Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Elements of Design
Preview
Its essential that you learn the basic design terms presented
in this study unit because publication design has its own
jargon and tools. Once youve mastered the basics, youll be
prepared for the more detailed treatment each element will
receive in your future studies. Youll also learn how to transfer your page-design skills to online publishing, such as
creating World Wide Web pages.
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PLANNING AHEAD
THE PAGE
Introduction
Image Area
Trim Size
Page Width Elements
Page Length Elements
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GIVE ME SPACE!
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Visual Appeal
Word Spacing
Letterspacing
Line Spacing
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Contents
STYLE
Introduction
Style Manuals and Other References
Style Sheets
Specification Sheets
GOING ONLINE
Introduction to Online Publishing
History of the Internet
Internet Applications
E-mail
FTP
Search Utilities
The World Wide Web
Intranets
PUBLISHING ONLINE
Browsers
HTML
XHTML
SGML
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SELF-CHECK ANSWERS
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EXAMINATION
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Contents
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PLANNING AHEAD
The Importance of Planning
When an artist stands before a blank canvas with brush in
hand, he or she has already made some decisions about what
the finished painting is going to look like. A portrait painter,
for example, knows that the painting will be a person, not a
landscape, animal, or automobile. Its also likely that the
painter has drawn out and carefully studied some rough
but detailed sketches. In other words, a degree of detailed
planning has preceded the first brushstroke. Of course, all
of this planning doesnt mean that the painter cant yield to
creative inspiration or make adjustments while the work is in
progress. It simply means that great art usually isnt all that
spontaneous. Instead, its the result of careful planning and
expert execution of those plans (Figure 1).
The same is true in document design. Before you can turn on
your computer to begin working on a document, you must do
some very precise planning. This section will lead you through
the planning stages that precede actual document creation.
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Type of Document
Before laying out a document, its imperative that you know
what kind of document youre dealing with and how that
document is to be used. Books, newsletters, magazines,
brochures, and one-page advertising fliers are all very
different. Theyre read for varying purposes by people with
different levels of interest and motivation. Is the document
going to be used to try to sell something to people, like a
mailer, or is it going to inform people about something
such as a Web page? Your job is to give each document the
highest possible chance of accomplishing its purpose
whether that purpose is to entertain, inform, inspire, or sell
a productby designing it in an appropriate, attractive way.
For example, if you create a newsletter for an organization,
active members who receive it will probably be quite interested in it. On the other hand, if you create a political
newsletter thats sent to constituents unsolicited, those
individuals will probably be much less likely to read it.
Such unannounced documents provide an added challenge
to graphic designersunsolicited mail has about five seconds
to jump out and grab the readers attention. If it doesnt, it
will just end up in the wastebasket.
Documents Subject
Although your main concern is with the way a finished document looks, its clear that you must have at least a general
understanding of what a document is about. Some questions
you must ask are, Whats the purpose of this document? and
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How is the reader going to use it? The answers you get will
lead to different decisions about the documents design. For
example, if a document is a fictional novel, its purpose is to
entertain, and readers pick it up voluntarily with the idea of
reading every word. Therefore, its page layout would be
geared toward legibility. The text would occupy almost all of
the available space (Figure 2).
The subject matter impacts the design of other documents
besides books. For instance, an invitation to a formal charity
benefit dinner would have a much different design than an
invitation to a high school graduation party. This leads
directly to the next issue: to whom is the document directed?
My fathers family name being Pirrip, and my christian name
Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the
river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and
longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and
At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place
Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above,
and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days
were also dead and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness
and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes;
dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and
and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the
distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the
sickly.
from among the graves at the side of the church porch. Keep
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a little iron on his leg. A
man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag
FIGURE 2The pages of a novel must be easily readable, and no special graphical effects are generally
needed to hold the readers attention. (This passage is from Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.)
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Intended Audience
The subject matter, of course, relates to the documents
intended audience. For example, lets say youve been asked
to produce a document. You must know to whom the document is targeted, because knowing your intended audience
will help determine the complexity of the layout. It makes a
great deal of difference if the document is intended for
children or for scientists. A childrens book requires large
type, plenty of blank space (white space), and clear illustrations that support the text (Figure 3A). A technical manual,
on the other hand, will take a very different approach. Its
type will be smaller, and it will feature less white space and
more complex illustrations (Figure 3B). A Web page is unique
in that it can display technical matter in an easy-to-follow
form (Figure 3C).
APOLLO
SPACECRAFT
THE SATURN V
The Saturn V booster was used in Apollo missions to the moon
and to place Skylab in Earth orbit in 1973. It was 363 feet tall,
including the Apollo spacecraft, and had three stages.
THIRD
STAGE
SECOND
STAGE
363 FEET
LEM
22
FIRST
STAGE
PRE-LAUNCH VEHICLE
GROSS WEIGHT = 6,368,064 POUNDS
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FIGURE 3AA document for children needs large, easily readable type, plenty of white space, and
clear illustrations. (Reproduced from Elementary Activities Book, published by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)
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AH-64A APACHE
ADVANCED ATTACK
HELICOPTER
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FIGURE 3BA technical manual features smaller type and more text per page.
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FIGURE 3CA Web page uses graphics and text to attract viewers.
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FIGURE 4Instruction
booklets such as this
are usually set in a
businesslike typeface.
