Chapter eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: Understanding Design Principles

This chapter of the Beford Researcher is about understanding the principles of design. This consists of two key questions, first how to use design effectively, second what design elements can be used.

The most important consideration in design is how it will express the arguments clearly, achieve the purpose and meet the reader’s expectations.

Design principles such as balance, emphasis, repetition, and consistency have specific uses. The design can be balanced or unbalanced each for a specific purpose i.e. stability or movement. Emphasis is the placement and formatting of elements like headings in order to arrest attention. Repetition can help establish a sense of identity throughout the document. Consistency is the extent to which pages are designed similarly from page to page and aid the reader in finding information quickly and convey a sense of professionalism and credibility.  Two related principles are simplicity and moderation.  The writer should shoot of a simple yet effective design.

Design decisions should match with the writer’s purpose. A well designed document helps readers locate info, ideas, and the overall functioning of the document.

Writing with design conventions in mind will help reach the readers.  Writing in genre includes various kinds of design principles that the reader may expect. Genres have distinctive writing styles, patterns and distinctive types of design.

Elements of design include fonts, line spacing, and alignment; page layout strategies; color, shading, borders, and rules; and illustrations. Illustrations include photographs and other images, charts and graphs, as well as tables and digital illustrations. The writer should follow some guidelines when working with these elements. For example, guidelines for illustration use include, using an illustration for a purpose, place an illustration near the text it illustrates, and include a title or caption that explains the illustration. The style being used will give recommendations on placement and format of titles and captions.