Using a style sheet to
design your document

Using a document design style sheet will help you design your pages consistently and establish a hierarchy of importance for your message. (This is also a good tip for preparing long documents, including your capstone project.) A document design style sheet identifies how the text will appear at different levels throughout the or the website. To get started, determine how you want each of these elements to appear; then check your document pages against this list.

• • Normal text: which font and size works best? (Tip: use the same text font, color, and size throughout, though you may change typography including italics, bolding, color, etc. to indicate different levels of importance for the titles, headings, or key points you want to emphasize.)

  • Titles and headings: how do you want to set these off? (For example, first-level headings could be left justified, while the second level headings could be indented.)

  • Justification: block or ragged right?

  • Lists: numbered, bulleted?

  • Titles for graphics: centered, italicized?

Using consistent typography will increase the readability of your pages, while changes in typography should be done with care. See the examples below of different ways typography can be used to create hierarchy in a document.