QMS 860, User Manual, Page: 205 / 398

Page Design
One rule to remember when designing documents is keep it simple.
Avoid cluttering your documents with unnecessary font changes.
It takes experience and talent to blend a wide range of typefaces
skillfully, and using too many typefaces detracts from a document’s
effectiveness.
Always consider your reader first. Select the typeface that is best
for your particular document by considering the meaning of your
words. What are you trying to communicate? A strong,
no-nonsense typeface, like Helvetica, proclaims its message loud
and clear. This is why sans serif type is often used for signs, as in
NO PARKING . Helvetica is considered so strong it does not even
have a true italic form, since italic forms convey grace.
The skillful use of typeface in page design can also increase
readability. Good newspapers are an example of the use of text
placement for maximum readability. The typeface chosen for text
and headlines varies in size, and text is contained in columns two
to three inches wide. Thus, the eye does not have to travel far, and
readers do not lose their place.
Other aspects of design such as word spacing (justified or
unjustified), line spacing, the spacing of letters within words, and
uppercase and lowercase letters all affect the legibility of your
page.
While page design has no set rules, there are many books available
on page layout and design as well as on typography to guide you
in making effective choices. But the main guideline, again, is keep
it simple.
Chapter 7
7 - 1 0 P r o f e s s i o n a l P r i n t i n g