Chapter 7 of Markel outlines four design principles that you and use to make your writing clearer and easier to read. The secret to remembering them is to rearrange them into a mnemonic: CRAP (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity).

The choice of a spreadsheet for Project 2 demonstrates how design choices can make information more readable and useful to an audience. Spreadsheets (or tables in a Word Processor) are frequently used in the workplace to present information that the audience will compare. For instance, you might create a spreadsheet for benchmarking purposes, to compare different features of competitor’s websites, or to compare contractors for a project to find the best choice.

As you read chapter 7, pay attention to the CRAP design principles, the details on designing documents (such as using layout, columns, and typography), and the information on analyzing page designs.

Reading Quiz

After reading the chapter, complete the reading quiz in Scholar for Chapter 7.

Photo: This is C.R.A.P. by Matt Katzenberger, on Flickr