Document & Information Design

Description: 

It is more important now than it ever has been to include well-designed visual elements in written communication. Research shows that readers first engage with the visual elements of documents before anything else. Attention to visual design helps readers determine a document’s credibility and usefulness. In this workshop, you will learn basic principles for constructing visually-appealing, functional documents.

Course activities include, but are not limited to, creating boilerplate templates, critiquing and redesigning documents, and drafting communication style guides. You will complete assignments and activities using the desktop publishing application suite(s) of your choice (e.g., Office 360, Adobe Creative Cloud, iWork, Google Docs Editors).

Who Should Enroll: 
  • Communications professionals
  • Professionals who are interested in standardizing communication within their organization
  • Anyone who prepares documents in organizations for internal and external circulation
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Apply and practice core principles of document and information design
  • Learn how culturally-specific design principles affect readability, functionality, interpretation, and communication of information
  • Recognize various attributes that contribute to effective (and ineffective!) document design
  • Learn how to articulate design choices to a variety of stakeholders
Prerequisites: 

Required: Bring at least four short documents from your organization (reports, letters, web content, mailers, slide decks), which you feel could be improved. These documents can be internal, external, or a mixture of both. You will use these samples during our critique and redesign activities.

Continuing Education Hours: 
Continuing Education Units: .65 CEUs

For withdrawal, transfer and refund information, see Policy Code A.