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• 1 2016-04-26T09:44:36-07:00 Document Design Principles - Alignment 11 plain 2016-05-19T22:33:51-07:00      The placement of texts and objects on a page should have a purpose; these items should not be placed randomly or else the validity of the page is compromised. “When items are aligned on the page, the result is a stronger cohesive unit,” (Williams 33). In the Western world people read text from left to right. While a text doesn’t necessarily have to be placed with the hard line to the left, the justification of the text to the left or the right makes a text much easier to follow for the eyes. “A centered alignment often appears a bit weak,” (Williams 35). The centered alignment takes on a more formal approach (Williams 36). With a contract or a formal letter, it is okay to take that formal approach even though a justification to the right or left of center can have the same refined feeling. Typically, it is best to stick to one alignment, left or right, often times there is an opportunity to break the rules. Just remember, “unity is an important concept in design,” (Williams 54) and unity is a form of repetition.
             
       The alignment of a document helps with the visual appeal and allowing a person to quickly and easily engage in the text. One way to achieve this goal is to work on the layout of the design. If a design creates “gridlines [to] indicate proportional outline of the format and include margin lines, column guides, and other gridlines as necessary or desired,” (Hagen 70) then an individual reading the document has an easier time focusing on the text at hand. The ultimate goal in a document is to inform someone of something of importance.
             
        The letters follow form, with the header at the top. The attention getter of the header is centered, but the information around the main focus is aligned right and left. This is one instance where it is okay to break the rules and have all three alignments. This broken rule shows a sign of repetition. There is also contrast as the main focal point is centered and large while the information to the left and right is smaller font size. A clear case where the items all work together to form a whole picture. The body of the text drops down and there is an indent to each new paragraph. Each paragraph is aligned to the left with the jagged edge on the right. A way for the eyes to move through the text quickly and gather the information that is being presented. “[Flush left, jagged right] accommodates natural word spacing and provides easy eye tracking,” (Hagen 101).
             
       In the more formal documents such as the contract, the text is known as fully justified “(right and left edges perfectly squared),” (Hagen 101). Full justification allows for words to be spread fully throughout the line to avoid the jagged right, but jagged right helps the reader move from line to line. Williams’ design book suggests avoiding fully justified text unless your line is long enough to avoid awkward gap spacing between words (Williams 42). In these more formal documents, the full justified text works with the line length. Finally alignment of a document brings us to the fourth element of proximity.
• 1 2016-04-26T10:37:09-07:00 Document Design Principles - Proximity 9 plain 2016-05-19T22:34:37-07:00      The last design principle Williams addresses is proximity. Proximity is “group[ing] like items together,” (Williams 15). This allows a reader to know the information that is being presented is related or not. One of the big fears of document designers, especially new document designers is the fear of white space, also known as negative space. This negative space allows like items to be grouped together and puts distance between the items that are not related. That helps the reader distinguish the difference in the information that is being presented. Hagen and Golombisky present seven design elements to consider, “space, line, shape, size, pattern, texture, and value,” (Hagen 44). Not all these design elements can be discussed in the documents from the Hearl Maxwell collection so the main ones to focus on are space, line, and pattern.
             
        Shape refers to the negative space or positive space, also known as filled space, of a document (Hagen 44). The filled space of the document is where the body of the text is or the logo on the letterhead. The negative space includes the margins around the body of the text. This helps the reader stay focused on the area of the letter that they are supposed to be reading. The proximity of the letterhead to the body of the text also allows the reader to know that the body of the text is where they should focus their attention. If there is question about who is involved in the letter, the letterhead at the top of the page allows for easy access of that information. Like items are grouped together.
             
       The line doesn’t necessarily refer to the lines of text, but could be referring to the line that the left or right justification makes. This is where proximity ties in tightly with the alignment element of document design. The line helps to move the reader’s eyes through the piece of information by creating a direction or movement within the text (Hagen, 45). This line is seen in the letters but also in the contract, especially with the fully justified text; multiple lines are seen in the contract through the fully justified text.
             
       In analyzing the letters and the contracts, it is easy to find all four elements of Williams’ document design principles, contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. While no element is more important than the next, all four elements are just as important as each other. Contrast works to help draw the reader in to the information at hand. Repetition helps the reader to know the information all belongs together. Alignment helps in specific placement of the information allowing the reader to use proximity when grouping the information that is being presented. This helps with retention of what is being said throughout a letter or a contract or a constitution; this is used to help present information to a large group of people with a high retention rate.