Documents Length
You must also consider the dimensions, or size, of the
document before you begin your design. Documents, of
course, come in all sizes. Childrens picture books can be
as big as 11 by 17 inches or as small as 3 by 3 inches. Some
documents are almost always the same size; rsums, for
example, are usually 81/2 by 11 inches. There are many
reasons why a publisher or client may select a certain size.
Standard sizes are normally cheaper because the printer
isnt required to trim the paper.
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Kinds of Illustrations
Another vital part of a designers preparation is determining
the exact number and kinds of illustrations that will be
included within a document. For example, suppose that
you set up a master layout for a 32-page document only
to find out after youve completed the project that an
additional 10 illustrations will be added. Major changes
will require substantial adjustments to the work youve
done. Although page layout programs make it relatively
easy to revise a document to accommodate such changes,
its much better to have this kind of information before you
start working on a document.
Youll also want to know what kinds of illustrations youll
be dealing with, because line drawings and photographs are
handled differently within page layout programs.
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FIGURE 7Tables, graphs, charts, and maps such as these must be properly planned.
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Types of Headings
As already mentioned, very few documents consist of only
a solid block of unbroken text. To break up sections of
text and make the documents message clearer, authors
and graphic designers use headings. An important part of
advance planning is considering the types of headings to use
and the space theyll occupy.
Documents often feature more than one type of heading.
Take this section youre reading, for example. First, theres a
major heading, PLANNING AHEAD. Then, there are many
minor headings, which are subdivisions of the major head.
Some minor headings are The Importance of Planning and
Getting to Know Your Document. There can also be one or
two levels of subheadings under a minor heading (Figure 8).
Subheads can be aligned with the margin and stand on a line
of their own. A sidehead, or a run-in sidehead, begins a paragraph and is continuous with the text. Most documents are
well divided, with a maximum of three types of headings.
Notice the difference in size and style of the headings used in
this section. The major head is set in bold uppercase letters,
while the minor head is slightly smaller and set in uppercase
and lowercase bold letters. Breaking the book up in this way
gives you clues to the key content of each section and makes
the text more interesting to read.
A heading that isnt part of the main body of a documents
text is a running head. Running heads get their name from
the fact that they appear in the top margin of every page.
Often included as part of a running head is the page number,
or folio. These heads are like a road map, letting readers
know where they are in the document. Running heads can
be used to identify the current chapter or section or the main
contents of a particular page. When this type of heading is
located at the bottom of a document, its called a running footer.
Decisions about the use of running heads and footers must be
part of the advance planning that goes into a document.
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Preliminary Pages
A long document, such as a book, generally includes three
main sections: preliminary pages, main text, and back matter.
Preliminary pages are also called front matter and prelims.
Like the rest of the document, preliminary pages are planned
in advancethey too are part of the master blueprint that
will guide construction of the document. Preliminary pages
include everything that precedes the documents main body,
such as
The title page, which lists the documents title and any
subtitles, the authors name, the publisher, and year of
publication
The copyright, or imprint page, which gives information
about the copyright owner and previous publishing history
The preface or introduction, which informs the reader
why the document was written, what it contains, and
what benefit the author hopes the reader will gain
The table of contents, which lists the major, and
sometimes the minor, divisions of the document, and
respective page numbers
The half-title page, which is the document title alone on a
separate page, and the authors dedication page
When creating a Web page, the first page or home page will
act as an index and introduction in one. Online publishing
usually combines many elements of traditional print publishing.
This is because online publishing is a faster, leaner type of
publishing designed to give fast results.
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Go back and look at the first few pages of this unit. What you
see is a title page with the course name and the title of the
current study unit. Turning the page, you find the copyright
information on the left-hand, or verso, page. Facing the
copyright page on the right-hand, or recto, page is the units
preview (preface). The next verso page is blank and faces
the contents page, which appears on the right. As you move
through your unit, youll notice that recto pages are always
odd numbered, while verso pages are always even numbered.
Back Matter
Elements that appear after the text portion of a long document include such items as the appendix, glossary, index,
and bibliography. Another item sometimes found in books is
a colophon, which lists the documents production facts.
Included are such items as the name of the documents publisher, the typeface, the equipment on which the document
was set, the kind of paper used, and the names of the printer
and bookbinder (Figure 9). These terms will be covered in a
later study unit.
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FIGURE 9A colophon is
useful for letting readers
know how a document has
been produced.
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Other Challenges
You should always be on the lookout for any special problems
that may appear in particular projects. For example, if youre
limited to a certain number of pages, you must fit all of the
documents elements into those pages. This means you must
skillfully and creatively use the available space.
Sometimes, the document in progress calls for an unusual
page size. Oversized documents, such as the one shown
in Figure 11, challenge graphic designers to lay out the
elements in such a way that readers are kept interested and
their eyes are drawn from one important piece of information
to the next.
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FIGURE 11Special-sized
documents challenge
publishers to use space
creatively.
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In the next section, youll learn some of the basic terms used
in typography. Before advancing, however, review what youve
learned by completing Self-Check 1.
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Self-Check 1
At the end of each section of Elements of Design, youll be asked to pause and check
your understanding of what youve just read by completing a Self-Check exercise.
Answering these questions will help you review what youve studied so far. Please
complete Self-Check 1 now.
1. In (casting off/copyfitting), a publisher estimates a documents length when its set in a
particular typeface.
2. Text that appears at the top of every page is called a _______.
3. The copyright or imprint page is most commonly found in the (front/back) matter of a long
document.
