Chapter 10 Notes and Comments

Layout of a document can be tricky. It's a careful balance, as gestalt theory explains. You have to build a pleasant and balanced page every time. I've encountered gestalt theory in journalism editing, where an interesting and clear page design can mean the difference between publishing success and disaster.

However, I never considered using non-standard page designs in the proposal design, especially at this stage. I've used some of the alignment guides as Johnson-Sheehan explains, but other than that I've stuck with one-column layouts throughout this proposal. I don't think I'll be changing away from that design scheme, especially this late in the game, but I do see using a three-column format for my thesis itself. Grouping using headings is very important in designing and organizing large documents, since the eye needs organizational breaks.

Finally, consistency in page design, as aided by style sheets, is absolutely essential in every document design. I like the step-by-step guide on 196 as an organizational tool. We have several tools in the MATRF to help with this kind of design activity, most notably InDesign. Given the short timeframe we're working with, though, I doubt anyone is going to have enough time to design a proposal at that level of complexity. Again, the projects themselves will benefit, and if we had this design portion earlier in the class the case might be different, but I just don't see the time constraints working to our advantage.