For this discussion, you are going to examine the two texts linked…

Question Answered step-by-step For this discussion, you are going to examine the two texts linked… For this discussion, you are going to examine the two texts linked below as to their document design. Use what you learned from the video resources for this lesson and determine which document is stronger from a design perspective. Why is it stronger? What could be done to the “weaker” document to make the design flow better to a reader’s eyes? How would you change the design of the one you consider to be the stronger document?As always, your original post should be a minimum of  words in length. You should think of this as a very short paper that features an argument for one document being stronger than the other solely from the standpoint of the design of the page. What is written in the text of the document should not factor into your decision. Defend your choice, and then note what you would change about this document to make it even better and what you would change in the weaker document to make it stronger. Be specific – saying, I would make more white space doesn’t help your classmates learn from your posts.You should respond to a minimum of two student posts this week after completing your own. Do you agree or disagree? Looking at the argument made by your peer, use those same points to showcase why the other project is stronger, or how you chose the same document but looked at very different factors of the design.  When we think of document design, we often begin by thinking about the document as anaesthetic work rather than what the words on the document actually say. Part of the waywe can do this is to use our word processing program to zoom out so far that we can nolonger read the words on the page so much as see how the ink or black text (unless you areusing other colors) look as images and balance between inked (or black) space on thecanvas that is the page (white). Part of what we want to do here is treat the text in the samemanner as many grunge lyricists treated vocals in music in the 1990’s. While many peoplesearch for meaning in the lyrics to songs, some bands specifically chose to avoid any kindof message and instead treated the voice as just another instrument to create sound.Nirvana is the classic example here, as Kurt Cobain was on record stating that this was theway to treat Nirvana’s lyrics and songs. That said, good document design needs to do morethan just look good. It is designed to help reads understand your information, help readerslocate information quickly, and to notice the most important information quickly. So, as arule document design asks us to pay attention to things that extend beyond white space.For example, certain fonts are much easier to read than others. When clarity is of theutmost importance, you want to use san-serif fonts, as the letters will lack ornamentationthat can be distracting and difficult on the eyes of many readers. You will also want to lookat how font sizes look next to one another. A good example of that is to compare 10-pointArial with 12-point Times New Roman. If you look at them together, you will notice thatthey are almost the same size. This means that you need to pay attention to more than justthe “number” of the font size, but how it makes the document more or less readable. Thesecond thing you want to concern yourself with is how spacing and margins can changehow a reader feels about a document. If they open a document and see a wall of text withsmall margins, no discernible paragraphing, and little space for their eyes to rest, it canprove difficult to read which leaves your audience uncomfortable and less receptive to themessage you are intending to get across. However, white space and margins can also havepurposes beyond mere aesthetics. For someone who has some trouble reading texts (as Ido), a lack of spacing can create a barrier to understanding. In that same vein, when thedocument being read will have notes placed on it (say on a resume during a job interview),a lack of white space means that those notes are on the back (where they may not beviewed when reviewing the document and ranking candidates later), or on another sheet of paper where the feeling the interviewer got from the interviewee is now disconnected fromthe name. Since the course is mostly about writing documents in English, it is worth notingthat the way we want our documents to look is reflected by the fact that we read left toright. We want some “resting space” for the eyes on the right side of the page, and byutilizing good margins, spacing, and headers (along with graphics, lists, image layouts,etc.), writers can accommodate those needs without sacrificing an adherence to qualityand rules that govern how documents are presented. These rules apply to both physicaltext on paper and to electronic texts that appear on screens, though you should expectthat you will need to modify documents for different media presentations in order to retainthe aesthetic and functional design of the document. You will notice that this document,with no spacing or paragraphing, is quite difficult to read, but the same document, laid outa bit differently is much more pleasing Some Basics on Document DesignWhen we think of document design, we often begin by thinking about the document as anaesthetic work rather than what the words on the document say. Part of the way we can do thisis to use our word processing program to zoom out so far that we can no longer read the wordson the page so much as see how the ink or black text (unless you are using other colors) look asimages and balance between inked (or black) space on the canvas that is the page (white). Partof what we want to do here is treat the text in the same manner as many grunge lyriciststreated vocals in music in the 1990’s. While many people search for meaning in the lyrics tosongs, some bands specifically chose to avoid any kind of message and instead treated thevoice as just another instrument to create sound. Nirvana is the classic example here, as KurtCobain was on record stating that this was the way to treat Nirvana’s lyrics and songs. Thatsaid, good document design needs to do more than just look good. It is designed to helpreaders understand your information, help readers locate information quickly, and to notice themost important information quickly. So, as a rule document design asks us to pay attention tothings that extend beyond white space.Font ChoiceFor example, certain fonts are much easier to read than others. When clarity is of the utmostimportance, you want to use san-serif fonts, as the letters will lack ornamentation that can bedistracting and difficult on the eyes of many readers. You will also want to look at how fontsizes look next to one another. A good example of that is to compare 10-point Arial with 12-point Times New Roman. If you look at them together, you will notice that they are almost thesame size. This means that you need to pay attention to more than just the “number” of thefont size, but how it makes the document more or less readable.Spacing and MarginsThe second thing you want to concern yourself with is how spacing and margins can changehow a reader feels about a document. If they open a document and see a wall of text with smallmargins, no discernible paragraphing, and little space for their eyes to rest, it can prove difficultto read which leaves your audience uncomfortable and less receptive to the message you areintending to get across.Practical Considerations for SpacingHowever, white space and margins can also have purposes beyond mere aesthetics. Forsomeone who has some trouble reading texts (as I do), a lack of spacing can create a barrier tounderstanding. In that same vein, when the document being read will have notes placed on it(say on a resume during a job interview), a lack of white space means that those notes are on the back (where they may not be viewed when reviewing the document and ranking candidateslater), or on another sheet of paper where the feeling the interviewer got from the intervieweeis now disconnected from the name.Letting the Reader “Rest”Since the course is mostly about writing documents in English, it is worth noting that the waywe want our documents to look is reflected by the fact that we read left to right. We wantsome “resting space” for the eyes on the right side of the page, and by utilizing good margins,spacing, and headers (along with graphics, lists, image layouts, etc.), writers can accommodatethose needs without sacrificing an adherence to quality and rules that govern how documentsare presented. These rules apply to both physical text on paper and to electronic texts thatappear on screens, though you should expect that you will need to modify documents fordifferent media presentations in order to retain the aesthetic and functional design of thedocument. You should notice that this document is much easier to read and more pleasing tothe eye. There’s space for the eyes to rest and for the mind to digest information before thenext sentence or section begins, and there is plenty of room for notes off to the side Arts & Humanities Writing GEB 3213 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)