4. What two tools can you use to determine a documents length?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Check your answers with those on page 83.
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Suitability of Type
There are hundreds of different typefaces available for use on
desktop publishing systems, and more are being made available all the time. All typefacesfrom the plainest to the
fanciestare attractive and useful in their own way. When
selecting a typeface for a document, you must ask yourself, Is
this the most suitable typeface for this particular document?
Since publishing is a form of communication, every printed
document has something to say to those who will read it.
That message is carried out in text and graphical images.
How these elements are combined and presented on the page
is vital for successful communication. Each typeface creates
its own mood or atmosphere. Some, such as Helvetica, present
the documents message in a no-nonsense, businesslike
manner, which is why the Internal Revenue Service uses it
on tax forms. Others, such as Bookman and Avant Garde,
are more friendly and inviting.
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Page layout programs also let you play tricks with type as
shown in the following samples.
You can fill up a line with a few words by stretching the
characters out across the available line length, like this:
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x-height
serif
ascender
cap height
counter
Graphic Design
descender
stem
baseline
Alphabets
When typographers speak of the alphabet, theyre talking
about more than the letters A through Z. Theyre also talking
about all of the characters in a particular size and style of
type. Each typeface generally has five separate alphabets:
1. Full-sized upright (roman) capital letters and characters
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!#$%&*()
2. Roman lowercase letters and characters
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz!#$%&*()
3. Slanted (italic) uppercase letters and characters
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!#$%&*()
4. Italic lowercase letters and characters
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz!#$%&*()
5. Small capitals (slightly smaller than full-sized)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!#$%&*()
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Proportional versus
Nonproportional Type
Youre probably familiar with the appearance of a typewritten
or word processed page. Looking at the word processed text
on the left in Figure 15, its plain to see that every character
is evenly spaced out across the line. Each character takes
up the same amount of space, whether it needs that much
space or not. An i, for example, takes up the same amount
of space as an m, even though the i is much smaller. This kind
of character spacing is called nonproportional or monospacing
because it doesnt make allowances for differences in width.
The Courier type thats standard in word processing software
and most computer system printers is a typewriterlike,
nonproportional typeface.
When the same text is set using whats called a proportional
type, it takes up much less space as shown on the right in
Figure 15. As a result, fewer lines are needed, and more text
fits on a page because the characters use only the amount of
space they really need. Besides using space and paper more
economically, proportional spacing gives documents a truly
professional look. Page layout software uses proportional type
almost exclusively.
FIGURE 15Nonproportional spacing gives each character the same space (left), while the same text
set in a proportional typeface requires much less space (right). The sample on the left is 10-point
Courier with 12 points of leading, while the sample on the right is 10-point Helvetica with 12 points
of leading.
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Availability of Characters
The second major factor in the selection of a particular typeface for a document is the availability of all characters that
the document will require. A typeface can have several hundred possible characters. For example, there are the standard
English-language letters in both upper- and lowercase. There
are also punctuation marks and numbers 09. Thats just
the beginning. In addition, documents can use bullets (),
directional arrows (), fractions (1/2, 3/4), mathematical and
scientific symbols (, ), dingbats (, , ), Greek letters
(, ), and various types of lines. This isnt even a complete
list. Its a fact that its almost impossible for a single typeface
to provide all of the possibilities. However, its important that
the typeface you choose has all of the characters your
document needs.
Once a suitable typeface has been selected for a document,
the designers next challenge is to decide what size of type is
appropriate. The next section introduces you to the language
of type measurement.
Type Measurement
One of the key skills in page layout is the ability to measure
type. Type measurement is about points and picas. A point is
the basic unit of typographic measurement. How large is a
point? Well, 72 points equals 1 inch (2.5 centimeters), so a
single point measures 1/72 inch (0.0353 centimeters). To
demonstrate how small one point is, heres a line thats one
point thick:
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Suppose that youre designing the layout for this series of study
units. You chose to place one column of text on each page, but
you dont want that column to stretch from one side of the page
to the other. So, instead of a 6-inch (15-centimeter) column, you
chose a 41/2-inch (11.25-centimeter) column. How many points
and picas does this column width equal?
Hint: Since there are 6 picas to an inch, multiply 41/2 (4.5)
by 6 to get the equivalent column width in picas.
If youre working with two columns that are 15 picas wide, its
useful to know that each columns width is 2.5 inches (6.35
centimeters) wide (Figure 18). That same column is 180 points
wide (72 points per inch 2.5 inches, or 15 picas 12 points
to the pica). Try measuring it in Figure 18 yourself.
Making conversions from inches or centimeters to picas
(and vice versa) is much easier when you use an E-scale
(Figure 19). E-scales, also known as typeset rulers, were a
common tool for designers before the advent of sophisticated
page layout software. They are a specialty item that will have
to order from an art supply store. You may only be able to
find a pica ruler, which is helpful if you cant get an E-scale.
FIGURE 18This page features two columns that are each 2 inches (6.35 centimeters) wide.
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If you can find either tool, they are handy to have when the
occasional need comes up to match type, leading or line
length measurements on a printed document. Lets take a
closer look at this handy measuring tool.
Hold the E-scale so that the inches ruler is on your right.
At the scales right edge youll see a 101/2-inch ruler. Along
the scales bottom edge is a point ruler, and this begins at
zero (on the left) and increases all the way to 324 points
(on the right).
