Designing Documents and Web Sites

The reading today was on the most efficient way to design a document, and also a web site. The advice varies, as it depends on which technical document is being created. Five important pieces of advice for creating both a web site and a document are:

• Know the audience, and know what they want from the document.
• Know the overall goal of the document. Does it achieve the goal?
• Clearly label the document, because the audience most likely does not need every bit of information available in it.
• Keep it as organized and as appealing to the eye as possible.
• Always keep the values of the company and audience in mind.

 The chapter goes into great detail regarding not only keeping information accurate and understandable, but also advice on selecting a typeface for the document. Every factor must be considered in the plan of the design, even the white spaces, which I was not aware of. There is really a science to the creation of a technical document, from the amount of columns on one page to the next. It must take a lot of planning and effort to make the document that best holds the value of an organization and its goals.
It also suggests not compiling a ton of information on one single page, as the audience must be drawn to the document in order to continue paying attention to it. A web site should be clearly labeled and easy to navigate, for any member of the audience. Utilize icons, and other recognizable images to assist the journey through the document, while keeping various cultures in mind.
In my fifth year of college, I can agree to all of the advice. When I have to shuffle through a ton of websites to find certain information, it can get frustrating. I'm naturally going to be drawn toward the website or document that is well put-together. I don't want to have to read a giant block of text if I can help it, and I know others feel the same way.
I also thought it was funny that the book told readers on page 157 not to use shadowed or outlined variations of text, because we "can live a full, rewarding life without ever using them."