RE: Manual Design Questions

["Michael West" <mike -dot- west -at- oz -dot- quest -dot- com>]

 Paul asked about a "current consensus" on a number of
 publication design issues.
 
 No, there is not now, never has been and never will be
 a "consensus" on these design choices.
 
 There are many useful publications about graphical
 design for print and online. No two of them give exactly 
 the same advice, but the attentive reader can find good 
 solutions to common problems. In the end, intelligent 
 designers make choices based on understanding and
 observation, not "consensus."
 
 > * Is there a current consensus on serifs?
 
 No. Serif face body text doesn't usually work best in 
 low-res (online) because the critical differences in 
 stroke weight cannot be rendered on a VDT, and the 
 result is a lot of visual noise. Most "experts" agree 
 that on-screen, low-res text in large quantities calls 
 for a purpose-built sans serif typeface for online use. 
 Verdana is one example. There are some other sans 
 serif faces, like Optima and Stone, that combine 
 some attributes of serif faces and sans serif faces 
 for optimum results in both low and high-res output.
 
 In print, most readers find serif faces give better 
 readability for body text because of the subtle 
 differences in stroke weight that cannot be rendered, 
 as I've said, onscreen. For headings and other display
 type, most readers (we're talkin' English-speaking 
 world here) prefer sans serifs. But clever designers 
 can do the opposite with pleasing results, if they 
 understand the underlying principles of how the 
 display media and the human visual apparatus work 
 together (or, more often, fail to work together.)
 
 There is no typeface, with or without serifs, that is 
 equally readable online and in print, except at very 
 large sizes. Some come closer than others.
 
 >* Is there a current consensus on chapter numbers 
 >  in the page number (that is, 4-3 vs page 15)?
 
 Chapter-page numbering makes it easy to issue updates 
 to individual chapters or sections. If that's not an issue, 
 two-part page numbering seems an unnecessary 
 affectation to some readers (me for example).
 
 >* Is there a consensus on mixing font sizes so that the
 > actual page number stands out more?

 The only consensus I know of is that too many sizes 
 and styles of type on a page spell confusion. But if 
 you want to make the page number bold, go for it. I 
 do it all the time when I'm required to use "Page 3 of 259" 
 type page numbering. I've even been known to set the 
 page number in reverse type to make it stand out from 
 the other stuff in the header or footer. Why? Not because 
 there's a consensus but because I saw it done somewhere 
 and it made my job as a user of the document slightly easier.
 
>* Is there a current consensus on chapter tables of contents; 
> are they a helpful aid to navigation.
 
 There is no consensus, but haven't you ever found them 
 helpful? I have.
 
>* Is there a consensus on rule rules?  Do they rule:} 
>* or ...:<?  We're currently using them to frame our content 
>* area and in a different way to add a visual element to our 
>* cover design.
 
 Good designers advise against adding rules and borders to 
 textual content just for the hell of it. Use rules to separate 
 one thing from another when a user is likely to be confused 
 if you don't. Sometimes, though, white space makes a better 
 separator; in fact, most of the time.
 
 There is an important principle enunciated by Edward Tufte 
 in "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information".  He calls 
 it the "ink-to-data ratio." Check it out.
 
 Graphics for covers and title pages are a different thing. If  
 you don't have a graphic designer on call, copy the best-
 looking cover design you can find from a high-quality 
 commercial publication--making sure it is appropriate
 to your audience and content, and omitting, of course,
 any proprietary marks or logos. Do-it-yourself graphic 
 design by amateurs is seldom successful--nor is it a 
 productive use of a non-designer's time.
 
 Michael West
 Technical Writer
 Melbourne
 
 
 


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