Use clear and simple design

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Less is more.

Keep the design as simple and plain as possible. Don’t distract the reader.

Don’t create a design that’s an end in itself. Create a design that helps the reader to retrieve and process the given information.

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Avoid variety

Use only a few colors. Use a different color only if it has a particular purpose. Reserve bold colors for important things.

Use only a few fonts and font sizes. Use a different font or font size only if it has a particular purpose. Reserve bold, large type for important things and for headings.

Try to get along with as few styles as possible.

Use the same styles throughout the whole document.

Use the same styles also for all other documents that relate to the same product.

In pictures, always use the same line width.

Always use the same positions when arranging objects. Align all objects on a common design grid.

Avoid redundancy

Omit every letter, symbol, line, or other object that doesn’t actually add any value.

Objects that convey some important or helpful information do add value.

Objects that help readers to find or process information do add value.

Objects that are just there to fill some empty space don’t add value.

For example:

Don’t use background images.

Don’t put your company logo on each page.

Don’t mention the author’s name on each page.

Don’t put a copyright notice on each page.

Don’t put a revision number or release date on each page.

Don’t put the document title on each page.

A running header or footer that shows the title of the current section, however, can be helpful because it keeps readers oriented.

Avoid clutter

Don’t overload your pages with too much information.

Use white space purposefully to direct the readers’ attention, to group things that belong together, and to set reading pauses.

It’s no problem if an uncluttered layout makes your document a bit longer. If you provide valuable content, readers accept that they need to scroll or turn pages. However, they don’t accept documents that overwhelm or confuse them.


Use color with care

Structuring: Keep the structure flat

Writing: Keep it simple and stupid