one  of  the  proposal  templates.  Be  prepared  to  discuss  with  your  group  members  whether  it’s  a  good  design  for  your  group-­‐project  report.  

Classroom  activities  for  this  topic  • Come  to  class  prepared  to  discuss  the  layout  and  design  of  these  two  fact  sheets  regarding  

cockroaches  in  terms  of  the  principles  discussed  in  the  readings.  Don’t  worry  about  the  verbal  content  of  the  fact  sheets  (though  their  subject  matter  and  contexts  of  use  might  suggest  certain  constraints  on  design).  

o EPA,  Cockroaches  and  schools,  http://www2.epa.gov/managing-­‐pests-­‐schools/cockroaches-­‐and-­‐schools    

o California  Department  of  Pesticide  Regulation,  Cockroaches,  http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pestmgt/pubs/cockroaches_factsheet.pdf    

• Post  a  brief  analysis/evaluation  of  the  layout  and  design  of  one  of  the  cockroach  fact  sheets  to  T-­‐Square.  Choose  the  layout  principles  in  ABO  or  in  Sevilla  and  briefly  assess  whether  the  layout  and  design  is  consistent  with  those  principles.  

Assignments  for  this  topic  None.  (You  will  use  skills  addressed  in  this  topic  in  upcoming  assignments.)  

Works  cited  None.