Just above the point ruler is a set of bullets and boxes,
which range in size from 6 to 24 points. The line of bullets
and boxes is lowercase. These bullets and boxes are useful
aids when setting up lists and checklists. This part of the
scale helps you visualize and select the appropriately sized
bullet or box.
On the left side of the scale is a pica ruler that measures 63
picas in length. The measuring marks appear at the 6- and
12-point positions along the ruler. (The 6-point marks are
half picas, while the 12-point marks are full picas, designated
by the numbered lines on the pica scale.)
In the top center portion of the scale, youll find a small vertical
point ruler that you can use to determine the space, or leading,
between lines of type. Leading is measured in points. This scale
begins at the 0-point mark, which is the bold horizontal line and
increases by increments of two points to 70 points. To use
this portion of your ruler, line up the 0-point mark at a lines
baseline (illustrated in the previous section) and measure the
vertical distance to the baseline of the line of type immediately below it (Figure 20). The point marker will indicate the
leading in points. Try measuring the leading of the type on
this page. Youll find the leading is 10.5 points.
From the left side of the scale, moving toward the middle,
youll find a series of rules that begin with a 6-point leading
distance between lines, and increases to 7, 8, 9, and 10
points. On the right, youll find similar measurements for 15,
13, 11, and 12 points. You can use these rules to find out
approximately how many lines of text you can fit on a page.
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The uppercase Es running down the left side of the scale give
this tool its name. These Es represent the point sizes 6
through 72 in Helvetica font, and are useful for comparing
and measuring the size of text of the same font on a printed
page. The best way to do this is to find an uppercase roman
E (or other block-shaped, nonbolded capital, such as H or T)
in the text and match it as closely as you can to an E on the
scale. Use this tool to measure the point size of the type
youre reading right now. They wont match exactly because
this text is printed in Palatino and the Es on the E-scale are
in Helvetica, but it will give you practice using the E-scale.
Youll find endless opportunities to use the E-scale as you
pursue your career in graphic design. Practice measuring
different types of documentsbooks, newspapers, fliers, and
so on. This tool will serve you so well that youll always want
to keep it within arms reach.
Whats in a Name?
Youre already aware that every typeface has a name. Some
names relate to the style of the type. Brush, for example,
features characters that look as if they were created with
the broad stroke of a paintbrush. Other typefaces get their
names from the persons who designed them, such as Goudy
Oldstyle, which was created by the famous printer and
typographer William Goudy.
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FIGURE 21Although some typefaces are called by different names, theyre essentially the same.
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Self-Check 2
1. True or False? Every typeface features a complete set of all printable characters.
2. Finishing strokes at the end of characters indicate that a type is (serif/sans serif).
3. The imaginary line on which the main part of every character rests is called the _______.
a. cap height
b. baseline
c. descender
d. x-height
4. A page features two columns of text. Each of these columns is 3 inches (7.5 centimeters)
wide, and the space between the two columns is 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) wide.
a. How wide is each column in picas? _______
b. How wide in picas is the combination of the columns and the space between them?
_______
5. What is the point size of a letter if it is one inch high?
Check your answers with those on page 83.
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THE PAGE
Introduction
In publication design, the basic unit of any document is the
page. Strictly speaking, a page can be defined as one side of
a sheet, or leaf, of paper, or one screen of data displayed on
the computer monitor. There isnt any set size that a page
must be. You can create documents that are as small as
business cards or as large as posters (called oversized
documents). Some documents occupy only one side of a
page, while others are many pages in length. Regardless of
a documents size, the basic layout form is called a page.
Its common to see online documents that are many printed
pages long, but as you can scroll down on online documents
they are still just one document. Lets examine the various
elements in a page. Keep in mind that your readers should
never be consciously aware of the separate elements of the
pageevery page should look like a complete unit.
Image Area
Deciding where the text will appear is
one of the first steps in planning your
document. The area on the page where
the text, headings (including side headings),
and running head or footer appear is called
the type page, or text area (Figure 22).
The image area is the actual working
area where text and graphics can be
placed. Traditionally image area has
been measured in picas but now with
current page layout software, inches is
the standard for most print publications
with the exception of newspapers. The unit
of measurement can easily be changed within
the preferences of any graphics software to fit
the particular job at hand.
FIGURE 22The image area of this study
unit is 6.5 inches wide and 9.75 inches deep.
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FIGURE 23Positioning illustrations in new and exciting ways is a challenge for graphic designers.
Trim Size
When designers speak of a pages trim size, theyre referring
to the size of the completed documentincluding all margins
after it has been printed, folded, bound, and cut to size.
Trim size is always measured in inches in both the United
States and Canada, although publishers catalogs sometimes
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Margins
The white space that appears between the image area and
the edge of a page is called the page margin. Page margins
act as buffers between the documents printed text and the
edges of the page. Just because the area in page margins is
blank doesnt mean its wasted. Margins actually make a
page more attractive, interesting, and readable (Figure 24).
In multipage documents, the white space closest to the binding on the inside of a book is called the inner margin, or
gutter. The white space on the outer edges of the text is called
the outer margin. In single-page documents, margins are simply called the left margin and right margin. Margins can be
measured in either inches or picas.
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FIGURE 24Well-designed
page margins improve the
pages appearance.
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Columns
Columns are the vertical areas on a page where text and
graphics can be placed. Depending on the kind of document
and its intended audience, designers can choose a page
layout that features anywhere from one to four columns.
