The Bedford Researcher -- Chapter 18 Summary

Chapter 18 of The Bedford Researcher, titled Understanding Design Principles, informs the writer that "the design decisions [they] make will play a critical role in how [their] readers understand, react to, and work with [their] document" (285). Chapter 18 describes steps for the writer to take in order to achieve an effective design for their document. Step 1 is to understand the "design principles of balance, emphasis, placement, repetition, and consideration..." (286). Balance refers to the vertical and horizontal alignments of a document's pages. Mastering this technique will smoothly guide the reader's eye across the page. "Emphasis is the placement and formatting of... headings and subheadings, so they catch [the] reader's attention" (286). Placement refers to the location of the elements in the writer's paper. Placing an image, for example, near a passage infers that they are related. Repetition is the use of navigation menus, page numbers, headers and footers throughout the writer's document. Consistency refers to the extent in which the writer continuously "format[s] and place[s] text and illustrations in the same way throughout [their] document" (287)." This shows professionalism and competence, increasing the sense of credibility and quality of the writer's document.  Chapter 18 goes into detail on how to design with a purpose, how to design for their readers, how to use illustrations correctly, and what design elements to use.