How to Create a User-Friendly but Functional Cover for a Technical Document
Some clients and corporations offer technical guidelines for writers, guidelines that define the way a cover should look.
But image you are a freelance technical writer or someone who is asked to create an official set of design guidelines?
Here are seven time-tested design recommendations culled from my 20 years of experience as a professional writer, page layout and information designer:
1) Keep it simple. Limit your design elements to the following components:
a) Title b) Product/Service photo or image c) Company logo d) Footer
2) The cover should include (if applicable) version or release number, as well as the document number.
3) Footer should include date of release, copyright and confidentiality (if any) information.
4) Leave as much white space as possible for the eyes to rest. Remember the principle of “less is more” and limit the number of figures and photos you feel like inserting into your cover design. If possible, always stick to those colors approved in advance by your corporation or the freelance client.
5) Leave out your name unless specifically requested by the management or the client. Anonymity is a normal default condition in technical writing and communication. Technical writers enjoy above-average incomes even though they remain anonymous. But they also enjoy making life easier for others by providing detailed instructions to perform technical tasks.
6) If you have a lot of text and graphic elements on the cover page do not center them like most amateur designers do.
The natural sweep direction for the eye is from upper-left down towards bottom-right. Try to align your text and images along that diagonal for easy reading.
HOWEVER, if you have just a little text and a single image, then it’s okay to center your page elements since there isn’t much to read and stress the eyes. But that’s a special case and not the rule.
7) Have discipline in your choice of colors and apply a limited palette. It pays to repeat: use as few design elements as necessary to get across your point.
A technical document cover should never have ten or twelve colors unless it’s a document about colors.
After reducing the number of your colors to a managable few select only traditional colors for your design purposes. Blood-red letters on a pitch black background might be a great color choice for a punk rock web site but that combination does poorly on the cover of a technical document.
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