Figure 25 illustrates basic one-, two-, three-, and fourcolumn layouts, which are the most commonly chosen layouts.
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FIGURE 29Four-column
layouts are best suited
for documents such as
catalogs, dictionaries,
directories, some magazines, and other similar
publications.
Line Length
The full width of a line of text is called line length, which
usually conforms to the width of the column and margins
of the page grid. To be pleasing to the eye and easy to read,
the line length of a document shouldnt be too wide or
narrow. The ideal line length will accommodate 65 to 70
characters depending on the type size chosen.
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FIGURE 31Graphic designers must preserve a sense of balance and proportion in their page layouts.
The text in this example seems to be slipping off the page. (This passage is from Great Expectations, by
Charles Dickens.)
GIVE ME SPACE!
Visual Appeal
An important aspect of the visual appeal that should characterize every page you produce is the proper use of space.
Youve just learned how page designers use the image area
and the margins to create eye-appealing pages. Now, lets
look inside the image area to see how space can make
printed text look more attractive and readable. In this
section, youll consider issues related to spacing between
Words
Individual letters
Lines of text
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Word Spacing
The distance that separates individual words within a line is
called word spacing. Four points is considered a normal
amount of space between words, and this is one-third of an
em (one em = 12 points). Lines with word spacing thats
consistently less than four points are called close lines. Lines
with word spacing thats consistently greater than four
points are called open lines. When the space between words
starts to open too much, readability and visual appeal suffer.
Figure 32 illustrates a segment of text in which some words are
so far apart that jagged gaps are plainly visible. These unsightly
separations between words are called rivers. Designers must
be careful to avoid these large separations, particularly when
choosing justified text. (Justified text is discussed in detail
a little later.) Using high-end page layout programs, designers
publishers may gain control of word spacing and letter-spacing
by setting minimum and maximum spacing values.
FIGURE 32The word
spacing in this block of
text is so wide that
unsightly rivers are plainly
visible.
Letterspacing
Sometimes letters, especially in display type, appear too
close together or too far apart. This happens most frequently
when using lines of all capital letters. Extra space can then
be added or subtracted between the letters. This is called
letterspacing (or tracking). Letterspacing may also be used
to achieve special effects.
In certain letter combinations, such as To or WA, the space
that normally appears between the letters can seem too wide,
and this must be fixed. Designers can tighten the space
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Line Spacing
Youve already learned that leading refers to the space
between lines. This name is derived from the strips of lead
that were used by early printers to separate lines of text.
Adding spacing between lines is called leading it or leading
it out. Reducing the space between lines is called closing up
lines or deleting leads.
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Justified Text
You can choose to make your text align with the left and
right margins of the image area so that every line is equal in
length. This is called justification, or justifying the text. Your
publishing software provides for lines of equal length by
adjusting the spacing between the words in each linethe
space between words varies from line to line as needed.
Earlier in this study unit, you were alerted to the potential
problem of riversexcessive white space appearing in the
middle of text. Generally, the shorter your line length, the
more likely your text will include unsightly rivers. This is
because your software wont be able to comfortably adjust
the word spacing. Carefully editing the text and skillfully
using your kerning feature can overcome this problem in
most cases.
Justified text has historically been the norm in formal
books and documents, whether fiction or nonfiction. Today,
however, many publishers are choosing not to justify their
text. Instead, they choose a less formal look with ragged text.
Figure 35 presents samples of justified and ragged text.
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Ragged Text
Text that isnt justified is said to be ragged. In ragged text,
the ends of the lines dont align at one or both margins.
Instead of being equal, line lengths vary. One advantage
of ragged text is that word spacing remains constant; your
publishing software isnt forced to artificially fill the word
spacing as it must in justified text. Another advantage is
that the number of hyphenated words is generally reduced.
There are actually three kinds of ragged text: flush left/
ragged right, flush right/ragged left, and centered. The text
on this page is set flushed (set even) to the left margin and
ragged on the right (flush left/ragged right). Many publishers
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feel that this format is the friendliest and easiest to read. The
eye readily accepts the straight edge at the left side of the
column and the irregular ending at the right.
The opposite of flush left/ragged right features straight edges
on the right and ragged ends at the left (flush right/ragged
left). This format is rarely used, however, because its too
difficult to read comfortably. A long document set flush
right/ragged left will probably go unread. However, certain
small items, such as figure captions, short quotations, and
two-line headlines can be effectively set flush right/ragged left.
The third type of ragged text is centered. When a line of text
is placed in the center of the image area, it has an equal
amount of space on both the right and left sides. This results
in the left and right margins appearing ragged. Lines most
commonly centered are titles, title page text, headlines, and
sometimes subheads.
Very often clients specify how the text in their document
should appear. However, at times this decision will be left up
to you. Be prepared to make it.
In the next section, youll learn about additional aids available to desktop publishers in designing documents. First,
however, review this section by completing Self-Check 3.
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Self-Check 3
1. What is the standard that traditional book publishers have followed for determining the size of
margins?
__________________________________________________________
2. When designers speak of the (image area/trim size) of pages, theyre talking about the outer
dimensions of the pages after theyve been printed, folded, bound, and cut.
3. _______ are the white spaces between the type page and the trimmed edges of a page.
