What is design?

Layout writing is how you lay out your text.

Why is design important?

We are a very visual society and we are influenced by the way things are seen more profoundly than we realize. Image is everything in many contexts. Whether that’s good or bad can be argued, but when writing anything, it should be kept in mind. The way you organize your words will affect the way people read them.

What are the fundamental elements of an effective design?

1. Clarity.

Just as the words you choose should have a clear meaning, so should the way you order them. Simple sentences, short paragraphs, and important points emphasized in the text.

2. Blank space.

If you look at a lot of business writing, particularly books, the trend in recent years is to break up sections, have short chapters, and lots of white space.

The purpose of the white space is to encourage people to read the words. If the text is crowded, it becomes a struggle for many readers. Remember that the average ability to read is low and online this is made more difficult because the text is on the screen.

The shift towards reading on smaller screens, such as mobile phones or iPads, can only increase the difficulty of reading. Long passages are unlikely to work through such delivery methods.

One way to check if you have enough white space in your text is to go to Preview in Word and reduce it to 75% view. That shows you where the text is cluttered without you actually worrying about what you’ve written.

3. Progress

The logic of what you write matters. Having readers go back and check what they’ve read before because you refer back to it doesn’t help them read naturally.

Regardless of what you write, they should be able to go from start to finish without stopping in their tracks. Imagine that you are traveling on a straight road. You are progressing smoothly, and suddenly an obstacle appears in front of you.

This is how badly arranged a text can seem to the reader.