4. Choose the letter that best describes the following block of text.
Math teacher Joe Jackson, left, has been chosen to
receive the Most Respected Teacher Award from
School Board President Leslie R. Paulson, right.
a. Centered
b. Flush left/ragged right
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STYLE
Introduction
When graphic designers speak of style, they can be referring
to any of a documents major elements. Style relates to the
documents text and the way its visually presented on the
page (typeface, fonts, point size, leading, justified, or ragged).
Style also relates to the placement and integration of graphical
elements in a document.
When it comes to document design, its importantespecially for
newcomersto know that help is available. Its not necessary for
you to reinvent the wheel every time you want to design a
new document. First, a large body of reference material on
all aspects of document creation is available at local libraries
and bookstores. In addition, many page layout software
programs provide template layouts that you can use. Third,
this course will give you fantastic ideas for designing your
documents. Finally, as soon as you begin using your publishing
software, you can start putting together and saving your own
library of page layouts and design specifications.
Lets explore the style aids that will help you become a better,
more professional publisher.
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a hundred times, and you want another term to use interchangeably with it. If you look in Rogets, youll find the
synonyms illustrative, photographic, pictographic, and pictorial.
You can also purchase a thesaurus for a particular field, such
as the computer field or medical field.
The key message here is that graphic designers must
surround themselves with the kinds of reference materials
that will make their jobs easier and their work more accurate
and effective.
Style Sheets
One of the greatest challenges facing graphic designers is
maintaining a consistent style throughout a document. One
of the tools that publishers use to ensure consistency in the
way things are said and done in a document is a style sheet.
This is important to both text editors and designers.
Text editors use two different kinds of style sheets. There are
house style sheets that outline a particular organizations
rules of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, hyphenation,
and so on. The individuals who work on documents for that
organization must follow such house rules. For example, an
organization may have a particular policy toward the use of
contractions. Will documents use the formal it is or the
friendlier its? Whatever the editorial decision, the usage
must be consistent throughout the document instead of
bouncing back and forth between the two options.
Another type of style sheet is an editorial style sheet thats
kept by editors as they review and edit manuscripts. Editors
use an editorial style sheet to make notes on the way certain
words, phrases, and punctuation marks are used. These
notes are indicated in an alphabetical format so they can be
easily verified. Editors use this style sheet to bring uniformity
to the text.
When designers talk about style sheets, they arent concerned
so much with the text of a document, but rather with the
consistency of the page design. Designers want to make
sure that their pages are laid out in a uniform way. Of
course, this doesnt mean that all pages have to look exactly
alike, as that would result in some pretty boring documents.
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Trim Size:
81/2 11
Column Width:
39 picas
Element
Size
Leading
Face
Style
Alignment
10.5
12
Palatino
Normal
Left
None
Bullet
12
12
Palatino
Normal
Left
Bullet
Caption
8.5
9.78
Av. Gde.
Bold Ital.
Left
None
Reverse Head
26
30.28
Palatino
Bold Ital.
Left
Rule
Body Text
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Specification Sheets
A companion aid to the printed style sheet is a printed
specification sheet, which details
Typefaces
Point sizes
Column widths
Margin dimensions
Heading and subhead settings
Creating a specification sheet for a document ensures that
nothing about the documents type and format is forgotten,
and is especially important if more than one designer will be
working on a document. Saving specification sheets also lets
designers repeat the same formula on similar documents in
the future.
There are many ways to prepare a specification sheet. Some
designers set up model pages containing all of the elements
that can appear in the document. For example, where a main
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GOING ONLINE
Introduction to Online Publishing
Throughout this study unit weve discussed online documents.
This section will help you to understand just what an online
document is and how it works. Youll learn the basics of
creating and viewing online documents. Creating online
documents is just one facet of publication design, but it
has become an integral part of the field.
Youve no doubt heard the Internet referred to as the information superhighway. What is the Internet and how will it
impact you in your career? Well talk a little about how the
Internet developed and how you can use this vast computer
network. Before you begin to create online documents, lets
take a look at the history of the Internet and become familiar
with some Internet applications.
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Internet Applications
Once the basic networking protocols were set, the early
Internet programmers needed to create a group of programs
to take advantage of this new medium.
The driving reason behind the Internet was to keep communication open among sites. To accomplish this interconnected
communication, an application was devised, and electronic
mail, commonly called e-mail, was born.
E-mail
Electronic mail, or e-mail, is the king of all Internet applications. In fact, its the oldest application used on the Internet.
E-mail lets one Internet user send a message to another
Internet user anywhere in the world. Besides sending
messages, e-mail allows online users to attach files to their
e-mail. Users can write a document with a word processor
and send the document files right along with the e-mail to a
friend half a world away.
FTP
Sharing resources is a hallmark of computer networks.
Resource sharing, when more than one individual is working
on the same data, is best done when those sharing resources
can exchange data quickly. In the early days of the Internet,
sharing data meant trying to e-mail data or use an ancient
form of data transfer called UUCP (UNIX to UNIX Copy
Protocol). UUCP proved to be cumbersome and difficult to
use. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) became a standard that all
computers connected to the Internet use to transfer data.
FTP allows a user to access files on a remote computer
and download those files from (or upload files to) the remote
computer. With the standard of FTP, computer scientists who
were developing the Internet could finally share resources.
With the development of FTP, vast amounts of programming
work became available to anyone with Internet access. College
students all over the world became a driving force in developing
the Internet. To this day, colleges and universities are some
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Search Utilities
Archie
As the Internet grew, more and more data became available.
The many different servers housing information had no
indexing systems other than the host FTP servers list files.
This left Internet users trying to find the proverbial needle
in a haystack. There was no good way to catalog the vast
information accumulated on the many servers.
Programmers developed an application that could find a file
or program on a remote FTP server without having the end
user slowly searching from server to server. The programmers
named their search utility Archie (a derivation of archive).
A system was devised whereby FTP servers generated a list of
programs, files, and documents that were housed on each
server. This information was then sent to central computers
that formed a database that informed users where files could
be located.
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Gopher is a text-based utility, with a list of information displayed for the user. By choosing an option from the list on
the Gopher screen, the user is taken to a more specific range
of choices. This continues until a specific piece of data is
chosen and automatically transferred to the end users
terminal. Gopher became the star of the Internet for many
years. In fact, until recently, Gopher data transfers made
up the bulk of the Internets data packet traffic.
Gopher achieved what all previous Internet utilities could
notbrowsing. When users browse their way through
Gopherspace, the Gopher servers transfer the user from
one server to another. This transfer is transparent to the end
user with, at most, a short lag between screens. When the file
is found, the information is transferred to the local computer,
once again, seamlessly.
The immense popularity of Gopher led to some very interesting
innovations. When it became difficult to find specific information
using FTP, computer scientists began to work on a new utility
that was designed to work in concert with Gopher. To use
this new utility, the user would enter a search word(s). The utility would search the Internet and display a series of hits. The
hits were files that the search utility found to have sufficient
similarities with the search word to be worth looking at. This
search utility was named Veronica, an acronym for Very Easy
Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives.
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Intranets
Besides the Internet, there are smaller groups of computers
connected to each other. These small groups are local area
networks, or LANs. When information is transferred from one
LAN computer to another using Internet protocols, the LAN
is called an intranet. Actually, an intranet is just a very small
version of the Internet. Intranets are usually used by organizations or corporations that want to have an easy way to share
information among their branches or subsidiaries.
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PUBLISHING ONLINE
Now that you know a little about intranets and the Internet,
lets take a look at what an online document is and how to
create one. This section will introduce you to browsers and
the language of the Web, HTML. Then, youll learn a little
about the potential of XHTML and SGML.
Browsers
The program you run to navigate the Web is called a browser.
A browser displays all the text, graphics, and multimedia
special effects and makes sure that when you click on a link,
or hotspot, youll be connected to the correct information.
There are a variety of browsers available such as Internet
Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is most
popular with Windows users and Safari with Macintosh
users. Firefox has emerged as the most consistent and
secure browser across both platforms and is increasingly
popular with users. Opera is another popular browser as
it best supports the latest updates in HTML. All of these
programs perform the same function of allowing the user
to surf (browse) the Web with ease.
All browsers have the same basic features, a large area where
the information from the Web is displayed, a pointer that lets
you click on links to view more information, and a series of
buttons on the main interface area to let you navigate with
ease. Lets look at the Web page in Figure 39.
You can see a home page by using a browser. The home page
has the basic information that you want an initial page to have.
It serves as both a welcome page and an index of the pages
included in a Web site. The basic Web page usually has both text
and graphics. Much like a brochure, an initial Web page needs
to grab the users attention to get them to continue looking.
There are normally some standard elements on an introductory
Web page. The title of the page is usually shown at the top of the
browser. Some other common elements of a Web page follow.
The main heading. Web pages can display one of six header
default settings, which are set at different point sizes in boldface.
With more advanced coding, larger point sizes can be used.
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FIGURE 40Reading a printed page is a serial process. Using hypertext, a user can easily shift from
one document to any others and back again.
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HTML
The layout of an online document is designated by Hypertext
Markup Language, or HTML. An online document is usually
coded in HTML. Coding is a set of instructions for a computer
to follow. Lets take a look at Figure 41, which shows a very
simple HTML document.
HTML lets the online publisher start with a text document and
add format commands to it. These commands are called tags,
and when the page is loaded into the browser, the tags are
translated and style attributes such as italic, bold, justification,
and line breaks are revealed. Most tags have two parts, the
first element and the second element. The first element simply
starts the tag, while the second element, or terminating
element, finishes the tag. For example, <p align = center>
Hi there! </p> will display the phrase, Hi there! centered in
the page. The first tag, <p align = center>, is read as
Center all the text until the terminating element is reached,
and the second </p> tag is the terminating tag. When the
terminating tag is reached by the browser, whatever
special attribute it sets up no longer applies.
Lets take a look at this example in detail by seeing what the
HTML file itself looks like. Youll see several different tags
used in this example. There are, in fact, over 300 standard
tags you can use. Some are as simple as making text bold,
while other tags will create special characters.
The text which follows will show the full HTML document
used to create Figure 41.
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The first tag seen is the <HTML> tag. This tag opens the
document. The rest of the document will be nested, or
contained, within the starting and ending tags.
The <HEAD> and <TITLE> tags work together to give
the HTML document a title that will be displayed on the
browsers. The main information in the HTML document
is bound within the <BODY> tags.
The next few tags well discuss are used to customize the HTML
document, and they have some very interesting features.
When text is written with no tags, it will simply default to the
standard typeface, point size, and justification. Note that this
default is Times New Roman font, or typeface, 8-point size,
and left justified/ragged right.
To force a line break, the <BR> tag is used. As stated earlier,
the <p align = center> tag centers the text. Head tags <H1>
through <H6> display the text bold and with different point
sizes to create a range of head elements.
Weve reached the end of the sample HTML document.
To see how this text would appear as an online document,
see Figure 41. See, it was pretty easy wasnt it?
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FIGURE 41This document is very simple, but it showcases some elements that you can build into an
online document.
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and video to play directly on the Web and the full software
versions allow online designers to create and embed their
own clips.
XHTML
XHTML, Extensible Hypertext Markup Language, is a reformulation of HTML 4.0, the most current version of HTML used
on the Web. As you know, HTML is the markup language that
allows a page to be displayed on the World Wide Web. XHTML
is basically the follow-up version of HTML 4. However, unlike
HTML, XHTML can be extended by anyone that uses it.
New elements and attributes can be defined and added to
those that already exist, making possible new ways to embed
content and programming in a Web page. In appearance, an
XHTML file looks like a somewhat more elaborate HTML file.
The standard for Web markup is a cross between standard
HTML and XHTML and is referred to being transitional.
The code that appears at the top of a Web page looks like
the following, rather than the standard <HTML> tag you were
shown previously:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0
Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
The advantages of extensibility means that as new ideas
for Web communication and presentation emerge, they can
be implemented without having to wait for the next major
version of HTML and browser support. New tags or attributes
can be defined to express new possibilities for your Web
page that youve never seen before. This also means that
complicated Web pages can be made simpler than before
so that mobile devices with smaller microprocessor chips
and memory can use them.
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SGML
Standard General Markup Language, SGML, is an application
that allows you to publish the same information in several
different formatsin print, on the Web, or on a DVD. HTML
and XHTML are simpler versions and a subset of SGML.
SGML encodes information for a document and defines the
rules for how the tagged elements fit together.
SGML allows huge amounts of information to be archived.
This information can then be searched, extracted, and
recompiled for several avenues of publication.
Suppose you work at a company that publishes college textbooks and you need to publish a book about a specific topic.
With the companys database stored in SGML, you would be
able to pull all of the information you need right from one
source. Since its already tagged in a hierarchical structure,
you can compile a text, complete with headings, within a
few hours.
Its exciting to know that the entire process of planning and
creating print and online documents is practically the same
its only the end product thats different. Knowing how to
create documents for both print and online distribution offers
you many publishing opportunities. Now take some time to
review what youve learned by completing Self-Check 4. Once
youve completed the self-check, youll be ready to move on to
your examination.
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Self-Check 4
1. A reference book that guides the reader in applying principles of good usage in a specific field
is called a _______.
2. True or False? The graphic designers primary concern with any document is the accuracy of
its text.
3. A software tool that ensures continuity in the way things are said and done in a document is
called a (specification sheet/style sheet).
4. What does HTML stand for?
__________________________________________________________
5. What does BR do?
__________________________________________________________
6. True or False? XHTML is the newest version of HTML.
Check your answers with those on page 84.
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Self-Check 1
1. casting off
3. front
4. Character count and word count
Self-Check 2
1. False
2. serif
3. b
4. a. 18 picas
b. 42 picas
5. 72
Self-Check 3
1. Traditional book publishers have followed this standard
for determining margins: A books bottom margin is twice
the size of its top margin, the width of its outer margin
should be half the sum of the top and bottom margins,
and the inner margin should be half as wide as the outer
margin.
2. trim size
3. Margins
4. a
Answers
2. running head
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Self-Check 4
1. style manual
2. False
3. style sheet
4. Hypertext markup language
5. Its the first element of a tag to center text.
6. True
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Self-Check Answers
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05305801
Whichever method you use in submitting your exam
answers to the school, you must use the number above.
For the quickest test results, go to
http://www.takeexamsonline.com
When you feel confident that you have mastered the material
in this study unit, go to http://www.takeexamsonline.com and
submit your answers online. If you dont have access to the
Internet, you can phone in or mail in your exam. Submit your
answers for this examination as soon as you complete it. Do not
wait until another examination is ready.
Questions 120: Select the one best answer to each question.
Examination
EXAMINATION NUMBER
85
C. Leading
D. Margin
C. 100
D. 100125
6. John wants to share resources and move a large volume of data quickly over the
Internet. John should use which of the following to transfer his information?
A. UUCP (UNIX to UNIX copy protocol)
B. E-mail
7. The process of selecting typefaces, type sizes, and text spacing for a particular
document is called
A. desktop publishing.
B. type processing.
C. typesetting.
D. typography.
C. leading.
D. letterspacing.
C. point
D. inch
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Examination
C. justifying.
D. leading it out.
13. If a line of type measures 5 inches (12.5 centimeters) in length, how many picas
long is it?
A. 15
B. 25
C. 30
D. 60
C. Tags
D. Links
C. 12
D. 72
16. Computer files designed to simplify the layout process and stored electronically as part
of a page layout software program are called
A. style manuals.
B. style sheets.
C. reference files.
D. specification sheets.
17. Which of the following page-related terms refer to the same thing?
A. Type page/text area
B. Trim size/text page
18. Unlike _______, XHTML can be extended by anyone who uses it.
A. SML
B. HTML
Examination
C. XML
D. SGML
87
19. A long document, such as a book, can usually be divided into which of the following
three main sections?
A.
B.
C.
D.
20. Which of the following must a designer be aware of when planning the design of
a document?
A.
B.
C.
D.
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The
The
The
The
Examination